Sin in the Camp
Joshua 7
Today I want to talk to you about something very serious… sin in the camp.
I believe this is one of the biggest problems in the world today... sin in the camp.... Sin in God’s people
I think most Christians do not take this very seriously because they say to themselves... I am saved, I am going to heaven, I don’t have anything to fear.
And they wink at sin… think there is no consequence because they are saved.
Today’s sermon will address that mistake.
This is a sermon for believers, Christians, the saved.
It is a sermon about perhaps the biggest of all hurdles…
Hidden Sin.
I believe it speaks to all Christians.
Well… maybe some will claim it does not apply to them because they have no hidden or secret sin.
All I know is that it applies to me... and Paul and Moses, and every other hero of the faith in scripture.
Therefore, I feel it probably applies to most everyone here. The first four words are so sad... ‘But there was sin...’
Other versions say...
“but the people of God broke faith...” or “But the people of God committed a trespass or something else...
I like the Living Bible
BUT THERE WAS SIN
And I like a rendering I once heard... There was sin in the camp.
What was the sin? Why was it so serious?
A man named Achan, during the rout and destruction of Jerico, took some of the gold and hid it in his tent.
Remember the precious things were to be devoted to God. Nothing was to be taken by the people.
Achan took a little bit of stuff… less than 1/2 of 1%... not worth worrying about.
When Achan was questioned he was forthright...
I saw... I coveted... I took
That is ALWAYS the road to sin
He had the orders... kill every living thing, burn all the stuff give the precious stuff to God, take no spoils.
He knew he shouldn’t take the stuff... he knew it was wrong... but he wanted it... So he took it.
That is the truth of sin.., it is very simple
You sin because you want to
James, in the New Testament says the same thing in different words...
Achan said, “I SAW”
James says all sin starts out that way... But everyman is tempted
Achan said, “I wanted”
James says, “when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed
Achan said, “I took”
James says, “And when lust has conceived, it bringeth forth sin.”
It was easy for Achan to HIDE... everyone was busy with the slaughter, the smoke of fire was in the air, the noise of baffle drowned out the jingle of the silver dropping into his pocket, his shield hid the bulge of the gold under his robe... if they saw him carrying the stuff they would think he was carrying it to the fire.. .no one would know.
It was easy for him to rationalize...
He had sacrificed for many years in the desert It was just a small amount
It didn’t hurt anyone else
He had risked his life in the fight
He had burned ten times this much
The victor deserved the spoils.., it was time-honored
tradition
It was such a waste to burn it.
First he took the silver… then it was easier to take the gold.
And once he had the gold and silver, it was even easier for him to take the robe.
He rationalized that the rule against taking stuff was wrong. He decided...
It is not wrong if...
no one else knows
no one else gets hurt
Christians still use that lie today to rationalize what they want to do.
Christians use that lie to
Drink alcohol
Go places
Do things
Have friends
WE MUST RATIONALIZE IT!!!
Or else the guilt would eat you up
We have to rationalize away the guilt
So then we can do it and believe that no one knows and it does not hurt anyone else.
TRUTH
a. Someone does know
b. Someone does get hurt
God knows...
He saw it when you did it.
He was there even before you did it...
He was there when you were thinking about it.
It does hurt... there are consequences.
Listen to the rest of what James has to say. “And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Paul agrees, “The wages of sin is death.”
Death means there is hurt and loss
In the first 6 chapters, Israel was UNSTOPPABLE
They were a machine just steamrolling along.
RIVER At flood stage but when the first foot touched the water
- boom- dry for 60 miles
WALLS marched around for seven days and shouted Boom- walls fell, people killed
Six chapters of victory and progress. Nothing could stop them... not nature, not armies, not walls
NO HURDLES... Nothing to hinder them
So, while they were riding theft wave of victories, they looked
over to the side and see the little town of Ai.
This town was as small as it’s name.
On both sides of the sign it said Welcome to Ai. The
They are thinking, this town will be a cinch. No need to send the whole army, one small detachment will do... no more than a couple of thousand soldiers. They will be done before lunch and we will have time for a victory party and to plan our attack on the next town.
Well, they were back before lunch. And they were carrying what the other Israelites thought must be the spoils of victory. To their amazement... they were carrying dead bodies... Israelite bodies. They had been whipped, humiliated, spanked by that little bitty town.
You can tell when a team has won or lost just by the way they hold their shoulders... and it was easy to tell from a long way off... this team had lost terribly.
They could not believe it... we beat Jerico and lost to Ai.
That is like beating Florida State in football... and losing to Furman.
How did it happen? SIN!!!
Achan had taken some of the spoils and hidden them.
HIDDEN SIN!
Ask Achan now
“Do you still believe no one knew?
“Do you still believe no one got hurt?
Isn’t that what Achan had told himself?
But someone did know. GOD KNEW!!!
And someone did get hurt. 36 soldiers got killed and their families got hurt.
The whole nation of Israel went into depression and suffered great despair.
The nation of Israel learned a great lesson that day.
They learned that sin has the same effect on the spiritual life that a
Manny Pacquiao punch has on your face.
Hidden Sin will SQUASH you spiritual life and momentum!!!
Sin in your life will bring your life to a dead stop. No joy... no growth... no victory.
It can be sin that no one else knows about, that you think you got away with, that seems like no big thing.
That sin will bring your spiritual life to a dead stop.
And it may be that you are not the only one who will suffer.
The whole nation of Israel suffered for the small unknown sin of one insignificant person.
When you sin.., there are always consequences.
Someone ALWAYS suffers.
If I, the preacher, commit sin, you may never know about it... but this whole church suffers.
How? Why?
If I sin, God can’t bless me. He cannot use me. My prayers will not be answered. My ministry will lack the power of God’s blessing and presence.
Maybe you won’t be sick or in need right then. You may not realize any consequence of my sin. But those who are sick will notice. And everyone will miss the blessing of God’s anointing on my preaching.
IF YOU S1N... there are consequences.
YOUR prayers are not answered.
God cannot bless YOUR home, YOUR kids, YOUR job
Hidden sin is like hidden termites in your house... It will eat the internal braces out
It may not be seen yet... but the consequences have already begun.
And all of those around you suffer too.
Look at Jonah and see how the sailors with him suffered.
God showed Israel that sin is never hidden from Him.
In verses 10-12 God says
1. There is hidden sin
2. You cannot prosper
3. I will not bless you
He told Moses that the next day he would point out the guilty party.
That night Achan must have considered going to Moses and confessing... but he could not. And he could not sleep either. The next day all the people stood before Moses
First God spelled out the exact charges.
Then the lots were cast. The tribe of Judah was chosen.
Achan’s stomach balled up in a knot.
The lots were cast again The clan of his great-grandfather, Zera, was called forth.
Achan’s felt faint.
The lots fell on the family of his grandfather... his knees buckled.
And finally with one last toss of the lots... Achan was exposed.
Everything became a blur.
His wife and children were killed, stoned to death.
you can’t help, you are responsible.
What do you say to them?
How do you tell them that you valued a handful of silver and gold
more than you did their life, their health?
I hope, for his sake, that Achan died before his family was killed.
However, I suspect he was forced to watch.
Can’t you see Achan, like Judas, offering to give it back, pleading for a chance to do it all over again?
Look at the ground flowing with the blood of Achan, his wife, his kids, his herds, his flocks, and floating on the river of blood are the ashes of all the stuff Achan owned... burned.
What a horrible end.
No one knew--- No one else was hurt.
Do you think that was true of Achan’s sin?
Do you think it is true of your sin.
It is no more true of your sin than of Achan’s.
I want you to look at the second sentence of verse 26... “Then the Lord turned from His fierce anger
Many people think the God of the OT is different from the God of the NT.
That He has changed or is a totally different God.
GOD HAS NOT CHANGED
He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
God’s righteous nature still bums white hot against sin.., all sin.
What was true for Achan is true for us...
God HATES all sin
God PUNISHES all sin
Blood/death is still the payment for sin
NT “The wages of sin is death”
God is not different... the payment has not changed... but Calvary changed who has to pay.
JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!
The question for Moses was “What doth hinder us from victory?”
The question for us is, “What doth hinder me... from blessing, from prosperity, from spiritual growth?
For some of us, the answer is SIN... hidden sin!!!!
What can you do about Hidden sin?
You are like Achan the night before the lots were cast... you have an opportunity to come clean, to confess your sin, to save your family and friends from suffering.
In verses 20-21 Achan confessed and in verse 26 the blood flowed.
Un fortunately, it was his own blood and the blood of his family.
If you will confess today, the blood will flow too.
The blood of Jesus will flow down like a river on your sins and they will be washed as white as snow.
Today, if you have hidden sin, if you have unconfessed sin.., don’t leave here without bringing it into the light, confessing it all to Jesus.
He will not punish you. He will forgive you. He can return you to blessings and victory.
Today, if you will turn away from your sin and come to Jesus He will do a miracle
He will take the words of curse in Joshua 7:15 and turn them into words of blessing.
HE said
You have sinned
You can not prosper
I will not be with you
If you have un-confessed sin in your life that is what God must say to you.
What he will say is…
You can confess
You can prosper
He will be with you
Remember the thing that makes the difference between you and Achan is
THE CROSS WHERE JESUS PAID FOR YOUR SINS
The choice is yours....
You can continue to live with the wages and consequences of your sin
Or you can live under the umbrella of his GRACE
This morning we are going to sing a hymn. While we sing, if God has spoken to you, you respond. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t put it off.
