Joshua 7:1-26
Have you ever been in a situation where you were with a group of people, having a good time without a care in the world and then somebody gets out of hand? They mess up the whole atmosphere and ruin the good time for everybody. Well, that is exactly what happened in this part of the story for the Israelites.
God had tested their faithfulness to conquer Jericho and they were successful. They had followed his instructions to the letter, and they were rewarded with inhabiting the land. Their faith and confidence were high, their doubt and fear were low, and they were ready to go on to the next town in Canaan - Ai. As had become his custom, Joshua sent his spies to the land and they came back with their report.
They essentially told him, "we got this!", because there were so few inhabitants of Ai. In fact they told Joshua that they wouldn't even need the whole army to take them out. So they sent a small group, about 3,000 soldiers in, expecting to defeat them soundly and make way for further movement into that land.
Little did they know, there was a bad apple in the bunch. So they went to Ai to crush the few people who were there, only to be overpowered and run out by them, losing about 36 men as they retreated! Of course, Joshua was extremely disappointed and all the people were shocked and their fear returned to them. The Lord had been with them, making them victorious and now all of a sudden he wasn't. What happened?
Well, in the midst of Joshua's pity party, he asked God that very thing. How did that happen and what was going to happen next? Everyone would hear about how they were defeated by such a small troop and they would become easy prey, sitting ducks. They would bring shame to the name of the Lord! But God told him to pull himself together and stop his crying and complaining. They had brought it on themselves because not everyone in the group had followed all the instructions concerning the taking of Jericho.
Can you imagine how Joshua must have felt, or what he must have been thinking? Here he was doing the right thing, leading the people, following the plan and somebody in his group was sabotaging everything! To put it in the terms of some of my friends, he must have been 38 hot! Not only did God tell him what was done, he told him exactly how to go about finding the one who did it, so he could be destroyed and Israel could be saved.
So, at the Lord's direction, Joshua called everybody together, lined up by tribe. The tribe of the guilty man was called forward, then his clan, then his family and finally him - Achan. Then came the 'I know you did it, just admit it' moment, and sure enough he did. He had stolen a robe and some silver and gold that was supposed to consecrated to God and hidden it in his tent. The search team went and found it just as he described. And so he was punished.
But, not so fast. Remember that whole 'one bad apple' thing? Yeah, so just as his sin had caused Israel to lose a battle (and some confidence), his punishment would cost him his life. If only that were all. But wait, there's more! It also cost the lives of his entire family...sons, daughters, livestock...everybody and everything (including the things he stole)! They were all taken out to the valley of Achor and stoned, then burned them.
My, oh my. So the next time you feel like watching someone do the wrong thing and not saying anything, think about this story. Everybody was doing what was right, except one individual man; and his disobedience and greed caused so much turmoil and trouble for the entire group. We are our brother's keepers. We cannot be constantly surrounded by sin and not expect to be affected by it; especially when it is that of a fellow believer. We, first have to recognize it, then get rid of it. Otherwise, we stand to face the consequences of having done it ourselves. Fortunately for us, Jesus already died as the ultimate sacrifice, but that does not excuse us from our responsibility of holding each other accountable for our actions.
So I pray, Lord, please keep me from sin for the sake of my brothers and sisters in Christ, if not for my own. Help me to recognize sin in others and give me a heart of love and patience to confront them about it. Give us all a repentant heart, Lord, when sin does make its way into our lives, so that we will not dishonor your name. Help us to always be obedient to your will and not let the riches and lusts of this world take over. Keep us pure in your sight and set apart for your service. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were with a group of people, having a good time without a care in the world and then somebody gets out of hand? They mess up the whole atmosphere and ruin the good time for everybody. Well, that is exactly what happened in this part of the story for the Israelites.
God had tested their faithfulness to conquer Jericho and they were successful. They had followed his instructions to the letter, and they were rewarded with inhabiting the land. Their faith and confidence were high, their doubt and fear were low, and they were ready to go on to the next town in Canaan - Ai. As had become his custom, Joshua sent his spies to the land and they came back with their report.
They essentially told him, "we got this!", because there were so few inhabitants of Ai. In fact they told Joshua that they wouldn't even need the whole army to take them out. So they sent a small group, about 3,000 soldiers in, expecting to defeat them soundly and make way for further movement into that land.
Little did they know, there was a bad apple in the bunch. So they went to Ai to crush the few people who were there, only to be overpowered and run out by them, losing about 36 men as they retreated! Of course, Joshua was extremely disappointed and all the people were shocked and their fear returned to them. The Lord had been with them, making them victorious and now all of a sudden he wasn't. What happened?
Well, in the midst of Joshua's pity party, he asked God that very thing. How did that happen and what was going to happen next? Everyone would hear about how they were defeated by such a small troop and they would become easy prey, sitting ducks. They would bring shame to the name of the Lord! But God told him to pull himself together and stop his crying and complaining. They had brought it on themselves because not everyone in the group had followed all the instructions concerning the taking of Jericho.
Can you imagine how Joshua must have felt, or what he must have been thinking? Here he was doing the right thing, leading the people, following the plan and somebody in his group was sabotaging everything! To put it in the terms of some of my friends, he must have been 38 hot! Not only did God tell him what was done, he told him exactly how to go about finding the one who did it, so he could be destroyed and Israel could be saved.
So, at the Lord's direction, Joshua called everybody together, lined up by tribe. The tribe of the guilty man was called forward, then his clan, then his family and finally him - Achan. Then came the 'I know you did it, just admit it' moment, and sure enough he did. He had stolen a robe and some silver and gold that was supposed to consecrated to God and hidden it in his tent. The search team went and found it just as he described. And so he was punished.
But, not so fast. Remember that whole 'one bad apple' thing? Yeah, so just as his sin had caused Israel to lose a battle (and some confidence), his punishment would cost him his life. If only that were all. But wait, there's more! It also cost the lives of his entire family...sons, daughters, livestock...everybody and everything (including the things he stole)! They were all taken out to the valley of Achor and stoned, then burned them.
My, oh my. So the next time you feel like watching someone do the wrong thing and not saying anything, think about this story. Everybody was doing what was right, except one individual man; and his disobedience and greed caused so much turmoil and trouble for the entire group. We are our brother's keepers. We cannot be constantly surrounded by sin and not expect to be affected by it; especially when it is that of a fellow believer. We, first have to recognize it, then get rid of it. Otherwise, we stand to face the consequences of having done it ourselves. Fortunately for us, Jesus already died as the ultimate sacrifice, but that does not excuse us from our responsibility of holding each other accountable for our actions.
So I pray, Lord, please keep me from sin for the sake of my brothers and sisters in Christ, if not for my own. Help me to recognize sin in others and give me a heart of love and patience to confront them about it. Give us all a repentant heart, Lord, when sin does make its way into our lives, so that we will not dishonor your name. Help us to always be obedient to your will and not let the riches and lusts of this world take over. Keep us pure in your sight and set apart for your service. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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