A Door In The Valley

The story of Achan is a tragic one we find in Scripture. When Israel miraculously conquered the city of Jericho, they had been given a command by God not to take any of the spoils of the city. While Jericho had many rich things to offer, the command had been given that only the articles of silver, gold, brass or iron could be taken and they were only to be taken to be used in the Tabernacle. No individual person was to take anything from the city. And no one did except Achan. He became overwhelmed by the treasures he saw going to waste so he took some clothing, some silver and a wedge of gold. Of course, Achan couldn’t wear the clothes or spend the money because then everyone would know he had taken them. So he hid them in the ground under his tent. Israel continued from Jericho in their conquest of the land continuing to the next city, Ai. Ai was a small city which should have been easily conquered but somehow they defeated the Israelites and killed many. When Joshua went before the Lord, the Lord revealed to him there was sin in the camp. God led Joshua to the man Achan and the sin soon became apparent as Achan confessed what he had done. Because of the sin, Achan and his family were punished with death. Afterwards, Israel went on to successfully conquer the city of Ai.

The tragic story of Achan became something of a legend or warning in Israel from this day.

From the time of Jericho until the time of Ai could have been several weeks up until several months. In that time, Achan kept what he had stolen hidden under his tent. Perhaps the first few nights he didn’t sleep much knowing what he was hiding, knowing what was right beneath him. Any noise may have startled him. Any unusual activity may have caused him to be anxious. And it was all because there was something under his tent which wasn’t supposed to be there. 

While it may not be stolen things, there are things we sometimes hide in our lives. We hide things we want no one else to know about or find. This reveals itself in conversations and actions; there are certain areas we have blocked off because of what is hidden in there. It could be sin like Achan. It could be secrets no one else knows about. It could be shame and guilt. It could be attitudes and resentments. It could be secret addictions and pleasures. Hiding something sets off your brain’s emergency system. When you hide parts of yourself, your brain starts treating things like a threat even id no one says a word. Hiding involves your amygdala, the hypothalamus and your prefrontal cortex - a lot of your brain. Over time, this cycle drains you mentally and physically. It's exhausting. Some signs of hiding are:

Constant fatigue

Anxiety or depression

Trouble focusing or making decisions

Disconnection from yourself and others

Paranoia

Burnout

Hiding is not not just emotional; it is neurological which can manifest itself physically. 

But humans are adaptable creates. I’m sure as the days passed, Achan got more used to living with hiding something. I’m sure the anxiety abated somewhat; he became more comfortable with what was under his tent as the days passed and no one had found out. He soon became comfortable living with something buried under his tent. 

This is a dangerous point to get to; comfortable with hiding things. We can become comfortable with sin, with secrets, with living a life continually in shame, regret and guilt. It doesn’t mean we feel healthy but we normalise the feelings. The reason we do this with things we know are not healthy or right is because no consequences seem to immediately come so we grow comfortable with those things continuing to have a place in our existence. Before long, they start to form part of our identity, who we are. David has this to say about hidden things,

Psa 139:11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

David reminds us that however hard we try to hide things, God still sees and knows. Night becomes light. Darkness and light have no distinction in God’s eyes. Whatever it is you are trying so carefully to cover up, God already knows. 

But a day of reckoning came to Achan in a way he never expected. It eventually cost him and his entire family their lives. However, Achan was not forgotten. It became infamous. Joshua recounted what happened,

Jos 7:26  And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

From this day forward, the place where his family was punished became known as the Valley of Achan or Achor. It translates to “valley of trouble”. It became an idiom or common phrase to say you found yourself in the Valley of Achor when you were in trouble. We might say "between a rock and a hard place” or “up a creek without a paddle”. It came to symbolise a place of despair, hopelessness and struggle. So often with phrases like this, we lose where they came from but the Bible gives us clear insight into how the valley got its name. It got its name because of uncontrolled desires in a man’s life. It got its name from things buried and things hidden. It got its name from the outcome of hidden things. 

If we are not careful, our hidden things will lead us to the same place: the Valley of Achan. They will lead us to a place which seems dark, surrounded and with no hope of escape. These are the moments where the hiding overtakes us. These are the moments of despair. These of the moments where we feel overwhelmed with no way out; our thoughts, our emotions, and even conviction become consuming everyday without escape. 

But this is not the last time we see the Valley of Achan mentioned in Scripture. God spoke to His people through the prophet Hosea in a time of great unfaithfulness. Israel had turned from God. The hidden things were many and had even become open sin. God has reached a point He sent His prophet to declare punishment on His people. The people were in the Valley of Trouble. They had taken things to a point even God was now against them, not just circumstances. But the words of God do not end with destruction but with God’s mercy and hope. After punishment was pronounced, the prophet then speaks these words from God. 

Hos 2:15  And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

God used the idiom for trouble in speaking to His people He told them they were in a bad place, a place of trouble, the Valley of Achor. But unlike Achan, the valley is not the end. He promised them that in the valley would be a door; a door of hope. There is hope in the Valley of Trouble. No matter what has been hidden and for how long it has been hidden, there is hope. No matter how long sin may have put its claws into you, there is hope. No matter how far your desires and addictions have taken you, there is hope. No matter how far guilt and shame have crushed and pushed you down, there is hope. There is a door in the valley. Where is the door? What is the door? How do I find hope in the valley? Jesus cleared all of this up for us, and not by accident. Jesus told the gathered crowd one day, 

Jhn 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Where is the door? Where can hope be found? How do I escape the valley of trouble? Jesus. he is the door in the valley. If you have sin your life, Jesus is the door of repentance and forgiveness. If you have addictions and desires, He is deliverer. If you have baggage from the past, He is the haymaker leading us into a new future. Jesus is the door. What do you need to escape from today? What is the valley you are struggling in, in your life? There is a way of hope that can be found today. 

Jesus not only said He was the way of escape but He told us when we go through the door, we will find pasture. Pasture is a place of peace, rest, sustenance and strength. He not only leads us out of the valley but He leads us to pasture. He gets us out of the valley and gives us pasture. This is mercy and grace. He removes us out of what we deserve. Achan did not experience God’s mercy in this way. Then God’s grace gives us what we don’t deserve: strength, healing, deliverance, peace and safety. 

Why did Jesus become the door? Peter tells us why.

1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

He cares for you. Jeremiah told us He loves us with an everlasting love. Paul told us in Romans that nothing can separate us from the love of God. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He is the door of hope in the valley because He loves you. He already knows about what is hidden so why don’t you just give it to Him today with the assurance He cares for you, He loves you. 

It’s time to walk in hope again. It’s time for peace again. It’s time to walk out of the Valley of Achan. It’s time to leave anxiety, fear, paranoia, rejection behind. It’s time to walk through the door which is Jesus today.