This morning I am going to be preaching from one of the most troubling passages of scripture in all of God’s Word. It happens to be one of my least favorite passages. I want to invite you to take God’s Word and turn with me to the book of Joshua chapter 7. This really is one of my least favorite passages in the entire Bible. It’s a very disturbing passage; it’s a violent passage of scripture. And if it were turned into a movie, it would have to be rated R because of the blood and the gore and the violence it depicts.
It’s a disturbing passage because in this passage we are reminded of how much our God hates sin. Please, make no mistake about it, God loves you! He loves you with more love than I could ever describe. He loves you with more love than you could ever imagine. But as much as He loves you and me, He hates the sin in our lives.
He hates the sin in our lives because He knows what that sin does to us. He hates the sin in our lives most because it offends His holiness and His righteousness.
And so today, we are going to look at a passage of scripture that describes the terrible danger of sin. I invite you to look with in Joshua 7 and we’ll begin reading in verse 1.
“But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.” Joshua 7:1
Now if you’ll look with me in verse 24 the Bible says, “Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.
And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day. So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.” Joshua 7:2426
Do you see the picture that God’s Word is drawing here?
As Achan, his sons and daughters and all that he possessed is marched outside of the camp of Israel and into the Valley of Achor. There in the Valley of Achor the Israelites began to pick up not rocks—-not gravel---
not pebbles but stones. Stones large enough that a man would have to use two hands in order to throw them. And one by one the stones began to fly toward Achan and his family.
The blood began to flow as one stone would hit a family member in the head and then hit Achan in his shoulders—and ribs began to break and legs began to buckle until they were lying there a lifeless mass under those stones. And then after that the Word of God says they burned them with fire. They burned them until there was nothing left except bones and ashes. And then on top of those bones and ashes they heaped up stones until there was nothing visible except the stones themselves.
And to think that this gruesome scene was not only allowed by God but indeed commanded by God. It’s disturbing because it reminds us of how much our God hates sin.
This morning if I were to tell you that I have fallen into sin most of you would think that I’ve been involved in some adulterous relationship. But listen, if I tell a lie I have fallen into sin. If I loose my temper with my son or my wife I’ve fallen into sin. And if you fail to take a stand for Christ you’ve sinned.
And our God who loves you with all of His heart hates the sin in your life. And my friend that is why sin is so dangerous!
1. Sin is more dangerous than a rattlesnake at a Sunday School picnic.
2. Sin is more dangerous than poison ivy in a bride’s bouquet.
3. Sin is more dangerous than a terrorist in an airliner cockpit.
4. Sin is more dangerous than an anthrax letter in a post office box.
Friend, It’s dangerous and there’s a cost that will be paid for our sins. I want you to notice with me 3 Dangers of Sin as we look at the story of Achan and how he lost his family, his possessions and even his life as a result of his sin.
The first danger of sin is this:
I. Sin is dangerous because sin is easy to commit.
Well, what exactly was Achan’s sin? What was it that he had done that caused him to loose his life and his family and everything that he had? The Bible tells us in verse 20 of Joshua chapter 7. Look at what Achan said.
“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. Joshua 7:20-21
That’s what he did! Now Achan was a soldier in God’s army. He was part of that invading army that marched into Jericho after the walls had fallen. You remember that great victorious scene as the people of God marched around the city of Jericho. They marched one time a day for six days and then on the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. And after the 7th time the trumpets blew and they shouted and the walls came down. Now I’m not a demolition expert but I know that marching, blowing trumpets and shouting doesn’t usually bring city walls down. However, when God is in the shout the walls will come down. And they fell that day. And with all the other soldiers Achan marched in.
God had commanded that everything in the city be destroyed except for Rahab and her family. This was a terribly wicked city and as a result of their sin, God wanted the whole city destroyed. In fact, He said everything is to be destroyed. But look back in chapter 6:17-19
“Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things (the set apart things, the things that were devoted unto the Lord), lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it. But all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”
And so God gave the command that everything in the fallen city of Jericho was to be destroyed except for silver and the gold, the vessels of bronze and iron because those things were to be consecrated to the treasury of the Lord.
Well, Achan marched into the city and after all the rubble began to settle he looked and something caught his eye. He describes it in verse 21. Can’t you just see Achan as he walks into Jericho and out from the corner of one of his eyes he sees a beautiful Babylonian garment and he thinks to himself, “You know that coat looks like it’s my size—in fact, I’ve got a pair of pants in my tent that would go perfectly with that coat. And I can almost see him taking the two hundred shekels of silver (about 5 pds.) and the wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels (about 2 pds.) and wrapping them up in that coat and then tucking it underneath his robe.
It was easy! Listen, he didn’t walk out of that city with a wooden chest full of silver and gold. He didn’t back up a 2-ton truck and fill it with silver and gold. He didn’t take a whole wardrobe he just took one coat. It didn’t seem like a big deal. But it was a big deal because God said not to take them! And sometime the sin in your life and my life might not seem like a big deal to us—we may make excuses for it and we may try to justify and rationalize it and do all kinds of things that will help make it seem like not that big of a deal---sin is easy to commit.
That’s why the Bible says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12
In other words, it’s easy for us as believers to fall into deep sin. Most of us don’t dive into sin off of a diving board so much as we slide into sin on a sliding board. We make one little compromise after another until we find ourselves involved in deep—deep--deep sin.
Some of you this morning have found yourself making one compromise after another—just one little slip after another---and right now you are involved in some sin you never would have thought you’d be involved in. You’ve found yourself slipping further and further into sin. And right now your fellowship with God is zilch—you feel like you’re a million miles away from Him. You’re hear this morning but spiritually you’re so far away from God because your sin as separated you from God. And that sin has been so easy for you to commit.
Sin is easy to commit—look back in verse 21. Achan says I saw them, I coveted them and I took them. Just that easy! For some of you it’s as easy as keying in a website on your computer. For some of you it’s just as easy as pushing a button on your television remote control. For some of you it’s just as easy as copying someone else’s work and turning it in as your own. For some of you it’s as easy as picking up the phone and gossiping about someone. For some of you it’s as easy as telling a lie when you get into a difficult situation. For some of you it’s just as easy as getting into a relationship that you know is heading in the wrong direction.
Sin is dangerous because sin is easy to commit! And I believe that God would warn us this morning that we need to be careful. My friend don’t ever think you’re above sin. Achan was a soldier in God’s army yet he lost his life because of that sin that was so easy to commit.
Sin is dangerous because sin is easy to commit—number two
II. Sin is Dangerous because Sin is Impossible to Conceal.
Look what Achan said back in verse 21.
“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.”
We’re not told how long it was between the time Achan took the things and the time he got caught. I don’t know how long it was. But I can almost see the picture as Achan takes that silver and that gold and coat and goes back to his tent and he raises up the covering of the tent floor and digs a shallow hole and he lays the silver—the gold—and that coat in the hole and then he places some dirt over them and covers it with whatever he used as his tent floor.
And there it was hidden out of everyone’s sight---so he thought.
I wonder how many times:
1. He went to sleep and slept on top of that sin?
2. He and his children joined hands and prayed on top of that sin?
3. They invited people over and fellowshipped on top of that sin?
I wonder how many times you’ve slept over sin or come into this sanctuary and tried to worship God on top of sin? I wonder how many times you’ve tried to fellowship with other believers and done it on top of sin or tried to pray on top of your sin.
He thought he had covered it up but Achan’s sin was always before the eyes of God! In fact the whole chapter of Joshua 7 simply recounts how God uncovered the sin that Achan had tried to conceal. Look what happens there in verse 2 of chapter 7.
“Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the country. So the men went up and spied out Ai.” Joshua 7:2
After they came to Jericho the next city to conquer was the city of Ai. And so Joshua sent in these spies and they came back and said, “You know Joshua we’ve just defeated Jericho—the oldest city in the entire world. A huge city with a wall all around it. Ai is going to be an easy victory. In fact, there’s no need for you to send in the whole army. Just two or three thousand men will be plenty.
Look what God’s Word says in verse 4
“So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.”
In other words, the men of Ai whooped up on the men of Israel. Thirty-six men lost their lives. Joshua became distraught he began to cry out to God. Look with me in verse 6.
“Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.”
Joshua was heart broken because of the sin in the camp. He was heart broken because of the defeat that had come to Israel.
When was the last time you wept over your sin? When was the last time you cried out to God because of the sin in your life? Look at what Joshua said in verse 7.
“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! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?”
Joshua was completely distraught and was saying God we just should have stayed on the other side of the Jordan—why did we even come here—to be defeated?
And then God spoke and said, Joshua get up there’s sin in the camp. And that sin that Achan had tried to conceal God began to reveal. God said, Joshua I want you to have the people of Israel come before you and I am going to show you the tribe then the clan then the family and then the man who committed this sin.
Now look with me in verse 16 of the text—
“So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken (Achan was a member of the tribe of Judah) He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; (Achan was of the family of the Zarhites) he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. (Zabdi was Achan’s grand-daddy). Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.”
I remind you of my point—sin is impossible to conceal.
Illustration of you cutting your hair when you were little
When my parents saw me there was no hiding from them what I had done. And my friend when you sin and I sin there is no way we can hide from God what we’ve done.
In Proverbs 28:13 the Word of God tells us, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
When we try to cover up our sins the Bible says we will not prosper. There are several ways we try to cover up our sins.
Sometimes we try to cover up our sins by:
1. Denying what we are doing is sin. There’s a whole lot of that going around today—trying to redefine sin. The homosexuals have done it—they say, this is not sin this is just the way we were born. And you know something sometimes as Christians we do it!
Did you know that in some colleges they don’t call lying---lying—their teaching that it’s a deceptive communication strategy. God calls it an abomination—God calls it SIN!
2. Doing other good things in order that God will somehow overlook our
sin. And some of you this morning—maybe that’s what your doing. You’ve got a habitual sin in your life—something that you’ve been involved in for a long time.
And you’re saying to yourself, “Well I’m in the choir or I’m a deacon—I’m faithful church member—I’m a Sunday School teacher and I’m doing all this studying of God’s Word—surely, God will overlook the sin that’s in my life. No, God doesn’t work that way.
3. Taking that sin and pushing it aside after we’ve played with it. We
Place it in a corner of our life and lock it up and put the key in our pocket and we try to pretend it’s not there. And every now and then when we get the urge we get that key out—unlock that box—take the sin out and play with it for a little while and then put it back as if it’s not really there.
But the Bible tells us that sin is impossible to conceal.
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
And so sin is easy to commit—sin is impossible to conceal and I want you to see one more danger of sin in this passage---
III. Sin is dangerous because sin is certain to cost.
A. Achan lost his family
B. He lost his precious sons and his daughters
C. He lost his fortune—everything that he had
D. He lost his very life
E. He lost his reputation-because here we are 4000 yrs. later still talking about Achan’s sin.
Sin is certain to cost! Thirty-six men lost their lives because of the sin of Achan. Sin will cost you!
Christian sin will cost you:
1. Your fellowship with God-it will make God seem like He’s millions of miles away from you
2. Your job
3. Your health
4. Your relationship with your husband or wife
5. Your family—your children or someone else you love
Whatever the price might be—know for certain that sin is certain to cost—there’s a cost to be paid for sin.
Do you know what the ultimate cost for sin is? Jesus tells us in John 8:34. He says, “Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” Have you ever noticed that those sins that you think you have control over slowly began to take control over you? “Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.”
Illustration:
Not in notes but will add later
When we sin we’re not going to be able to pull anything over on God. As soon as we sin, He knows. And so the question that He is asking some of you today is, “How long are you going to let sin be your master?”
Now I’ve told you that:
1. Sin is easy to commit
2. Sin is impossible to conceal
3. Sin is certain to cost
Let me tell you one more thing about sin—
IV. Sin is able to be cleansed.
The Bible tells us in 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.”
Challenge
Prayer
Invitation
