Personal Sin, Public Harm

An accusation that is made again many preachers today is that we are afraid to call sin by its name. I desire to be faithful to the Word of God and allow the Bible to shape my preaching more than polls or focus-groups.

In the last year you have heard me preach through the 10 commands as well as all the sins that Jesus exposed as He called followers to Kingdom priorities through the Sermon on the Mount. The last 5 weeks we have looked at God’s dealings with His chosen people, the Hebrews, and we have hopefully learned from their mistakes, or their sin.

Today’s text is also grounded in a historical event, but the application has bearing for each and every one of us in Chase County, KS. Today we will be looking at the heart issue of hidden sin.

Some of the messages I have preached have been a call for us to avoid the sins that plague others. Today’s message, if I accomplish my goal, is going to force each of us to deal with OUR desires, temptations, failures and sin.

Some words for desire automatically trigger our minds in a particular direction. If I mention “greed” your mind probably goes to wealth. If I say “lust” your mind shifts to sexual temptation. Where does your mind go when I say “craving”? Most likely it goes to a food or drink.

I did a quick Google search on the word “crave” and I was provided with hits from an electronic instrument, to pet food, to frozen dinners, to burgers, to drinks, to a youth ministry called “Crave”.

Since a craving can be biological (I’m told when your body is lacking certain minerals your brain will trigger particular dietary cravings), or emotional when we crave attention (1 Tim 6:4 speaks of false teachers with an unhealthy craving for controversy), or spiritual (1 Peter 2 commands us to crave God’s Word), let me clarify that today I am addressing Sinful Cravings.

The definition of sin that I used with the VBS children this week was “anything we think, say or do that displeases God.” So, in the context of today’s sermon I’m talking about “a compelling desire for anything God has chosen to withhold from you”.

Let’s start by getting an overview of the scene then we will go back and examine some of the turn-by-turn directions.

Joshua 7:1–26 ESV:2016

1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel. 2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water. 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?” 10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’ ” 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.

Transition: The first leg of the journey through this chapter teaches us that…

Sinful Craving leads to Death (vv.1-15)

Explanation

1. 6:27 stated that Joshua’s fame spread to the extent that Yahweh’s presence was with him, but 7:1 states that Israel broke covenant with their source of victory.

2. Joshua consulted his men rather than Yahweh for the battleplan

a. Ai was 15 miles away. Jericho was below sea level and Ai was above sea level so that is why we read that they went up to spy out the land. It was smaller and less fortified than Jericho.

b. The defeat had nothing to do with strength, size, walls or troops. It was all about sinful disobedience.

c. I know that hindsight is 20/20 and I am about to offer a hypothetical situation, but if Joshua had consulted Yahweh instead of his deputies, perhaps he would have been told about the stolen cherem, and avoided the defeat.

3. Individual sin had community impact.

a. Some translations treat Chapter 7 as 1 story. Others break it up like 3 acts of 1 play. Some like to focus the blame for the defeat on 1 man. I believe this one man is guilty, but there is plenty of blame to go around. Notice the plural sons of Israel in vv.1 & 12; Israel, they and them in v.11;

b. According to v.5, the sin of one man caused the death of 36 soldiers and nobody knows how many of the 3,000 were injured. But the devastation was so severe that the hearts of [all] the people melted and became like water.

c. In v.12 it says that the camp had become what it contained. When I was younger the school lunch program tried to tell us that “we are what we eat”. The items devoted to destruction had come into the camp and now the camp itself was devoted to destruction until the devoted things were destroyed.

In the commentary regarded by many as the best commentary on the book of Joshua, Richard Hess writes, “as long as Israel possesses the devoted things, God will consider them as devoted things. He will not win victories for them. Instead, he will guarantee their defeat and destruction. Either Israel must destroy the devoted things that it possesses or it will be destroyed as devoted things.”[i]

4. V.14 begins a process of an ever-tightening noose until 1 man is identified as the culprit.

a. In the first half of this chapter the Hebrews operate without consulting God. In the second act of this play they rely solely upon God to reveal who bears the guilt that caused their defeat.

b. God moves from Tribe to clan to family

Illustration

January 20 of this year. The Kansas City Chiefs have a 4-point lead over the Patriots with 60 seconds left on the clock. The Patriots are facing 3rd down with 10 yards to go for a first, when Brady... Well, here, watch it for yourselves…play 30 second video.

1. After that moment the Patriots would score 2 more touchdowns in the next 6 minutes, ending the Chiefs’ season, and going on to win another SuperBowl.

2. The team that many of us follow would have other opportunities and make other mistakes, but after the game this one player’s error was considered by most to have ended the Chief’s amazing season.

3. Likewise, one man’s violation of God’s clear instruction brought defeat to an entire army and death to 36 soldiers. And one person’s sin could be withholding God’s full blessing from Flint Hills Community Church.

Application

1. I know that we are all still works in progress and I don’t communicate to anyone that we are a perfect church made up of perfect people. But I do believe God is calling us to hate sin and to take steps to eradicate it, rather than hide it.

2. God knew the identity of Achan. He could have revealed it directly to Joshua. But there is something beneficial to an investigation (vv.14-15). Just as Jesus knew the identity of his betrayer, He chose not to identify at the last supper so that each disciple would search his own heart and ask, “Is it me?”

Today it is common to point fingers. Sometimes when one sin is identified, it implies that other sin does not exist. The reality is that just because I don’t struggle with certain sins, does not mean that I am exempt from my own struggles with temptation. Conservatives have developed a reputation for decrying SSA and Abortion. And I am convinced that these behaviors are violations of God’s intent. But just because I bear no guilt in these sins does not mean to imply that I am without sin. The end of this story will conclude with imperfect people being the means through which God’s justice happens.

Some like to quote, as Jesus did, “let him who is without sin cast the first stone”. But sometimes God uses imperfect vessels to accomplish His purpose.

As we saw in our study of Matthew 7, we must first consider out own logs before tending to others’ specks.

Transition: Achan’s confession reveals that his sinful craving went through a process…

Sinful Craving Unravels in Stages (vv.16-21)

God reveals the culprit (v.16-19)

1. The chain of communication that dominates the book of Joshua resumes – “God explains and directs; Joshua obeys and searches; and Achan confesses.”[ii]

Achan confesses his sin (vv.20-21)

1. Achan begins without excuses, but bluntly admits his sin.

There is something healthy about honestly and completely admitting our fault. If you were to ask Ann, she would tell you that I frequently say “there are 6 words that can improve any relationship. Maci Harshman could tell you that she heard me say these 6 last Sunday afternoon when we were decorating a room for VBS.

We were trying to open a cooling vent and she tried to turn the handle. I said, “No, I think it is a push/pull handle” then I pulled the handle right out of the vent. I had to admit, “You’re right, I’m wrong, I’m sorry” (don’t’ worry stewards, I fixed the handle later in the week).

Spouses, Parents, bosses, teens, get comfortable saying those 6 words.

5 Steps of a Sinful Craving

1. Saw (v.21a) – something shiny caught his eye.

Once his eyes landed on that garment, he wouldn’t look away.

When our glance turns into gazing, we head down a dangerous path.

Tim Keller describes this gazing as “When you put yourself open to a forbidden thing, you’ve already taken the first step; to put yourself in a place where a thing can happen.”

2. Considered – another meaning for the word translated “saw” is “to look at, to examine or to inspect”

6:17-19 was a very clear instruction before any soldier set a solitary foot in Jericho.

a. He looked at the cloak long enough to determine it was beautiful.

b. He examined it close enough to recognize that it was imported from the Shinar region of Mesopotamia

c. He counted out the 200 Shekels (6 lbs) of silver. You may glance at 5 pieces of silver, but to count to 200 requires a gaze.

d. He inspected (1.25 lbs) the gold bar to estimate its value.

e. The gold and silver represented an average worker’s lifetime earnings.

Joshua’s instruction to Achan in v.19 was to “give glory to the Lord”. The word glory in Hebrew literally means weight. Achan had “given value” to the 3 items. The step between seeing and coveting always involves a mental step of rationalizing “this is important.”

“The seductive thing got into Achan’s imagination and the Devil’s work was done!” –Thomas aKempis

3. Coveted – I determined that my craving was more important than my obedience.

· Craving knows that there is a glory-giving apparatus in the center of your being. What you give glory to, you will serve.

4. Took – I acted on my thoughts. He knew he was doing wrong, but he did it anyway!

5. Hidden – I know I am guilty. Rather than confess, Achan chose a cover-up.

Transition: Achan’s sin was a malignancy in the camp and it had to be removed.

The Amputation of Sinful Craving (vv.22-26)

Explanation

1. Joshua sent messengers and they found the items in Achan’s tent just as he described.

2. The removal of Achan from the camp was serious, yet merciful.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll likens the final scene to radical surgery. The radical surgery is bloody and awfully brutal, but it is done for the good of the person in whom that tumor must be cut out. God forgive any surgeon who steps into this process and doesn’t try to get it all.

a. After the execution, the Hebrews did comply with God’s command that fire be applied to all that belonged to Achan. (v.25d)

b. The great heap of stones remains not as a memorial to Achan, but as a monument to the consequences of disobedience.

Application

1. V.13 – There is a time for contrition and a time for action.

We can’t expect God’s blessing if we refuse to obey Him.

2. There are multiple steps before a sinful craving ever becomes an action. And there are multiple off-ramps before temptation becomes a behavior.

a. Be aware of what you are gazing at

b. Look at something more beautiful than the beauty of your craving. Jesus is the most beautiful thing for you to crave.

c. If you find yourself between the 4th and 5th steps, the next step is yours. Will you continue to hide or will you repent and bring your sin into the light of God’s grace?

3. If you’ve lived with hidden sin for so long that your life has fallen apart, God says, if you come to me in repentance, I can make the valley of Achor a Door of hope. Your craving may have destroyed your life, if you turn to me, I can rebuild what has been destroyed.

Transition: Pastor Swindoll provides lingering lessons to this event that I would like to borrow in conclusion.

Conclusion:

1. Surprising defeats can often be traced back to secret sins. I think it is hurtful to claim that all calamity is the result of sin. That was the problem with Job’s counselors. But prayerful self-examination may reveal your defeats are rooted in your hidden sin.

2. Very private sins can lead to very public consequences. One obscure soldier in the large tribe of Judah caused the death of 36 soldiers and grief to at least 36 families.

3. Temptation’s lies blind us to reality and deafen us to consequences. The pain this sin causes will eventually be much greater than the pleasure it provides.

· “sin is an inflammation of the imagination.”—Tim Keller

4. Sweeping acts of disobedience call for severe responses of discipline. By embracing corrective discipline we may encounter the rebuilding of beauty from ashes.