Metaphysical meaning of Achan (mbd)

Metaphysical meaning of Achan (mbd)

Achan, a'-chan (Heb.)--trouble; troublesome; troubler.

A man of Judah who sinned in that he saved for himself "a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight," when Jehovah had said that the silver, gold, brass, and iron were to be holy to Him, and all else was to be destroyed. This incident occurred at the taking of Jericho, after the Israelites had first entered the Promised Land to possess it. But Achan coveted these things and took them for himself, and hid them in the earth in the midst of his tent. "And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us?" (See Joshua, 7th chapter.)

Meta. In the outer consciousness Achan represents covetousness, which always results in much trouble and sorrow to those who let it dominate their thoughts and acts. Achan was an Israelite, however, and the Israelites stand for the religious thoughts of man. True Israel is spiritual consciousness. The great troubler of the spiritual thoughts in us, which go to make up our spiritual consciousness, is the notion that certain sense beliefs and habits that appear to be good should be held indefinitely. The truth is that all that pertains to the sense mind of man must be given up. Our old ideas of the comforts and things of sense, which have seemed to us to be so good and necessary, represented by the "goodly Babylonish mantle," must be denied away, while all the gold, silver, brass, and iron (earthly wisdom, substance, and life and strength activities) must be dedicated to God and transmuted into their true spiritual essence.

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