Valley of Achor is the place where Achan and his family were stoned after having stolen the spoil from the first victory of Canaan. The goods acquired at Jericho were specifically dedicated for the Lord and strict warning had been given not to take anything from there lest you would be accursed. Consequently, Isreal lost the next battle and suffered 36 casualties because of Achan's hidden sin. To remove the curse of the Lord from the camp, Achan and his family were executed. Achor means “causing sorrow” or “trouble”.
The Valley of Achor became something of a figure of speech to Isreal. Everyone knew what happened there and what it represented. Hosea used it to show an antithesis: “And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.” Hosea 2:15 God is able to take our occasions of trouble and sorrow and turn them into a door of hope and a place of singing.
Isaiah 65:10 says, “And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.” Here, in this place of curse and judgment, God will cause us to be safe at rest, satisfied with every need as a herd of sheep. Of course there is a disclaimer: “for my people that have sought me.”
It then lies in our power as to whether our Valley of Achors are a time of trouble, or hope and rest!
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