The Lies We Believe - Joshua 7

Introduction

Nothing is more dangerous than a lie that you want to believe. Shortly after Megan and I were married, I decided that I wanted an english bulldog. There was a significant problem with this because, as badly as I wanted one, we weren’t even close to being able to afford one. Yet, it was all I could think about, and I began to obsess over it, trying to figure out how I could get an english bulldog. I was looking in the want ads of al.com when I stumbled into gold. Here was a pure bred, championship bloodline bulldog that needed to be re-homed because of the owner’s current situation. So, I immediately call the number listed, and the person on the other end of the line explained to me, in a thick, African accent how he was a missionary in Nigeria who was now unable to care for the dog. He explained that he would prefer that his beloved bulldog go to a loving, Christian home like mine. All we needed to do in order to make it happen is he needed me to send him $300 through Western Union for freight to pay for this dog to make it’s way to Alabama from NIGERIA!

Now, this all sounds very suspicious and all kinds of bells are going off, but, you know, I’m a man of faith! So, I took what must’ve been the majority of our checking account and I Western Union-ed it to an Nigerian missionary whom I had met through his bulldog advertisement on al.com. Of course, you know how the story went. He calls me a little while after receiving my first check and says that he’s just realized that he was going to need a bit more, and I was left to tell my young wife that I had spent our grocery money on an imaginary dog. What happened? What I wanted blinded me from what I knew. The desires of my heart grew so strong, so overwhelming that I was willing to believe a lie if it might help me to get it done.

God’s Word

This shows us the shape that sin takes. Sin always involves blinding desire mixed with believing a lie.

Our text this morning shows the lies that one man was willing to believe and the dire consequences that followed.

The lies that he believed were old lies dating back to the Garden of Eden, and yet they continue to be the lies that we believe (headline) which lead us into sin today.

No one else would “blame” me.

Tell story: Shocking defeat at Ai —> ppl melt like water —> Joshua prays and God says there’s sin in the camp —> Joshua has to root out the sin or God’s presence will depart —> All the ppl of Israel are brought before Joshua and God whittles it down until it’s just Achan. Listen to Achan’s confession and explanation:

Joshua 7:20–21 (ESV): 20And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21when 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.”

The Progression of a sin:

Sin looks good.

“When I saw among the spoil...”

The bible emphasizes the temptation of the eyes.

Genesis 3:6 (ESV) 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

2 Samuel 11:2 (ESV) 2It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

The temptation to sin is attractive and enticing. It looks delightful and delicious.

Proverbs 5:3–4 (ESV)3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil

The sage compares temptation to beautiful seductress that tells you all the things that you want to hear so that you will leave behind your ethics, your morality — God’s law.

Temptation always presents an alternative future that’s more attractive than the present. But, it’s a fantasy.

Proverbs 5:4 (ESV)4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

People embezzle a fantasy. Affairs are a fantasy. Porn is a fantasy.

Sin seems harmless.

Achan minimizes his sin:

6:18: But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it.

7:11-12: 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. 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.

7:21 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.”

Achan saw offerings to God as a waste of something valuable.

How do we view our on offerings?

What would it hurt? Just one sin. Just a little spoil out of so much.

It must’ve seemed so small, so harmless in the moment.

Oh, I see so much Achan in me!

I work so hard to make my sin seem small.

It’s just a few dollars. It’s just sex, and I love him. It’s just something I enjoy in the privacy of my home. It’s just text messages. Anyone else in my situation would do the exact same. Things have been so tough lately. No one would blame me if they knew.

It’s small, minimal, slight, harmless sin.

Joshua 7 exists to teach us the significance of one sin.

Sin feels reasonable.

7:21b “…then I coveted them and took them.”

Covet and desire are the same word in Hebrew.

The story of improper, inordinate desire: Achan desired a designer coat more than he desired an intimate relationship with the living God.

Sin always originates with the heart.

Problem wasn’t what Achan saw. Problem was what was in Achan’s heart.

After a victory = a change in circumstances doesn’t lead to a change in heart.

Achan sinned, and we sin, because it feels worth it. It feels reasonable. It’s the satisfaction of desire.

Your sin starts with your desires. What do you desire? What do you have to have to be happy? When you find yourself angry/depressed/anxious, what do you want that you aren’t getting?

So, when you realize that it looks good and seems harmless and feels reasonable, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that no one blame you — everyone would do the same thing if they were in your situation. No big deal!

No one else will “know”.

v. 21c: “And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

The character of your faith is revealed in what you hide, what you do in secret.

(Faith Comparison) Adam and Eve: “the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the Garden.”

(Faith Contrast) Rahab: “But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.”

(Faith Contrast) Jesus:

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Do you want to know who you really are? What do you do in the secret? Are you secretly covetous or generous? Would you skim a few dollars if you knew no one would miss it, or would you give painfully even if you knew you’d never get the credit? Are you secretly FB messaging with a woman not your wife or a man not your husband, or are you locking yourself away in your prayer closet? Are you binging on pornography or fasting and seeking the Lord?

What are you willing to do when you’re sure no one else will know about it? Who are you when it won’t affect your reputation? Who are you when your kids go to bed? Who are you when your boss is out of town? Who are you when your wife is out? That’s who you really are!

ILL: A couple of weeks ago, I bumped a car trying to park my truck at the Kirklin Clinic.

Tried to convince myself that I had not done it.

Parked and discovered paint on my bumper. “I don’t have time or money for this!”

Was late for my appointment and went in anyway!

Convicted the whole time. “I can’t believe this is who I am.” Prayed that God would let that car still be there when I left.

Left a card with a note/number.

As much as I want to believe that I’m not that guy, I am. It’s in my heart. I’m that selfish, that greedy.

Achan’s discovery: There are no hidden places.

Only the eyes of unbelief can believe in hidden places.

“And your Father who see in secret...”

Psalm 139:1-4: O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

There is no secret sin!

He knows what’s in your heart: Jealousy/lust/covetousness/bitterness/hatred/racism

He knows what your’ve done: Affair/tinder account/embezzlement/pornography/Text messages/chat rooms/lying

Don’t wait until it’s exposed like Achan did.

v. 16 “Joshua rose early in the morning” Achan had all night to confess to what he had done, but he doesn’t confess until he’s caught.

Confess your specific sins to the Lord. Confess your sins to a brother or sister in Christ. Drag your sin into the light and put it to death. Repent!

No one else will be “hurt”.

Achan had discovered the spoils in Jericho during the emotional high of victory.

Perhaps, he felt entitled as one of Israel’s warriors.

He knows the commandment, but, honestly, who will it hurt?

That’s the philosophical question driving much of the activity in post-Christian America: Who will it hurt?

ILL: Sin is like a bomb that drops. It doesn’t just destroy the person. The shrapnel of sin damages everyone close by. The closer you are to the blast, the more devastating the impact.

Sin’s shrapnel always affects your family of faith.

So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 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.

Three effects that Achan’s sin had on all of the people of God: death/defeat/discouragement.

Principle of corporate solidarity: Each individual becomes representative of the whole. The whole becomes responsible for the sin of one. True of God’s people joined together by a covenant.

7:1: 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.

God tells all of his people, not just Achan: “I will be with you no more.”

God may withhold the glory and power of his presence from us because of one unconfessed sin in this room. We’re all being held accountable. You can’t leave and usurp the responsibility. You only add to the offense.

Don’t you want to see the glory of God fall? Don’t you want to see little boys and girls rescued from this world? Don’t you want families finding hope? It starts with us.

Revival doesn’t start begin with us hating the sin out there. Revival starts when we get serious about the sin in here. Confess your secret sins. Repent of what’s in your heart. Stop the things in your life that dishonor God.

“Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?” This isn’t a time for mere praying. This is a time for action a time for real repentance.

Sin’s shrapnel always affects your family most.

Achan’s sin affected his personal family even more directly than his community of faith. They took more shrapnel than anyone.

7:24-25: 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. 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.

Achan pulled his family into his sin.

Oh, how many men have pulled their families into sin? How many parents have had their follow right behind them as they walk off the plank of this world? Don’t you buy the lie that your sin won’t leave damage around you.

Every image you look at, every text you send, every outburst of anger you exhibit, every lie you tell, every dollar you steal, every greedy purchase you make is charting a path for your family.

Your repentance should be more famous in your house than your temper or your dishonesty or your neglect. It charts a different path. What path are you charting?

It’s easy to read the story of Achan and think: Thank God, He doesn’t take sin so seriously today. But, He takes sin more seriously. He punishes his very own Son. Another principle of corporate solidarity. Adam sinned, and we all have fallen into sin with him. But, a second Adam has come so that now we can all be made righteous. Who do you want to be identified with?