THE COST AND CONSEQUENCES OF SECRET SIN
JOSHUA 7:1-26
Joshua had one of those days. During the conquest of Jericho the people had been told that all the valuables of that city were to be devoted to the Lord; nothing was to be touched Just when things were going well, one of the brethren got greedy. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, took some beautiful clothing and some silver and gold for himself. God was not amused. The very next time the Israelites went to fight -- this time against a puny little city called Ai Israel went to battle with about 3,000 troops, while Ai only had a small company, THEY WON THE BATTLE.
I-WE SEE A PAINFUL DEFEAT: 2-5
A-ISRAEL WAS A CONFIDENT PEOPLE: 2-3
Israel was still basking in the glow of their victory at Jericho and they looked at Ai and felt like that little town would be no problem for such a great army
Israel was a confident people, but a closer look reveals that their confidence was misplaced-in v. 3—they fell like that just a few of the soldiers are needed to secure a victory in little Ai-These people are guilty of resting on their laurels
Israel did not realize it—but they are living through one of the most dangerous times of life-you see—the time just after a great spiritual victory is a dangerous time
often, like Israel we will be over confident and believe that we can handle any battle that comes our way. Proverbs 16:18—"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling"
When Ralph Sampson the all American basketball played at Virginia, they suffered one of the greatest defeat in their history. They played a little NAIA School and got beat. They were overconfident.
So often when God is growing you in your walk with Him or God is growing a Church-you had better watch out—Satan is on his way
Confidence is a good thing as long as one’s confidence is in the right place
B-ISRAEL WAS A CONQUERED PEOPLE: 4-5
When Israel went up to Ai -they suffered a terrible defeat and 36 of their men were killed
It is easy to see that they made several mistakes-mistakes that many of us are guilty of making as well
1)—Nowhere in this passage does it even hint that Joshua and the people of Israel sought the will of God for dealing with Ai. If they had prayed-God would have revealed the problem before people died.
It is far better to consult God before we make the mistake than it is to expect Him to clean up our messes afterwards
2)—They didn’t take the Ark of the Covenant into battle. The Ark symbolized the presence and power of God-they went into the battle in their own strength and they failed
We try to live the Christian life, fight the flesh and the devil in our own power and we fail time after time
C-ISRAEL WAS A CONFOUNED PEOPLE:5
After their terrible defeat at the hands of Ai, the people of Israel are feeling the same fear that their enemies experienced this is one of the problems with sin-It defeats you and leaves you feeling just like a lost man-nothing is right in the life of a believer while there is sin in his midst.
A lady called me one night to visits her and her husband. She said I am miserable, I am miserable. As we talked, I found ut quick there was sin in their life. They confessed their sins and when I left, I got my joy back.
Israel didn’t know at this point what was wrong-thankfully God wants His people to have the victory—not the defeat--------so He takes the necessary steps to reveal to the nation of Israel just exactly where the problem lies
III-WE SEE A PAINFUL DISCOVERY: 6-15
A-A REACTION IN PRAYER:6-9
After the tragedy happens, Joshua and the elders find themselves before the Lord in prayer-their prayer was from a broken heart—notice v. 6
There is also a hint of anger and accusation against the Lord
When you sin, you bring shame not only to yourself, but to your family, your Church and your God.
Psalm 66:18—"If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear"
Joshua wonders why Israel was powerless in the battle----the answer wasn’t to blame God----or to dispute His will----the answer was in their own camp
When there is a defeat in the Church and souls are not being saved and the services are dull and lifeless, we need not blame the Lord. I can assure you to problem is always within
I was in a Revival once that was cold and no movement. I found out later, there were two leaders who were there each night who were involved in affair. They had quenched the Spirit.
B-A REVEALING OF THE PROBLEM: 10-15
While Joshua and Israel try to figure out what is happening—God in heaven already knows and tells Joshua all about it
He tells him that there is sin in the camp of Israel-that it is this sin that is hindering His power and it is what is bringing about their defeat. He also tells Joshua how to discover the guilty party-in these words to Joshua—God gives us some insights into sin of which we need to take note
Often the greatest problems faced by the Church come from within and not for without-you see—it is not the water on the outside of the boat that causes the problems—it is the water on the inside of the boat that causes trouble
More often than not, when there are defeats and trouble in the Church-you can beat that there is someone in the Church who is out of God’s will
At Chevrolet place a man took off his air cleaner. He wanted hear the noise and have more power, but in the end it let did in and destroyed his engine. (sin too)
A man in Silas stunned me when I went to visit him, for I find him with a beer in his hand drinking in front of his children??
III-WE SEE A PAINFUL DEATH: 16-26
A-THE SINNER DISCOVERED: 16-18
God knew who was guilty-why didn’t He just tell Joshua who they were looking for?-In my opinion, He was giving Achan time to repent and to confess his sins-and if he had confessed and repented—it may have turned out differently
The lesson for us needs to be learned well-God already knows your sins and His finger is getting closer and closer to your life
It will not and cannot be hidden forever-Numbers 32:23—"be sure your sin will find you out."
And whenever we take the accursed thing it curses us and our household! Christians should be unhypocritical. Not fake.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, loved practical jokes. Once he sent a telegram to each of twelve friends. All were men of great virtue and respected in society. The telegram said, "Flee at once, your secret is discovered!" Within 24 hours, the story goes, all twelve had left the country!
There may be some playful exaggeration here, but the point is usually true that many people, including Christians, are not what they seem to be.
In reality there is no secret sin, oh it might be a secret to those around about you but it is not his from God.
B-THE SIN DISCUSSED:19-21
When Joshua speaks to Achan, he speaks with love in his heart He knows that Achan is condemned–but Joshua still cares for this man who brought so much trouble to Israel-that’s the way we should try to deal with those in the Church who have sinned
In this Joshua is a symbolic picture of God-while God hates sin with His entire being, He still loves the sinner God still wants man to repent.
Achan finally confessed his sin, —however don’t believe for a second that Achan repented. He like some others in the Bible-only confessed his sins after he got caught in them-but was never in real repentance
The Bible say one day even the lost will confess that Jesus in Lord, in that day, it will be too late.
God wants man to be open and honest about the sin in his life and for him to confess those things to the Lord Proverbs 28:13—"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
You will confess your sins one way or another----you can confess them where the confession will make a difference or you will do it when you face the Lord in judgement
Note the progression in Achan’s sin in v. 21-"I saw"-"I coveted"-I took"
it is and will be this way in nearly any instance of sin you can name
a-I saw: Billy Sunday said, we cant keep the birds from flying over our heads but we can keep them out of hair?
DL Moody, if don’t want to slip down, don’t go in slippery places.
b-I coveted: He was a thief in his heart before he was a thief in practice.
C-I took: It is like the time my mother cooked a chocolate cake, she said, don’t touch or eat it. After she left, I looked(gazed), I coveted(wondered what it tasted like) I took(cut me a piece and ate it)
d-I hid: Man and boy stealing watermelons, man looked in all four direction before he stole them. Boy said daddy, you forgot to look up (God)
Achan forgot to look up to God, thought he would be alright.
Two men tried to pull the front off an ATM by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their pickup truck. Instead of pulling the front panel off the machine, though, they pulled the bumper off their truck. Scared, they left the scene and drove home... With the chain still attached to the machine. With their bumper still attached to the chain. With their vehicle’s license plate still attached to the bumper.
Notice this -Achan had things buried in his tent that he could not use-to use them would be to reveal his character to the entire nation of Israel-in other words—Achan sinned and died for nothing—the things he stole were no good to him at all
C-THE SINNER DESTROYED: 22-26
These verses give us the sad conclusion to this tragic tale-Achan and all that he had were taken out and stoned to death by the people of Israel-these verses demonstrate the horrible end that all sinners who refuse to repent
You say why death for this crime? Because it caused the lives of 36 men.
Let me tell you something, God is against sin ... any sin ... all sin. It makes no difference how we dress it up or shrink it down or explain it away, GOD HATES SIN!
The name of the valley is called "Achor"----this word means trouble-folks if you are going to sin—especially and never repent-you need to know that you are headed for trouble
If you are God child and you have unconfused sin--sin that you have not repented of-sin in your life-you need to know that you sin is a hindrance to the Church
Notice v. 24-25-Key Point-Deuteronomy 24:16-Achan’s wife and children knew about the sin
Did you hear about the wife who was coming down the stairs and asked her husband lying on the sofa what he has been doing.?
He replied, "Killing flies".
She said, "How many have you killed so far?"
He said, "Five, three males and two females."
She said, "How did you figure that out?"
He replied, "Three were sitting on the remote and two were sitting on the phone."
Seriously, stop and consider how much time you spend at home giving attention to spiritual things. I’m not suggesting you walk around like a Pharisee with a verse of scripture taped to your head, or that you throw your tv set out the window. Bit we had better teach our Children about Jesus.
CONCLUSION: Hosea 2:15–"Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up form the land of Egypt."
The promise here is that this place of trouble could become a door of hope--the same is true concerning your sins folks the altar can literally become a door of hope for you right now.
A preacher recently quit the ministry after more than 20 years of faithful, dedicated service and became a funeral director. When asked why he changed vocations, he said:
"I spent 10 years trying to straighten out John and he’s still an alcoholic. Then I spent three and one-half years trying to straighten out Harold and Susan’s marriage problems and they ended up getting a divorce. Later I tried for two years to help Bob kick his drug habit and he is still an addict. Now, at the funeral home, when I straighten them out, they stay straight!"
note-part of this outline came from a sermon by Robert Jones.
