Forgiveness? I don't get it

Well, this won't be the most uplifting entry -- I'll start with that.

Joshua 6 and 7. God tells Joshua to lead the people to the destruction of Jericho. They have to walk in a circle seven times or something like that and then everything goes to hell in a handbasket (probably literally).

Prior to this attack (which seems senseless in itself), God told Joshua that no one would take anything from the city because it would be considered a sacrifice to Him.

Well, one guy didn't care too much what God wanted and took a few things.

God was ticked off.

The Israelites well out-manned those in the city of Ai, but they lost anyway because God wasn't with them. Ultimately, God told Joshua to find the guy who stole the items and destroy him and everything related to him (family, possessions, you name it) to re-earn favor with God.

Joshua asked the person who stole the items to come forward.

Joshua 7:20-21: "And Achan answered Joshua and said, 'Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God or Israel and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with silver under it.'"

So, at this point I'm thinking, "Okay. He confessed. God will forgive and it will make sense in my mind."

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Instead, all the people stoned him and his entire family and then burned them. Oh, and the passage really drives the point home that they were stoned ... with stones.

Joshua 7:25: "So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones."

So what you're saying is ... they stoned them? With stones?

I'm honestly not sure why this exchange bothers me because -- to me -- the natural thing to do is punish for wrongdoing. I have actually had to adjust my thinking to grasp the concept of forgiveness.

I think it bothers me because it creates conflict in what people preach.

What my gut wants to do with this story, though, is dumb it down to practicality.

First, did this event really happen? Did these people truly exist, or is this story a fable -- or example -- to teach us?

Whether it is a fable or just God acting this way to teach others and teach us, this is telling us that our actions will have real repercussions.

1. If we sin against God, He will not support us the way He would if we did not sin. The people of Israel were not protected in their invasion of Ai because Achan stole from God.

2. We will be punished for our wrongdoing ... if not by God, by those around us. Achan's sin affected everyone around Him. It affected his group because they did not have God's favor when they invaded Ai. As a result, his peers turned against him.

3. Our sin hurts those closest to us the most. Achan's sin affected his family the most ... they all died along with him. I think part of what bothered me about this story is that God ordered the people to punish the entire family. But if this truly is a fable (or even if it isn't, I guess), isn't it representative of what happens with sin? My sin most affects my immediate family, regardless of it having anything to do with them directly. Whether it affects my mood, my job, my health ... it affects them.

As far as my overall question, I think this goes against the I-can-do-all-things-through-God theory ... which bothers me in general.

God is not a warm, fuzzy, talk-to-me-and-I'll-give-it-to-you being. At least not from my perspective.

He is like a true parent. We need to learn our lessons sometimes. I suppose the issue is why God had to go to such lengths to punish this guy and his family.