Sermon Tone Analysis

Reading

Josh 7

Intro

WHat would your mood be after victory at Jericho?

Where you barely had to flex your muscles and the walls fell down when you shouted?

Jericho was the big one.

Now the other smaller towns were afraid and the Israelites were set on sweeping the region

In this expertly written account, that is the (rightful) confidence of the Israelites.

Some spies are sent by Joshua to survey the region to plan their next steps and they set their sights on Ai

“They are few in number.

So only two or three thousand men of many 100000s are required.”

This should be a military formality

But the story turns and the Israelites turned around and fled in defeat at Ai.

Their confidence turns to fear.

Joshua and the leaders (elders) are distraught and go pleading before the Lord

They are depressed and their tone is defeatist.

If they could not win at Ai, then what hope did they have this side of the Jordan?

They would be destroyed

But more than that, why would God risk his great name be besmirched in Canaan and his testimony through Israel wiped out?

Did he not care about his honor?

What would cause God to take that level of risk to his own reputation among the peoples?

The story of Achan is well know, less than Jericho.

Buts it part of a complex of stories beginning with last week and also including their eventual conquest of Ai in chapter 8.

And the expert writer gives us a clue in v1 Josh 7:1

We already know something is about to go horribly wrong because the Lord was angry against Israel.

And that anger came about as a result of one man’s sin, that of Achan who took some of the devoted things from Jericho

Josh 6 18

The warning was clear, by taking things that belonged to the Lord, israel would mark themselves out for trouble and destruction, and now it was about to come due to Achan’s trespass.

And the account tells us how Joshua and Israel figure out the sin of Achan that we already know and the remedy for his sin that is needed before they can move on with their lives in the promised land.

And the story itself is simple though detailed (and perhaps raises a few questions that we seek to address)

but by bringing our attention to Achan’s sin at the beginning, the writer wants us to lay our focus on that and how it offends God’s holiness (theme throughout Josh and prior in penta)

Calvin Coolidge attended church alone because of the indisposition of Mrs. Coolidge.

When he arrived back home he went up to his wife’s room to see how she was feeling.

She promptly reassured him, and asked him if he had enjoyed the sermon.

He replied in a weak affirmative.

“What was it about?”

she continued.

“Sin.”

“What did the minister say?”

“He was against it.”

And today, we can also learn a few lessons that are reminders and warnings for us as the people of God

The nature of sin

The impact of sin

God

Self (identity)

Community (identity)

The remedy for sin

Wrath of God (judgement begins with the church of God)

Run to Jesus

Community

The Nature Of Sin

Josh 7 20-21

Achan went after the conquest of Jericho, in the ruins of the city destroyed by God, (tasked perhaps with getting the things for the treasury of the Lord,) and it says he saw a beautiful cloak from Shinar (Babylonian), 200 silver shekels and and a 50 shekel gold bar

Notice the progression: He saw, he coveted, he took (he stole)

He saw - the first look is not the problem, he observed.

He had to bring these things as the Lord said they were devoted things, collect it and bring it back for the treasury

But that sight turned into the sin of wanting something that was forbidden.

Covetousness

The 10th commandment Ex 20:17

To covet - to want, to desire, to take pleasure illictly and go against God

Its a fundamental sin, in that it is the root of many other sins and rebellion against God

Gen 3:6

She saw, she desired (covet) and she took

A pattern in the Bible

David with bathsheba

Ahab with Naboth

Judas

And so he saw, he coveted, he stole and then he hid them under his tent

Now, did he need it?

He was an old man with many oxen and donkeys and sheep and ‘all that he had’ (v24)

But that was not enough.

God had been good to him and his family but he wanted more.

the itch, the pang in his heart.

perhaps it was the beauty of the babylonian robe or the chance to take some gold and silver and pass it on to his children, get some security, get some wealth but doing it in a way that went directly against the commandment of God

God was ‘not good’ enough to him so he wanted more.

Should he have known better

Look at his age (sons, daughters) and experience (knew about how the Lord brought his people out of Egypt, was probably at the giving of 10 commandments, saw his parents die in the desert for their rebellion and directly heard from Joshua the commandment

His lineage (v1 son of Carmi, Zabdi, Zerah, tribe of Judah).

The special tribe.

He had a status and an identity but that was not enough

Oh he knew better than Lord.

It was foolish to let these things go to waste.

There was so much potential in them if only the Lord could see things clearly and let his people also share in the spoils

His parents dead in the desert, he should have been too, but him and his family and many things were now on this side of the Jordan due to the goodness of God and all he could think about was a Baylonian robe, 200 silver and 50 gold

And he brought them into his secret place and hid it under his tent and thought he could hide them from God

So he violated the 10th commandment and the eighth commandment.

But more

num 15:28 - 31

a high handed sin

Reviles the Lord , blasphemes the Lord and says the Lord is not good enough, he does not know what he is doing , I know better

Despised the word of the Lord and says well that is not important here, does not apply to me, who cares about that or as the devil asks “Did God really say” as in did God really mean that

Broken his commandment knowingly, willingly, willfully

For such sins, the person shall be cut off

Pride - hide from God

Stole from God

Why idolatry?

Because those things made him go against God and they took the place of God

Imagine the planning, the secrecy, the furtive looks to see if they were ok and to admire, the dreams that he had made

“Covetousness is an act of worship.

What people covet they will worship on the first day of the week.