What's Achan You?
Joshua 7:2-9
There is an old saying, first penned by John Donne, "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of a continent, a part of the main." What Donne was saying is that we are all in some way connected to each other and what happens to one person affects us all. So often I hear Christians and non-Christians saying, "How I live my life and the things I do is nobody's business but mine as long as I don't hurt anyone else." Nothing could be further from the truth. In Joshua 7, we have the story how one man's hidden action affected a whole nation.
I. The Story of Israel at AI
A. They were over confident.
1. Israel was riding high. They had miraculously crossed the Jordan River by stepping out into the waters by faith upon which God parted the waters and Israel crossed over on dry ground.
2. From there they miraculously conquered the walled city of Jericho by obediently following God's command which resulted in a complete victory by Israel without a single battle casualty.
B. They were walking by sight not by faith
1. Next on the list of cities to conquer was a small city of approximately 12,000 people including women and children. In Joshua 7:2, we see that men were sent to spy out the next city they were to conquer.
2. When the spies return, they are confident in what they've seen.
3. Joshua 7:3 "And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few."
4. What they were saying was "Look, there's not a lot of people in Ai. They're not going to be a problem for us. We really don't need to send everybody up there to fight. Let's just send two or three thousand soldiers up there. We can easily handle this" They were basing their thoughts and actions on what they'd seen.
5. Joshua didn't say, "Well, let me seek the Lord in prayer and see what He says," he simply agreed. Like the others, Joshua, made his decision on what was seen.
But we know from Scripture that we are to,
6. 2 Corinthians 5:7 ...walk by faith, not by sight"
7. Hebrews 10:38 "...live by Faith"
8. Someone has said, "Some of the biggest mistakes you will ever make in your Christian life will be those "no-brainer" decisions that you make. Those times when you look at everything, weigh things logically, and make a decision - all without seeking the Lord in prayer." - copied
C. Joshua failed to pray and to consult God and the results were shocking and devastating
D. They were defeated by a handful
1. Joshua 7:4-5 "So about 3,000 men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water."
2. What should have been a resounding victory was instead a humiliating retreat costing the lives of 36 Israelites.
3. Though this number was small from a military standpoint, it stunned and staggered Israel. All that self confidence was rocked as they became fearful realizing that they defeats were possible in the conquest of the Promised Land.
E. They were confused
1. Joshua 7:7-9 " And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
2. They could not understand what had happened nor why. Why had they gone from victory to defeat? What happened that God withdrew His protective hand.
F. They were guilty
1. God answers Joshua's inquiry - there is sin in the camp
2. Joshua 7:11-12 " Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you."
3. Sin had withdrawn God's blessings.
II. The Rest of the Story
A. Achan sinned
1. Joshua 7:20-21 "And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of 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 the silver under it.”
2. Achan had taken that which had been banned by God - a goodly Babylonian garment - “a beautiful dyed and richly embroidered long robe of Shinar,” that was was worn by dignitaries at formal occasions along with some silver and about 25 ounces of gold. What appeared trivial in relation to the vast amount of spoils from Jericho.
3. William Blaikie in his "Commentary on Joshua" writes "Let us think of Achan's temptation. A large amount of valuable property fell into the hands of the Israelites at Jericho. By a rigorous law, all was devoted to the service of God. Now a covetous man like Achan might find many plausible reasons for evading this law. "What I take to myself (he might say) will never be missed. There are hundreds of Babylonian garments, there are many wedges of gold, and silver shekels without number, amply sufficient for the purpose for which they are devoted. If I were to deprive another man of his rightful share, I should be acting very wickedly; but I am really doing nothing of the kind. I am only diminishing imperceptibly what is to be used for a public purpose. Nobody will suffer a whit by what I do, - it cannot be very wrong."
4. Achan very likely tried to rationalize away his sin and was not going to do anything about it as long as he could keep it secret and hidden.
5. We try to minimize our sin, or explain them away. We will use euphemisms to make our sins sound trivial. Think about the terms we have for some of our sins.
a. We call it a fib or a little white lie instead of calling ourselves liars
b. We call it an affair, instead of calling it cheating on your spouse, or committing adultery
c. We call it sleeping together, instead of calling it fornication or premarital sex
d. We call it creative bookkeeping instead of calling it stealing
e. We call it using our money to meet our “needs”, instead of calling it failing to tithe—or as God calls it in Malachi chapter 3, robbing him
f. We call it harmless fun instead of pornography or mental adultery
g. We call it sharing concerns instead of gossip
h. We call it a bad temper instead of saying we’re being selfish
i. We say we are just being honest instead of saying we are being hurtful and vicious
j. We say we are too busy instead of confessing we aren’t committed enough
k. We say we are enjoying the fruits of our labor rather than calling it materialism
l. We call it self-confidence rather than pride
m. We say we are “enjoying life” rather than calling it gluttony
We try to play down our sins all the time, because we don’t see them as a big deal—we might even try to trick ourselves into thinking that they don’t matter. What we can learn from the story of Achan is that sin is serious. Sin leads to death, and sin must be dealt with before the disease progresses. - adapted from Rick Goettsche, Avoiding Achan's sin
B. God cannot tolerate sin
1. Habakkuk 1:13 " You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness."
2. God hates sin because it is contrary to His perfect and holy nature. God must therefore punish the sinner. If he did not, God would be consenting to that which is contrary to His nature.
3. Ezekiel 18:4 " The soul who sins shall die.
4. Proverbs 8:36 " But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death.”
C. Sin will be found out
1. Achan thought he could hide his sin but was found out.
2. A picture on a postcard shows two goldfish in a bowl. One is whistling and looking outward. The other says, "Don't try to hide it. I can see the bubbles.
3. Numbers 23:23 " But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out."
4. Someone has said, "Trying to hide your sin is like trying to hold a beach ball under water. You may do it for a while but eventually it will surface." It is best to confess and forsake it.
5. Proverbs 28:13 " He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
D. We do not sin in a vacuum
1. Achan may have felt that he was not hurting anyone else but his sin brought catastrophe not only to himself but to his family, the widows and families of thirty-six slain Israelites, and to the nation of Israel.
2. Joshua 22:20 "Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man perished not alone in his iniquity."
3. We've got to realize that sin affects more than just us. It affects the individual, it affects the family, and it affects the whole church.
4. Albert Barnes gives this interesting insight, "The nation as a nation was in covenant with God, and is treated by Him not merely as a number of individuals living together for their own purposes under common institutions, but as a divinely-constituted organic whole. Hence, the sin of Achan defiled the other members of the community as well as himself. and robbed the people collectively of holiness before God and acceptableness with Him. Israel had in the person of Achan broken the covenant; God therefore would no more drive out the Canaanites before them."
5. As a child of God you are part of the body of Christ and we are divinely constituted as body where if "one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."
III. Sin must be dealt with.
A. Joshua 7:13 "Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."
B. Proverbs 28:13 " He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
C. Once Israel dealt with their sin God we read in verse 26 " So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His Anger." And in the subsequent chapter we find the blessings of God resume.
D. 1 John 1:9 " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
