Text: Joshua 7

Theme: Great victories can be tainted by great spiritual defeats. Hidden sins have visible consequences.

Intro:

  1. In chapter 6, we looked at Israel’s victory over the city of Jericho.
    a. Jericho was, from a human perspective, an impregnable fortress with huge walls and determined defenders.
    b. God instructed Israel to march around the city once for 6 days, and then on the seventh day, to march around the city 7 times, at which point the walls fell down and the city was taken by Israel.
    c. God gave Israel a warning against taking anything from the city for themselves. Everything was to be burned with fire except the precious metals which were to be given to God.
  2. In chapter 7, we find that a certain man named Achan had disobeyed God by taking some of the spoils from Jericho for himself.
    a. The sin of Achan affected the entire nation of Israel, because God lifted His blessing off the nation until the sin was dealt with. The result being that Israel was defeated by a small force at Ai.
    b. Today we will break down the passage under the following headings:
    • Israel’s Defeat at Ai (Vs 1-5)
    • Israel’s Sin Revealed (Vs 6-15)
    • Achan’s Sin Exposed (Vs 16-26)

I. Israel’s Defeat at Ai (Vs 1-5)

    1. But Achan had sinned against God by taking the accursed thing and hiding it in his tent.Israel had angered God (Vs 1)
      a. Achan had thought he could get away with transgressing the commandment of God.
      – God had clearly commanded Israel to keep themselves pure from the accursed thing.
      Joshua 6:18 “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jos 6:18–19.
      b.       But Achan sinned against God by taking the accursed thing and stealing from the treasury of God.
      – Leviticus 27:28-29 “Notwithstanding no devoted thing (cherem), that a man shall devote (charam) unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD. None devoted (cherem), which shall be devoted (charam) of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.”
      –       Leviticus 27 is outlining God’s perspective on the things consecrated and things tithed unto God. The Hebrew word cherem / charam was used to describe things that were dedicated to the LORD. Anything that was devoted to God, belonged to God and was to be destroyed without any possibility of redemption.
    2. God still desires His people to be pure from sin and the world.
      a. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
      b.       What are some things that come to mind that we ought to keep ourselves pure from?
      – Drunkenness
      – Idolatry – Putting any other thing before God
      – Fornication / Adultery
      – Worldly life-styles and ungodly music
    3. Israel presumed victory (Vs 2-5)
      a. Jericho had been soundly defeated, and Israel was now preparing to go on the attack once again. But there are two major differences between these attacks.
      – The first difference is that Israel had reconsecrated themselves to God just prior to the attack on Jericho, meaning they had dealt with the issue of sin before the attack.
      – The second difference is that Israel was led by God in the attack on Jericho, but they presumed to make their own plans of attack when it came to Ai.
      b. The instruction we can take from these two observations is also two-fold:
      – We need to keep short accounts with God and not allow unconfessed sin to fly under the radar.
      – We need to be constantly led by God, in the big battles and in the small ones.
      c. The result of Achan’s sin was that Israel suffered defeat.
      – Their assumption that God was powerful enough to give them victory was correct, but their assumption that they deserved God’s blessing was wrong.

II. Israel’s Sin Revealed (Vs 6-15)

  1. Joshua sought God in prayer (Vs 6-9)
    a. Joshua’s initial response was to rend his clothes, bow down upon his face before the Ark of God, and put dust upon his head. These actions were a sign of total desperation and complete self-abasement.
    – The tones of his prayer indicate that Joshua was hurting because of the defeat, leading to an initial regret for having begun down the path of fight and faith in the first place.
    – In verse 8, Joshua’s tone moves toward reason as he effectively asks God, “What am I going to do if you won’t give us the victory over our enemies?”
    Joshua, and all Israel, had received a rude awakening to the fact that they would not possess the land unless God went with them and gave their enemies into their hand.
    b. Finally, Joshua pleads with God to uphold the greatness of his own name by helping his people.
  2. God revealed Israel’s sin (Vs 10-15)
    a. No doubt, this was the first that Joshua had heard of the problem, but God required immediate action to be taken to get rid of the sin in the camp.
    – Achan had stolen what belonged to God, he had deceitfully taken it for himself, and he had hidden it among his own personal belongings.
    – God promised Israel that He would not be with them any longer if they refused to deal with this sin.
    b. The point is this, you cannot demand God’s blessing upon your life, and you cannot expect God to give His blessing when you refuse to deal with the sin that lingers in your life.
    God will eventually bring you to a place where you can no longer put off dealing with the sin and you will have to decide whether you will have your sin or have God’s blessing.

III. Achan’s Sin Exposed (Vs 16-26)

  1. The source of sin was investigated (16-23)
    a.“In accordance with the Word of the Lord all Israel was called to stand before God, and Joshua cast lots to determine the particular tribe in which the guilty party was to be found. The casting of lots was an Old Testament way of determining the mind of the Lord.”[1] H. A. Ironside, Addresses on the Book of Joshua. (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1950), 79
    b. When the lot fell on Achan, Joshua adjured him to confess his sin before the people so that God would have the glory in the exposing of this sin and the subsequent judgement.
    – Achan confessed to the sin and the fact that he had hid the Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a 50-shekel wedge of gold in his tent.
    – Joshua then sent men to search Achan’s tent and confirm the items were with him, which the men then brought and laid them before Israel.
  2. The source of sin was dealt with (Vs 24-26)
    a. The people took Achan and his family, along with the stolen goods and all of Achan’s belongings to the valley of Achor.
    – All Israel then took up stones and stoned Achan and his family and burned the bodies to completely destroy the pollution from Israel.
    – God still wants us to take sin seriously today and to allow Him to destroy the sin in our lives, and the pollution of the world from our hearts.
    b. God saw the nation of Israel deal with the sin and he turned from the fierceness of his anger.
    – The punishment of sin satisfied the justice of God and turned his anger away from the nation of Israel.
    – When the sinless Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, his sacrifice satisfied the justice of God, and if we will accept the blood of the Lord Jesus as the atonement for our sins, then we can have peace with God, and the wrath of God will no longer abide on us.
    – Today, if you will repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and peace with God, then you can know that your sins are forgiven and that you have a home awaiting you in heaven when you die.

Conclusion:

  1. Is there a sin in your life that had gone on unconfessed and which is hindering the blessing of God in your life?
  2. Have you been simply assuming that God will bless you without considering if there is something in your life that is offending God and limiting His blessing?
  3. Have you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? If not, will you do that today?