What Are You Holding Back?
Text: Joshua 7:1-26
Introduction
1. Illustration: When French soccer star Zinedine Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest during the final 10 minutes of the 2006 World Cup he sealed his own fate and the fate of his team.
When Zidane was sent off with a red card France lost its best scorer. And this, just as the match headed into a penalty shootout.
The score was 4-3 – to Italy. If Zidane hadn’t been sent off, then maybe France would have ended the game with a draw. As it was Italian Fabio Grosso sealed Italy’s fourth World Cup championship with his second goal of the tournament.
Zidane, with all his skill and courage, had carried France to the World Cup final. They were never expected to make it. But after this foul he left the field walking past the World Cup trophy with his head down – and disappeared into the changing rooms – the game and his career were over.
One man commits a foul, is sent off the field, his team loses and a whole country blames the culprit.
Another man scores a goal and his country erupts in wild excitement and adulation.
It only takes one hole to sink a ship.
2. Ex. 22:29 "Do not hold anything back when you give me the tithe of your crops and your wine."
3. As God’s people we cannot withhold anything from Him because:
a. Everything we have comes belongs to the Lord
b. Holding back from the Lord affects the whole community
c. Holding back from the Lord requires repentance
4. Read Joshua 7:1-5
Proposition: Everything we have comes from the Lord, and to with hold it from Him is sin.
Transition: We cannot with hold anything from Him because...
I. Everything We Have Belongs to the Lord (1-5)
A. Concerning the Things Set Apart
1. Insider information is always helpful, and that’s what the writer of the text does for us.
2. He tells us, "But Israel was unfaithful concerning the things set apart for the LORD."
a. The word translated "unfaithful" means "to act undercover," or "secretly" (Woudstra, 120).
b. The term in question here (m‘l) is used to describe a wife’s adultery: it was a betrayal of a trust that existed between two parties. In almost every use of this term in the Bible, the trust broken is that between God and humans.—(New American Commentary)
c. In the last chapter they were strictly forbidden to take any of the spoils for themselves, because the glory of their victory belonged to the Lord.
d. However, someone secretly took one of the "devoted things" for themselves.
e. Greed to him was more important than honoring the Lord.
3. Next, we learn who did it. "A man named Achan had stolen some of these things...Achan was the son of Carmi, of the family of Zimri, of the clan of Zerah, and of the tribe of Judah."
a. The perpetrator is described to us in great detail.
b. The author describes his family, clan, and tribe.
c. Of all things, he is of the favored tribe of Judah, the tribe that Jesus himself would come from.
d. This just goes to show us that when it comes to sin, we can run but we cannot hide.
e. Ex. 32:23 But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the LORD, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
4. Because of this disobedience "the LORD was very angry with the Israelites."
a. To say that God was very angry with them is a bit of an understatement.
b. The Hebrew literally means that His anger burned against them.
c. Illustration: It’s kind of like the commercial where the guy is sitting there reading the news paper, and his wife comes in wearing a new dress and asks that fateful question "Does this make me look fat?" The husband, in a state of deep concentration says, "You bet ya’!"
5. Consequently, the Lord removed His blessing from them, and the results were disastrous.
6. Joshua sent out spies to check out Ai. When they came back they told Joshua, "It’s a small town, and it won’t take more than two or three thousand of us to destroy it. There’s no need for all of us to go there."
a. Unbeknownst to them, they no longer were functioning in the blessings of the Lord.
b. Their conquest of Jericho had caused them to be overconfident and arrogant.
c. In the next chapter, we will see that the second time around Joshua took ten times as many soldiers just for the ambush (Butler, 84).
7. The combination of the removal of God’s blessing and their arrogant spirit caused them to be soundly defeated, "and their courage melted away."
a. The wordplay involving “melting” here—recalling Rahab’s and the spies’ statements in back in chapter 2 is obvious.
b. Because of Achan’s sin, Israel had now become like the Canaanites, alone, without any true god to protect them, and melting away with fear.—(New American Commentary)
B. Selfishness
1. Illustration: D. L. Moody said, “I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.”
2. Whenever we hold back things from the Lord, it is nothing more or less than selfishness; and selfishness is sin.
a. It is sin because we think that it belongs to us, but in reality everything that we have was given to us by God.
b. It is sin because we fail to recognize where our blessings come from.
3. God cannot bless selfishness because it is sin, and He cannot tolerate sin.
4. Whenever we hold back things from the Lord it is arrogance, and arrogance is sin.
a. It is arrogance because we think we have because we deserve it.
b. It is arrogance because we think that we are masters over it.
5. James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows.
Transition: Not only does it affect the Lord, but it also...
II. Affects the Community (6-15).
A. Israel Has Sinned
1. Joshua and the other leaders reacted drastically to this horrible turn of events. They "tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed down facing the Ark of the LORD until evening."
a. Of course, these are all signs of mourning in their culture.
b. Mourning practices generally included tearing one’s robe, weeping, putting dust and ashes in one’s hair, and wearing sackcloth. (The IVP Bible background commentary : Old Testament (electronic ed.).
2. Notice what Joshua says to the Lord: "Sovereign LORD, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side!"
a. Pay special attention to the pronouns Joshua uses here: "us," and "we."
b. At this point Joshua has no idea what has happened, but he feels its affects.
3. Then notice how the Lord responds to Joshua. He says "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings."
a. It was the sin of one man, namely Achan, but his sin affected the entire Israelite community.
b. Despite the indication in 7:1 that only Achan had violated the instructions concerning the things banned, this verse extends the responsibility to the entire nation—(New American Commentary)
c. You see when we sin it not only affects us, but it also affects all those around us.
4. The results can be devastating. The Lord tells Joshua, "I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction."
a. The reason for Israel’s defeat is now revealed: Israel itself—just as Jericho before it—was made liable to destruction because of its sin, and it had suffered a humiliating defeat because of this.
b. What’s more, God would no longer be with Israel, until they (the “you” is now plural) removed the sin from the camp. —(New American Commentary)
c. The seriousness of this can be seen in God’s removal of His presence with Israel.
d. What we do, or do not do, affects everyone in the community of faith.
B. Affects All
1. Illustration: Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of sin. After the service, one of the church officers came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don’t want you to talk as openly as you do about man’s guilt and corruption, because if our boys and girls hear you discussing that subject they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin. "The minister took down a small bottle and showing it to the visitor said, "You see that label? It says strychnine -- and underneath in bold, red letters the word ’Poison!’ Do you know, man, what you are asking me to do? You are suggesting that I change the label. Suppose I do, and paste over it the words, ’Essence of Peppermint’; don’t you see what might happen? Someone would use it, not knowing the danger involved, and would certainly die. So it is, too, with the matter of sin. The milder you make your label, the more dangerous you make your poison!"
2. We need to call it what it is: holding back from the Lord is sin.
3. There are several things that we can hold back from the Lord. The first of these is our money.
a. Mal. 3:8-10 "But you ask, `What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ "You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD Almighty, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!
b. When we hold back our tithes, it is sin and it has a negative effect on us.
c. But it not only has a negative effect on the individual, but it also has a negative effect on the church.
4. We can also hold back our talents and gifts.
a. Our gifts and talents were given to us by God to be used for His glory.
b. To with hold that from the Lord is sin.
c. When we hold back our talents and gifts from the Lord it hurts and weakens the church.
5. Another thing that we can hold back from the Lord is our time.
a. The time we have on this earth is a gift from God.
b. Are you honoring God with your time?
c. Are you giving Him a few hours on Sunday morning and then keep the rest of your week for yourself?
d. When you with hold your time from God it is sin, and it effects the church.
Transition: So where does this leave us? Since holding back from God is sin, it...
III. Requires Repentance (16-26).
A. Give Glory to the Lord
1. This text is proof that you can run, but you cannot hide. The Lord parades all of Israel out to single out the perpetrator.
a. First the tribe of Judah
b. Next the clan of Zerah
c. Next the family of Zimri
d. Finally Achan
2. This is what Joshua says to him, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me."
a. He issued four commands to Achan: “ascribe glory to the LORD,” “give him praise,” “tell me what you did,” and “do not hide it from me.”
b. The four actions commanded by Joshua are part and parcel of one event.
c. By confessing (and not hiding) his sin, he was indeed glorifying and praising God. —(New American Commentary)
3. This was Achan’s response, "I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel."
a. The only way for the curse to be removed was for the sin to be removed, and this involved repentance.
b. It involved confession.
c. 1 Jn. 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
4. Unfortunately, for Achan, this also included being stoned to death.
a. However, fortunately for us we don’t have to be stoned to death.
b. Jesus has already taken our place on the cross and paid the price for our sin.
c. But we still need to confess our sin to Him and repent
B. Turn Around
1. Illustration: Repentance was perhaps best defined by a small girl: Its to be sorry enough to quit.
2. The word "repentance" means to turn around and walk away.
3. Repentance is more than just telling God you’re sorry. It involves not doing it anymore.
4. Repenting from holding back from God means you don’t hold back from Him anymore.
5. Matt. 22:21 "give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God."
Conclusion
1. Are you holding back something from God?
a. Money
b. Talent
c. Time
2. What are going to do about it?
3. As Joshua said to Achan, "Give glory to God!"
