The Discipline Of The Body Of Believers Series

So, Achan saw, he coveted and he took and the process of his sin was a familiar one. It’s what Eve did with the forbidden fruit when it says, she saw, she desired and then she took. And then we see the same progression with David in his sin with Bathsheba where it says he saw, he desired and then he took another man’s wife and it’s also the same with us. If you focus on something long enough there’s no turning back.

I used to have a friend from Virginia who’d say, “Its one thing to see a bird flying overhead but it’s an altogether different thing when you let him land in your head and start picking bugs.”

Look again at what he took. It says he took gold and silver which suggests materialism but he also had a beautiful robe from Babylon which tells us he wanted to be fashionable even if it was in private. These things represent the things we can want that will not only destroy our faith but can even dominate our lives. They can include things like the desire for position, power, prestige, pleasure, possessions, praise or even recognition.

So, here was Achan trying his best to get what he wanted out of life. And do you know that the strange part is? God had promised and was in the process of taking them all where they’d have their own land, houses and blessings on everything they’d get.

So, he says, “I saw, I coveted and I took them.” And when he says “I saw” this was the beginning his sin like it’s the beginning of all sin but it doesn’t have to be. He could have turned his back and did what he came to do. And just like Achan we find ourselves exposed to things we shouldn’t be and to a degree it’s something we should expect but it’s not the seeing of these things that’s the problem; but it’s the second look that’s wrong. It’s like we know it’s wrong to see certain things but if we go back and take a second look that’s where the problem begins.

And then it says he coveted them. The New Testament defines coveting as idolatry and idolatry is seeking from other things what only God can give.

So, he knew he couldn’t and shouldn’t have them but he wanted them anyway. And do you know what the strange part of this is? He wanted something he didn’t need and something he couldn’t use. I mean, what was he going to do with a Babylonian coat? He certainly couldn’t wear it in public. And there was no where to spend the money and there was nothing to do with the gold. There were no stores, so, all he could do is look at them. But, it says, he saw, he coveted and then he took them. There was 200 shekels of silver which adds up to about 5 pounds and that’s worth about $525 today. And then it says he also saw a wedge of gold and a wedge weighed fifty shekels which is worth around $6,700 today.

I guess the great philosopher Forest Gump was right when he said, “There is only so much fortune a man really needs and the rest is just showing off.”

It’s interesting that Achan referred to these things as "spoils" in verse 21 but they weren’t "the spoils" but they were a part of the Lord’s treasury and they were supposed to be wholly dedicated to Him. They didn’t belong to Achan and they didn’t belong to Israel but they belonged to God.