Life apart from God.

Joshua 7:1–13 NKJV

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water. 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?” 10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

I. The sin of robbing God.

The Hebrews word for trespass has multiple ways of translating. But, the common theme is the idea of unfaithfulness. Specifically in regards to marriage. The idea in this passage is that Israel had committed an act of unfaithfulness to God.

They did not simply keep goods from Jericho, they partook in the wickedness of the city, and in doing so they rejected God.

Joshua 7:20–21 NKJV

20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

A. The result is destruction.

The population of AI was about 12,000 people. Israel was arrogant and said only send 3,000 men. Ai is small.

We see that Israel mistook God’s victory as their own.

The result of their arrogance and sin was the loss of 36 mens lives.

However, the damage was more than the loss of life, this defeat served as an embarrassment to Israel and God.

Jericho had feared Israel, and now a little city if AI had defeated the mighty Israeli army.

Joshua 7:9 NKJV

9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”

B. The Impact is broad.

One family sinned, but the punishment was upon the entire nation.

Joshua 7:1 NKJV

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.

II. The sin of forgetting God.

Joshua 7:2–3 NKJV

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.”

There was a two-fold sin in this story. The first was Achan’s sin of robbing from God. The second was Joshua’s failure to follow God. Joshua did not consult God before the battle. Up until this point God had directed all of Joshua’s moves. He had led him to the Jordan, across the Jordan, around Jericho, and defeating Jericho. All of these steps were led by specific direction from God. However, this time Joshua does not consult the Lord. Instead, he did what Moses did. He sent men to scout and followed their advice, never stopping to se what God wanted.

A. Can result in a loss of faith.

Joshua 7:7–8 NKJV

7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?

Even after the defeat of Jericho and the parting of the Jordan, Joshua stated that he desired to be in the desert.

He and Israel sinned, but they pointed fingers at God.

B. Can result in a loss of progress.

Not only was their faith lost, so was their momentum. They were coming off of a great victory, and now their are stunted. There is no progress, only defeat.

When we forget God we will see no spiritual maturity or victories in our life.

Many times I’ve heard people say that prayer doesn’t work. Their is no point in following God or doing right. Yet, typically this mindset is a result of sin and not God.

III. A call to repentance.

Joshua 7:10–13 NKJV

10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

A. A return to action.

B. A call to sanctification.

Repentance and holiness.

Joshua 7:19 NKJV

19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

The valley of trouble.

Joshua 7:26 NKJV

26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.