“An Achan, Breakin’ Heart”
Joshua 7:1-26
INTRODUCTION: This morning, we are going to take a look at “An Achan, Breakin’ Heart”. Turn with me to Joshua 7:1-26 – (READ in NLT).
Israel had just come from 40 years of watching God work:
• God led them out of the bondage of Egypt.
• God opened the Red Sea for them to cross over … and drowned the Egyptian army.
• God led them for 40 years with a cloud by day, a fire by night.
• God fed them with manna … gave them water from a rock.
• God clothed them with shoes that never wore out … clothes that never got old.
• God parted the Jordan River for them to cross over into the Promised Land.
• The Amorites fled when they saw them coming.
• God gave them the city of Jericho … all they had to do was march around it 7 times.
NOW … let’s take a look at: (KJV)
7:1 – “But” – They had just come from the successful campaign against Jericho, where “the walls came tumbling down”. “But” … things are about to change.
Achan had disobeyed a direct order from God. See 6:17-19, 24. The riches of Jericho belonged to God … to be put into His treasury. To take any of it for yourself, would bring a CURSE from God. God made it very clear.
NORMALLY, in Bible times, when an army was victorious, a soldier could loot the enemy camp or city, and take the spoils as his pay. BUT … not at Jericho. It was to go onto the treasury of the house of the Lord. Achan, however, took some of the spoils for himself – 7:21.
There is a LESSON here for us. Things had been going so well for Israel, that they had become complacent. They were cocky. They were careless. (We will see this a little later.)
SUCCESS will often lead us to take the Lord for granted. When things are going well … we have money in the bank … our health is good … we’re living on top of the mountain … we tend to forget God. We forget that it is GOD who has blessed us. We tend to think that we got what we’ve got … we are where we are … because WE made it possible. AND … we stray away from God. We are the most vulnerable to temptation, in moments of apparent success.
HOWEVER, when troubles comes, what do we usually do? We turn to God for help. Problems and struggles make us more dependent on God. TRUE? MAYBE … that’s why, like the walls of Jericho, our life comes tumbling down at times. God has to bring us down a notch. God has to make us depend on Him.
7:2-4 – Jericho was a mighty city … fortified … a great defeat. NEXT in their way was Ai. Ai was just a wide place in the camel trail. There wasn’t much to it. No problem! After all, look at what “they did” at Jericho! If “they” could conquer Jericho, “they” could easily take Ai. (COMPARE Gainesville, Bell).
NOTICE … they didn’t even have to pray about Ai. No problem … we can do it … a piece of cake. SO … they failed to seek God’s direction and pray for His strength. The RESULT? They were utterly defeated!
There’s a LESSON here for us. How many times do you start off your day … WITHOUT GOD? Every day, you face struggles with sin … battles with temptation … the need for wisdom, strength and guidance from God. BUT … when you leave God out of your DAY … out of your LIFE … out of your STRUGGLE … you’re in for a tough time … a rough ride. Israel found it out the hard way. We need to learn from their mistake! Many of our failures in life could be avoided, if we FIRST would only go to God in prayer.
7:5 - When they got to Ai, they expected them to surrender in fear and trembling. INSTEAD, they were met with pitchforks, broom handles, and machetes. They only took 3000 of the 40,000 soldiers (4:13) with them. After all, it would be a piece of cake. THEN … when they saw the townspeople attack them, they fled like rats from a burning ship. They were like the Amorites, in 5:1. “The thrill of victory … the agony of defeat”.
7:6-9 – Joshua falls face-down before the Lord. He tells God what’s on his heart. MAYBE … if he would have done 7:6 BEFORE the battle at Ai, he wouldn’t be doing it now.
I don’t think that Joshua is complaining ABOUT GOD, as much as he is complaining TO GOD. God’s reputation was tainted. God’s Name was soiled. 7:9b
There’s a LESSON in this for us. Whenever WE sin … God’s Name, God’s reputation … is at stake. After all, we call ourselves “Christians”, don’t we? Joshua asks God, “What will the Canaanites think about You, when they see how we were defeated by a bunch of country-bumpkins?” – 7:9a.
Let me ask you this … “What will the world think about Jesus, when they see us LIVE like the world … TALK like the world … ACT like the world?” The name of Jesus will be soiled. “Why should I be a Christian? They’re no different than I am! If that’s what a Christian is, then I don’t want to be one!” If you call yourself a “Christian”, you bear His name. You bear the responsibility to bring honor and glory to His name.
NOTICE that Joshua went to God AFTER the problem. WHEN … he should have gone to God BEFORE the problem. We would see a lot fewer problems, if we practiced “preventive prayer”.
7:10 – God tells Joshua to “Get up!” That’s what God wants US to do. When we’ve been defeated in life … “Get up!”. Learn from your defeat. Don’t waste it. Don’t wallow in self-pity and despair. GET UP … repent … do a 1 John 1:9 … and go forward with God. Part of our problem, is that we wallow in sin too long. GET UP! You won’t find VICTORY … UNTIL … you get things right with God … AND … GO ON!
7:11-13 – “GET UP, Joshua … you’ve got some work to do!” NOTICE 7:13 – “sanctify”. Turn to 3:5. When you 1 John 1:9 your sins, you will begin to see God do marvelous things in your life. BUT FIRST … you have to remove the “accursed thing” in your life – 7:13.
What’s YOUR “accursed thing”? MAYBE … it’s a HABIT … or a SECRET SIN … or a SIN OF OMISSION … or an UNFORGIVING SPIRIT … or your TONGUE … or LUST … It could be 1 of 100 different things (I can’t name them all … but, you know YOURS). The message God gave Joshua, is the same message God gives to you & me. You won’t be able to stand in victory before your enemy, Satan, until you bring the “accursed thing” before God for cleansing.
7:14-19 – Can’t you just see Achan sweating it out? After all, there were 3 million of them. How would they ever narrow it down to him?
They brought all the people out … separated into the 12 tribes.
• “Will the tribe of Judah please step forward.” Achan begins to feel uneasy.
• “Will the Zerahite clan please step forward.” Getting a little too close for comfort.
• “Will the family of Zabdi please step forward.” Now, it’s getting personal!
• “Will Achan please step forward.” Caught!
This process probably took some time to complete. Why didn’t God just tell Joshua who it was? NOTICE … that with each weeding out of the people, Achan had the opportunity to confess. BUT … he didn’t. WHY do you think he didn’t? MAYBE … BECAUSE he is just like you & me. We hope we can get away with it!
God has a LESSON here for us … ACTUALLY … SEVERAL LESSONS.
God is giving you a chance to repent and turn from your sins. If you are LOST here today, you are ALIVE. God has given you a chance to repent of your sins, and turn to Him. HOWEVER … someday, it will be too late. Numbers 32:23 – “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.” As long as you have breath, you have opportunity. BUT … once you close your eyes in death, the opportunity to confess and repent is GONE. You must face God’s judgment.
CHRISTIAN … your sins were judged on Calvary. Jesus took your punishment, and you have received pardon because you have trusted Him, as your Lord and Savior, to take the penalty for your sins. HOWEVER … if there are sins in your life that’s keeping you … from enjoying His presence … from serving Him … from walking with Him … from living for Him … THEN … you need to confess and repent BEFORE you stand before Him in judgment for your Christian life.
God has given us TIME. BUT … we never know when our time will run out.
ANOTHER LESSON. No sin is “secret”. There’s no such thing as a “secret sin”. MAYBE you’ve hidden it from your spouse … your children … your parents … the person sitting next to you, behind or in front. BUT … you haven’t hidden it from God!
How many times do we sin, and think, “Nobody will know!” BUT … sin gets UNCOVERED … AND … sinners get DISCOVERED. It might not happen right away … BUT … it WILL HAPPEN. It might not happen until the day of judgment (the G.W.T. or the BEMA) … BUT … it will happen.
7:20-21 – Achan CONFESSES his sin … BUT … only after he’s caught! It’s a little late. God gave him a chance to REPENT, but he waited too late. (is there a LESSON here?)
NOTICE the PROCESS of his sin in 7:21.
“I saw” – There’s no sin yet. Someone said, “Sin doesn’t start until the second look.” King David hadn’t sinned by seeing Bathsheba bathing. He sinned when he took a second look, and gazed with lust in his heart.
“I coveted” – This is where sin began. You “covet” when you are DISCONTENT with what you have, and want what isn’t yours to take. James 1:14-15 tells us, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. [15] Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
“I took” – The THOUGHT became an ACT. If he would have recognized the THOUGHT as a sin, confessed it, and turned to the Lord for forgiveness and strength, he never would have taken of the accursed thing. BUT … he gave in to his desires.
“I hid” – Why did he HIDE them? BECAUSE … he knew it was WRONG! He had a guilty conscience. When you have a guilty conscious, it should start ringing some bells. “HELLO! Something’s wrong! I need to DO SOMETHING about this!”
Achan had to “hide” his booty, because if he wore the clothes, spent the money, he would be discovered. What good did it do him? He hid the loot, and walked around every day like nothing was wrong. Does that describe you? Nobody knows! BUT … you do. God does. AND … you can’t even ENJOY yourself! “Secret sins” have a way of not being all that fulfilling, don’t they?
I NOTICE another thing. He didn’t really NEED the loot! See 7:24. He was already a man of means. WHY did he take them? His sin was inspired by GREED … not by NEED.
Why do WE sin? To fulfill a NEED? I don’t think so … even thou we might THINK so at the time. We sin because we COVET. We’re DISCONTENT with what we have. We want what isn’t ours to take.
That was true in the life of Adam & Eve … the first sin.
• They “saw” the fruit …
• They “coveted” what Satan said they could gain from eating it … the knowledge of good & evil … GREED.
• They “took” the forbidden fruit.
• They “hid” from God.
Was it worth it? It never is!
7:22-26 – Pretty HARSH, isn’t it? Achan knew it was wrong … BUT … he did it anyhow. Punishment isn’t supposed to be a cake-walk. 36 men died because of Achan. God gave him a chance to confess and repent … BUT … he didn’t do it. He paid the price.
ANOTHER LESSON. His sin didn’t just affect HIM … it affected OTHERS. 36 men died in the battle of Ai. 36 families lost loved-ones. NOTICE in 7:24. His whole family was punished. WHY? PROBABLY … because they knew about it all along. They might have been accomplices. They might even have helped him bury it … or helped him keep it hidden. We don’t know for sure.
Achan’s sin affected more than just himself. See 7:1. Twice it states that “the children of Israel” were affected. 36 men were affected. His family was affected.
Your sin isn’t just “your sin”. It affects your family … your church … the Christian community … the name of Christ. FATHERS, when you don’t bring your family to church on a regular basis, it affects your children. The sin of a Christian marrying an unbeliever affects the whole family. The sin of gossip … the sin of adultery … the sin of disobedience to parents … etc. It affects … and infects … more than just YOU.
CONCLUSION:
Proverbs 28:13 – “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
You don’t have to confess your sins to me … UNLESS … your sin is against me. ALL our sins are against God. It’s to HIM that we need to go and confess and repent.
Achan suffered from “An Achan, Breakin’ Heart”. You don’t have to. God has provided a way of CLEANSING. 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Take your “secret sins” to the Lord. Come clean … and He will make you clean.
STAND – PRAYER
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“An Achan, Breakin’ Heart”
Joshua 7:1-26
INTRODUCTION: Israel had witnessed God’s blessings.
7:1 – “But” – Achan disobeyed 6:17-19,24, 7:21
- We are the most vulnerable in times of success.
- Troubles usually bring us to God … to depend on Him.
7:2-4 – They failed to seek God’s direction about Ai.
- Don’t leave God out of your day, life, or struggles.
- Failures can be avoided by going to God FIRST.
7:5 – Instead of victory, they were like the Amorites – 5:1
7:6-9 – God’s name was soiled by the defeat.
- We soil the name of Christ by not living up to His name.
- We need to practice “preventive prayer”.
7:10 – When you sin, “Get up!” and 1 John 1:9.
7:11-13 – “sanctify” – see 3:5.
- Remove the “accursed thing” from your life.
7:14-19 – Achan hoped he could get away with it.
- God gave him time to repent … but he didn’t.
- Someday, it will be too late – Numbers 32:23
- There’s no such thing as a “secret sin”.
- If not before, it will be uncovered at judgment.
7:20-21 – Achan confesses AFTER he gets caught.
- The PROCESS of his sin:
• “I saw” – ‘Sin doesn’t start until the second look.’
• “I coveted” – Discontentment – James 1:14-15
• “I took” – The thought becomes an act.
• “I hid” – He had a guilty conscience … “Hello!”
- Achan couldn’t even enjoy his sin … it wasn’t fulfilling.
- He didn’t really NEED the loot – 7:24
- Sin … it’s never worth it!
7:22-26 – Achan paid the price.
- His sin affected OTHERS … not just himself – 7:1
CONCLUSION: - Proverbs 28:13 – “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
- God has provided a way of cleansing - 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
