- God was angry with the Israelites because there was sin in their camp, which was causing them to lose battles against their enemies.
- Joshua did not know about the sin because he had failed to pray to God beforehand. If he had prayed, God would have revealed the sin to him.
- The sin was discovered to be committed by Achan, who had taken forbidden spoils of war for himself after a previous battle. Achan was put to death along with his family for bringing defeat upon the Israelites through his disobedience.