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Lessons
For The 21st Century From OT Saints And Sinners
The Man Whose Sin Brought Calamity
Joshua 7
Introduction: The Princess And The Pea
She
tried lying on her back. She tried lying on her front. She
tried curling up on her side in a tight little ball, but still
she felt it! Her host had piled mattress upon mattress to
bear her tender frame, yet she tossed fitfully through the
night and slept not a wink.
“A
nasty, painful lump afforded me no rest at all,” she complained
the next morning.
“Surely,
you are a princess,” her host exclaimed. “For only a princess
has such a delicate composition to sense, at the base of mattresses
stacked twenty high, a tiny garden pea.”
Hans
Christian Anderson’s
amusing tale of The Princess and The Pea illustrates a somber reality.
Even the smallest irritant—a seemingly pea-sized sin, for
example—can cause us great discomfort. For this is the nature
of sin. It always takes its toll on us—ALWAYS. And sometimes,
as in our Old Testament account this morning—The Man Whose
Sin Brought Calamity—it takes its toll on many others as well,
even an entire nation.
Let’s
look at four observations about sin and how it affects life.
Some Sins Are Silent… Others Shout
How can one small sin possibly cause widespread
havoc? Isn’t sin personal and limited in scope?
It
is true that some sins are silent—private between the Creator
and His created. But pea-sized or not, sin is sin and some
sins shout. It not only grieves the heart of God, it also
obstructs our fellowship with Him. John emphasizes this fact
in what we call his first epistle.
This
is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you:
God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we
are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on
living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light,
then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of
Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have
no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the
truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar
and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
1 John 1:5-10 NLT
John
describes sin as a personal problem between us and God. We
will see, however, in our OT story how there are times when
personal, silent sin crescendos into something that is very
public and very destructive. Much like you can slowly turn
up the volume on a sound system from an almost impossible
to hear whisper to a deafening din, personal sin can become
a blaring, life-shattering cacophony of dissonant noise that
cannot be ignored.
Some Days Are Glorious… Others Are Grim
This
morning’s story tells how one man’s secret and seemingly silent
sin shouted calamity to an entire nation. As you recall from
last Sunday’s account, Israel had just entered the Promised
Land after forty years of withering wilderness wandering.
Their first military encounter in their new homeland was an
earth-shaking success. They watched as the imposing walls
of Jericho toppled like a house of cards caught in an F 5
tornado. The most difficult military objective had been achieved.
With that victory they must have thought, “Taking the rest
of Canaan will be a piece of cake.” Some days are glorious,
but others are grim.
One
of the most important words to watch for when you study Scripture
is that tiny oppositional conjunction “but”. It is an ominous,
bubble-bursting word! It invades the story at this point.
Following immediately on the heels of the acclaim from the
great victory over Jericho we read,
But
the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted
things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah,
of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger
burned against Israel.
Joshua
7:1 NIV
You
may not remember clearly what the devoted things were or how
Achan does something so awful that all of Israel suffers for
his sin. We need to see exactly what he did to rankle the
Lord so much that He held the entire nation responsible. We
will see all of that as the story unfolds, but for now Joshua
and the nation are not aware that something has gone so terribly
wrong. So, they launch their next military mission blissfully
unaware of their peril.
Following
the conventional approach, Joshua sends spies to scope out
the next site to be taken—the little city of Ai, really just
an outpost to the east of Bethel. When they return, the spies
confidently assure Joshua that only a few thousand soldiers
are needed to take care of this puny foe.
So,
without bothering to consult the Lord, Joshua sends a small
contingent of soldiers to handle the city and then turns his
thoughts to more important matters. This is a hard lesson
they will all learn from the Lord. The Israelite troops have
a surprise waiting for them.
So
about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by
the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased
the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries
and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of
the people melted and became like water.
Joshua 7:4-5 NIV
As
the news of the shocking defeat surges through the camp, it’s
as though a million volts of humiliation stuns the people.
Their self-confidence shatters just as the mighty walls of
Jericho had. Whispers and rumors of discontent spread like
wildfire. Joshua even puts the words into a prayer.
Then
Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before
the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders
of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.
And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever
bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the
hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content
to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can
I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The
Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about
this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from
the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"
Joshua 7:6-9 NIV
Just
like anyone else who has experienced a totally unexpected
defeat, in agony Joshua pleads with the Lord to give him a
reason for this fiasco. He asks God why God did this awful
thing. It has to be very hard to be God—frequently accused
when things go wrong and rarely thanked when things go well.
It never occurs to him that there is another reason—hidden
sin in the camp.
The
Lord tells Joshua exactly why this happened. He tells Joshua
that someone violated the ban God issued before the conquest
of Jericho. God’s instructions had been clear. Outside of
Rahab and her family, the gold, silver and bronze were to
be devoted to the treasury of the Lord and everything else
was to be destroyed. God’s warning at the time was clear.
But
keep away from the devoted things, so you will not bring about
your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you
will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring
trouble on it. Joshua
6:18 NIV
God
tells Joshua someone has violated the ban. You have to love
the way God approaches the problem.
The
LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down
on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant,
which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the
devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have
put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites
cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs
and run because they have been made liable to destruction.
I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever
among you is devoted to destruction.
Joshua 7:10-12 NIV
Joshua
remembers God’s instructions—now. If he had taken time to
seek God before launching the attack I believe God would have
made the sin clear right then. Soundly defeated, they seek
God now. God asks Joshua what’s he’s doing on his face seeking
God’s direction. God had already made clear what would happen.
Joshua and the elders should have been able to add 2+2 and
get four. They hadn’t. God makes clear what has happened and
tells them it’s time to get up and take care of the problem.
They
have just one small detail to figure out. They know someone
has disobeyed the command. The relational flow between God
and His people has been shorted out. They don’t know who the
person is. While they may be wondering how the sin of just
one person can affect so many innocent people—including 36
who died—they know they need to find out who it is and deal
with the person.
Some Reasons Are Clear… Others Are Confusing
Replaying
his memory tapes of the conquest of Jericho, Joshua struggles
to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Sometimes the reasons
are clear; other times it’s all very confusing. Was it this
person? Was it that person? Did it happen while my back was
turned? Who had the opportunity? This is agony for any leader—and
Joshua feels the full weight of the agony as he tries to figure
out, “Who could it have been—and why?”
As
Joshua wrestles with the problem I wonder if Achan struggles
with his conscience. Does he know the families of the 36 men
who died? Does he understand they died because of his sin?
I wonder if he winced in pain as he began connecting his sin
with their deaths.
What
does Achan do? He keeps quiet. As long as the things he took
remain hidden, as long as he keeps his mouth shut… as long
as no one finds out… as long as… I wonder if he had trouble
sleeping that night. How can anyone sleep with death on his
conscience and stolen goods in his tent? How? I don’t know
how, but I do know that people sure try.
Some Consequences Are Personal… Others Are Public
The
next morning Joshua knows he must act in three roles that
every leader dreads: prosecutor, judge and jury. Sometimes
the consequences of sin are personal; other times they are
glaringly public. Gloom descends as Joshua implements the
instructions God has provided for identifying and disciplining
the sinner.
"Go,
consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in
preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God
of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel.
You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.
“‘In
the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe
that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan
that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and
the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man.
He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed
by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated
the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing
in Israel!'"
Joshua 7:13-15 NIV
Through
the drawing of lots, the tribe of Judah is picked. Then it
is narrowed to the family of the Zerahites and from them the
household of Zimri. And then…
Achan’s
mind is reeling: “This can’t be possible. Someone must have
seen me and turned me in. I wonder who betrayed me.” As all
the men in his family file by Joshua, his eyes are riveted
to the lots. Since there were no eyewitnesses, God fingers
the thief by the drawing of lots. The most likely way this
was done was by writing names on broken pieces of pottery
and then drawing them out of an urn. When Achan’s lot is drawn,
the crowd gasps and then falls into a deathly silence. Achan
stands without moving—as if in a trance—bearing the full weight
of his guilt as his sin is fully exposed.
Then
Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD,
the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you
have done; do not hide it from me."
Achan
replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD,
the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in
the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels
of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted
them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my
tent, with the silver underneath."
So
Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there
it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.
They took the things
from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites
and spread them out before the LORD.
Joshua 7:19-22 NIV
Achan
had given in to his greed. His eyes had seen the precious
items, his heart had coveted them and his hands had taken
and hidden them. Maybe he had decided he deserved something
for the years he had spent wandering in the wilderness. For
whatever reason, he took them. He took them in private. He
hid them in private. But now, how naked and public and obscenely
pathetic his sin appears as the purloined plunder is piled
at his feet for all to see.
With
the suspect arrested, the confession recorded, the evidence
displayed and the sentence pronounced, Joshua has one duty
left to perform. Execution is the verdict. With no plea bargaining
or cry of rights being violated, Achan, his family and all
he owns are taken to the Valley of Achor (Trouble) where they
are stoned, burned and memorialized under a giant mausoleum
of stones.
Lingering Lessons
Like
life, the stories in the Bible don’t always have fairy-tale
endings. The lessons God wants to teach us are too important
to be trivialized. Often, a tragedy is the best way to get
our attention. Let’s allow Achan’s tragedy to grab our attention
and learn the lessons God has for us.
1st
Lesson: There Is A Unique Stench Connected With Suspicion
The
closer we walk with God, the more sensitive our spiritual
noses become. We can detect more quickly the suspicious stench
of sin. Joshua’s failure came from assuming the victory would
be won. He failed to spend time seeking the Lord’s will. Once
the defeat occurred he fell on his face before God and found
out just exactly what was wrong. It’s a keen intuition that
comes from being with the Lord that tells us something fishy
is going on. It can’t really be explained any more than that.
We tune ourselves to God’s Spirit and He tunes our hearts
so that we are sensitive to and aware of sin.
2nd
Lesson: An Absence Of Peace Accompanies Hidden Sin
When
Achan first stole the robe and the precious metals, he must
have felt very satisfied. He possessed what he desired. It
was his. Maybe he slept well the first night. Maybe he dreamed
of the treasures that were his and what he would be able to
do with them. Maybe he was proud of how cunning he was and
that he had gotten away with it. Did the treasure start to
tarnish? Did his mind turn often to his hiding place as he
wondered if anyone had noticed the ground had been disturbed?
Did his mind start flashing like a neon sign pointing to the
place where his treasure and sin laid buried.
That’s
the way it with sin. Sin jabs at the conscience. The pain
caused is designed by God to stir us to action.
3rd
Lesson: When Wrong Is Uncovered, God Honors Swift And Decisive
Action
What
God wants to do in and through our lives is too important
for us to allow hidden sin to cut the lines to Him. He is
our source of power. Why do we live powerless lives? We cut
the lines.
How do we restore power? We deal with the sin. While it isn’t fun we follow the
clear directives of Scripture and God honors that action with
His presence and power.
Joshua
and Israel went on to conquer Ai, along with most of Canaan.
In spite of his successes our eyes return—as they must—to
the pile of stones in Achan’s Valley of Trouble. It reminds
us of the pain in our troublesome valleys. There are times
we take the role of Achan. There are times we must deal with
the sin like Joshua did. There are other times we are the
innocent people who drink the bitter cup of someone else’s
not-really-so-secret-sin.
We
stand like mourners at the grave, and we remember. As we remember,
God calls us to act.
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