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Updated: June 27, 2025
And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
The God who speaks thus is He who will work the change for His children who seek His face. He will make the valley of Achor, of trouble and shame, of sin confessed and cast out, a door of hope. Let us not fear, let us not cling to the excuses and explanations which circumstances suggest, but simply confess, "We have sinned; we are sinning; we dare not sin longer."
Here stands at the very threshold of Israel's history in Canaan the heap of stones in the valley of Achor, to tell us that God cannot bear sin, that God will not dwell with sin, and that if we really want God's presence in power, sin must be put away. Let us look the solemn fact in the face.
To the Christian man the word comes, 'Thou shalt stand in thy lot. And the other word that was spoken about one sinner, will be fulfilled in all whose lives have been unfitting them for heaven: 'Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. He, too, stands in his lot. Now settle which lot is yours. 'I will give her ... the valley of Achor for a door of hope. HOSEA II. 15.
Hope will exercise itself upon God by those breakings wherewith he breaketh his people for their sins. The valley of Achor; what is that? I say, hope can gather by this, that God has a love to the soul; for when God hateth a man he chastiseth him not for his trespasses. And why thus consider, but that a door might be opened for hope to exercise itself upon God by this? Is not here a door of hope?
And not only will the sorrows that He sends thus become sources of refreshment, but the gloomy gorge through which they journey the valley of Achor will be a door of hope. One word is enough to explain the allusion.
This confession of sin to elders of their own sex, appointed for the purpose, we believe to be the door of hope to the soul, the Christian valley of Achor, and one which every sin-sick soul seizes with avidity, as being far more comforting than embarrassing.
The spirit of His life will enter into us; the valley of Achor will become a door of hope, and we shall sing God's glad new song of Hope. The ideal which had long haunted us, in our blood, but unable to express itself, will burst into a perfect flower of exquisite scent and hue. The birds do not seek for food which is not ready for them.
But as the poor man never prospered after, but lost his cattle and grain, and two of their children dying of measles the next year, and he himself being sickly, and near his end, he spake to her of he golden cross, saying that he did believe it was a great sin to keep it, as he had done, and that it had wrought evil upon him, even as the wedge of gold, and the shekels, and Babylonish garment did upon Achan, who was stoned, with all his house, in the valley of Achor; and the minister coming in, and being advised concerning it, he judged that although it might be a sin to keep it hidden from a love of riches, it might, nevertheless, be safely used to support Gospel preaching and ordinances, and so did himself take it away.
"Do you now, papa?" "Hardly. By sympathy with you, Daisy." "A little below, papa, we shall come to the Valley of Achor, where Achan was stoned." "I don't know that story, Daisy. You may read it to me." We had a long reading and resting there by the ruined khan. Papa was ready to listen and talk; and I saw that so long as we were in Palestine he would read the Bible as much as I liked.
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