613 Mitzvot
Negative Mitzvot 22
Not to benefit from decorations on idols

We are commanded not to make use of valuables that once decorated idols. We are not even to desire after them.

Again, this was the sin of Akhan in Yehoshua (Joshua) perek (chapter) seven. "But the children of Yisra'el committed a trespass in the accursed thing; for Akhan, the son of Karmi, the son of Zavdi, the son of Zerach, of the tribe of Yehudah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of YHVH was kindled against the children of Yisra'el.... Akhan answered Yehoshua, and said, 'Of a truth I have sinned against YHVH, the Elohim of Yisra'el, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoil a goodly mantle of Shin'ar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.'" (p'sukim[verses] 1,20,21).

He coveted after the silver and the gold which most likely came from an idol. In addition, he coveted after one partically good Babylonian garment (aderet Shinar achat tovah). An Aderet is a mantle made of fine material. It also means glory and magnificence. It could be either the mantle of a king or a prophet. Bochart and Calmet said that Babylonish robes were very splendid, and in high reputation. Calmet says, they are generally allowed to have been of various colours, though some suppose they were woven thus; others, that they were embroidered with the needle; and others, that they were painted. Silius Italicus seems to think they were woven. Martial supposes them to have been embroidered with the needle; and Pliny and Apuleius speak of them as painted.

Originally, the mantle came from Shinar (Babylon). We notice that the Torah says, "one (echad) excellent Babylonian mantle." This can be translated "a certain excellent Babylonian mantle." It can easily be supposed that this particular mantle might have once belonged to none other than Nimrod, the first king of Shinar. It could have had idolatrous symbols on it. This is not the first time this mantle had been coveted. According the Midrash Rabbah, Esau had killed Nimrod because he coveted his clothes. The Midrash also says that Esau was drawn towards idolatry. This robe could ended up in the possession of the king of Yericho (Jericho). Then Akhan saw it among the spoil and greatly desired it.

Matthew Henry makes this interesting commentary on the thought process of Akhan:

What he did not take into account is the effect his actions would have on others.

Yehoshua sent men from Yericho to Ai, which is beside Beit-Aven, on the east side of Beit-El, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. The men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Yehoshua, and said to him, Don't let all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai; don't make all the people to toil there; for they are but few. So there went up there of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai struck of them about thirty-six men; and they chased them from before the gate even to Shevarim, and struck them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. Yehoshua tore his clothes, and fell to the dirt on his face before the ark of YHVH until the evening, he and the elders of Yisra'el; and they put dust on their heads. Yehoshua said, Alas, Adonai YHVH, why have you at all brought this people over the Yarden [Jordan], to deliver us into the hand of the Amori, to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and lived beyond the Yarden! Oh, Adonai, what shall I say, after that Yisra'el has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Kena'anim and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what will you do for your great name? YHVH said to Yehoshua, Get you up; why are you thus fallen on your face? Yisra'el has sinned; yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yes, they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Yisra'el can't 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 you destroy the accursed thing from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus says YHVH, the Elohim of Yisra'el, There is a accursed thing in the midst of you, Yisra'el; you can not stand before your enemies, until you take away the accursed thing from among you. (Yehoshua /Joshua 7:2-13 emphasis added)

Akhan's actions caused the defeat of the children of Yisra'el. They were unable to stand against their enemies until the accursed thing was removed from among them. In the same way, we are unable to have any spiritual victories in our lives until we remove all idolatry from our lives.

So Yehoshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. They took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them to Yehoshua, and to all the children of Yisra'el; and they laid them down before YHVH. Yehoshua, and all Yisra'el with him, took Akhan the son of Zerach, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them up to the valley of Akhor. Yehoshua said, Why have you troubled us? YHVH shall trouble you this day. All Yisra'el stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones. (Yehoshua /Joshua 7:22-25)

The coveted items are then burnt up like they should have been from the first place, as our mitzvah commands.

Colossians 3:5
Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;

Covetousness is indeed the very same thing as idolatry.

We can easily be entrapped by making use of these things. Gid'on [Gideon] was ensnared by making use of the spoils from Midyan. He fashioned an efod that Yisra'el used for idolatrous purposes.

Then the men of Yisra'el said to Gid'on [Gideon], Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midyan [Midian]. Gid'on said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: YHVH shall rule over you. Gid'on said to them, I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Yishme'elim.) They answered, We will willingly give them. They spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil. The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midyan, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks. Gid'on made an efod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ofrat: and all Yisra'el played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gid'on, and to his house. (Shoftim/Judges 8:22-27).

1 Timothy 6:9-10
But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Yochanan (John) 2:15-16
Don't love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love isn't in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn't the Father's, but is the world's.

This is how the sin of Akhan began. He said that he saw among the spoil the mantle and the silver and gold. His sin began with the lust of the eyes. He then realized the wordly value these things and drawn in by the lust of the flesh. He decided to make use of this magnificent royal robe (pride of life).

Ya'akov (James) 1:14,15
But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:24
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both YHVH and Mammon.

Basically, YHVH doesn't anything to entice us away from complete devotion to Him.