Matthew Henry Commentary Joshua 7:10-15

"And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face? Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the devoted thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Jehovah shall take shall come near man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel." — Joshua 7:10-15 (ASV)

God awakens Joshua to inquiry, by telling him that when this accursed thing was put away, all would be well. Times of danger and trouble should be times of reformation. We should look at home, into our own hearts, into our own houses, and make diligent search to find out if there is not some accursed thing there, which God sees and abhors: some secret lust, some unlawful gain, some undue withholding from God or from others. We cannot prosper until the accursed thing is destroyed out of our hearts, removed from our homes and our families, and forsaken in our lives.

When the sin of sinners finds them out, God is to be acknowledged. With a certain and unerring judgment, the righteous God does distinguish and will distinguish between the innocent and the guilty; so that even though the righteous are in the same tribe, family, and household as the wicked, yet they will never be treated as the wicked.