The Holy God and the Seriousness of Sin

Introduction

Joshua 6 ended on a great positive note. In fact in verse 21 of the last chapter it begins by declaring that Israel utterly destroyed all that was in the city. We then hear that Rahab and her family were spared from the destruction. On top of all this, in verse 27, we hear that Joshua’s fame spread throughout all the country. This was a day to remember. Everything God said would happen is happening, and it appears that nothing can stand in Israel’s way. The Israelite army is unstoppable. The immovable walls of Jericho revealed the answer to the age old philosophical problem - what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? The answer of course is, the object was never immovable, because the unstoppable force is the all powerful God. He fights on Israel’s behalf. It was Him that felled the mighty walls of Jericho, allowing His army to go in a devote the city to destruction. You see, God reveals part of who He is. God was demonstrating His omnipotence, His infinite power and sovereignty over all creation. In this chapter God now reveals His omniscience. His infinite knowledge, particularly His knowing of Achan’s trespass. We also understand how wicked sin is before our Holy God.

Israel’s Defeat

The story of Israel’s defeat at the hands of Ai comes very near after the defeat of Jericho. Their spirits were high, you can imagine the celebration in camp that night. Singing and dancing until late in the night. And who could blame them. They had the joy of victory on their hearts. Joshua pushed Israel’s advantage and sent men to scout Ai. But before we get to that part of the text we read that not all was merry in Israels camp. Yes, the men were joyful at the outcome, but God was angry. A blatant disregard for God’s law had entered into their midst.

The Anger of the LORD

Joshua 7:1, 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. There is a contrast here between Joshua and the men of Israel. In the last verse we read that Joshua’s fame spread throughout Canaan. And in verse 1 of chapter 7 it tells us that Israel’s unfaithfulness brought God’s anger. Israel had committed a most grievous offense against God, they had stolen from God. The sin of Achan is not a minor petty sin, either, as Jericho was wholly to be devoted to God. He took of the first fruits. The first fruits refers to the first fruits of the harvest season and which was to be offered to God in thanksgiving, for He was their great King. And though it was one man who did the crime, God’s anger burned against the whole army. This may seem over-the-top-harsh to us - how could God charge all the people for the secret sin of one? The reason is simple, Israel was united to God through the same covenant, as well as to each other in Abraham. There is a unity among God’s people. In Exodus 4:22-23, Israel as a nation is referred as God’s first born. It says, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” In the New Testament the church is one body in Christ and if one part suffers the whole body suffers. In Joshua, as the united first born son, Israel must remove the decay for its body. Another reason is was to demonstrate to the current generation, and to those who come after, the absolute seriousness of sin. Sin is not a trivial matter in God’s eyes. So much so that all who do not seek God’s mercy in Christ will not be forgiven at the last judgement. There are no free passes into Heaven. It is only open to those who place their trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His blood saves us and nothing else will do.

John Calvin says this,

The reason...why God charges a whole people with a secret theft is deeper and more [secret], he wished by an extraordinary manifestation to remind posterity that they might all be [charged with the crime] by the act of an individual, and thus induce them to give more diligent heed to the prevention of crimes.

God used His heavy hand to make the lesson as clear as possible. If you are My people, you must cut yourselves off from sin and live holy lives before My face. thankfully, we are not alone in this, as He has given His Holy Spirit.

The Defeat

Jericho was at the bottom of the descent, in the Jordan valley while Ai was a town sitting on top the range. The town of Ai must seem like an ant after the great victory at Jericho. So the scouts tell Joshua to send only two or three thousand men, and so verse 4 tells us, about three thousand men went up there from the people. Rather than another victory, we are told in Joshua 7:4-5, but they fled before the men of Ai. 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. The defeat of the Israelites against Ai was not due to the superior might of Ai. The answer from the end of verse 1 tells us that the defeat came because of God’s anger. His people came under the curse of the covenant, and so instead of blessing their battles, God brings disaster upon Israel.

Judgement

Joshua’s lament

Joshua too falls into the self-confidence camp and we see this in Joshua 7:6-9. In verse 6 Joshua tears his clothes and falls to the ground before the ark. He cries in Joshua 7:7, “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!” Joshua was Moses protege. He followed Moses and learnt how to interpret the Law from Him. He knew of the blessings and curses. Joshua too fell into the same trap as the rest of Israel. Overconfidence in their own ability to defeat their enemies. This is made clear in the question he asks. To paraphrase these verses, why did we lose this battle? I thought You were going give us victory over them. If this continues Israel will become nothing and Your Name will be lost to history. What of Your promises then?

Joshua’s response is an echo of the unwarranted complaints from the previous generation as they traversed through the wilderness. In Exodus 16:3, not long after leaving Egypt behind, the tribes of Israel said, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” In the next chapter, Exodus 17:3, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” Again and again we see Israel complain about the unfair conditions even while God demonstrated His miraculous saving power through the whole wanderings. Whether in the smoke, or the cloud, the supply of water from the rock and daily manna and quails, or that their clothes did not wear out. All these were signs of God’s love and faithfulness to His covenant people.

Joshua should have known that the defeat was the result of broken trust. And so in verses 10-11 God rebukes his foolishness. In Joshua 7:10-11, So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 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.” Joshua was blind to the problem, but God knew. He has infinite knowledge.

The LORD reveals the culprit

God, now, tells Joshua how to bring the transgressor into the open. There will be no more victories for Israel until the sin of the people is cut out. He says in Joshua 7:12-15 that He will guide the courts decision so the culprit is found out. Before the court sits the people are to show devotion to God by, verse 13, “consecrating” themselves the evening before. Consecrating refers to the separating oneself from the world, and a re-dedication to the covenant with God. In almost every instance when the people were to meet with God, they were to prepare their hearts and minds, cleanse themselves. We too are under a covenant with God and Christ is our mediator. In the same way ancient Israel was to consecrate themselves, it is important that we too consecrate ourselves before we meet with God on the Lord’s Day. We do this by giving proper dues to God. Seeking forgiveness of our transgressions and sins and by re-devoting our lives to His service. This should be done on a daily basis, such that our whole lives are a continual devoting to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is what Paul says in Romans 12:1-2, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This is a vital part of corporate worship on Sunday.

To reveal the perpetrator, Joshua 7:16-18, the LORD separates the tribe of Judah. A very tedious task, but Joshua goes through tribes. Singles out Judah, all the way down to the very man who committed the terrible offense. Joshua 7:17-18, He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. All through this courtroom drama, I wonder if Achan continued to think that he may yet get away with his evil actions. I am one man in the nation, surely I am safe. The text doesn’t say in specific terms, but I think it is right to acknowledge that Achan became more and more afraid as the LORD cut down the list until only he was left.

Achan is directed to confess his sin before the whole people because his sin resulted in Israel’s defeat against Ai. The messengers in verse 22 go and find the stolen items exactly where Achan said they would be. They are then given back to their rightful owner. In verse 23 the messengers laid them out before the LORD. In the last judgement, when Jesus returns, all sin will be laid out before the Holy God, and not one sin will be hidden from His piercing eyes. We are directed to confess our sins, knowing that He is just to forgive them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The hardest part of this story is that Achan’s family was punished for his crimes. We might question God, why did You have to kill his whole family? The answer is given in Joshua 7:15, “Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing 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 a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ” Achan had broken covenant with the LORD, and so the punishment was to remove Achan’s name from the future covenant people. Sometimes God makes it very clear that sin is a serious matter. In Acts 5 we read of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Church, though ultimately to God, and so both met with a death sentence. He does this to pull His people back into line, so they may continue as sanctified people unto God.

Sin and Christ

We don’t treat sin as a serious offense against our Holy God. In our world we hear that God is love. That His love overrides every other attribute. Different aspects of sin are downplayed. Adultery is called an affair. Sex outside marriage is a normal part of being human, and if you are doing it then you aren’t normal. Murder is now called abortion and euthanasia. You don’t have to wait until heaven, You can have your good life now. Maximum pleasure is put forth as a good way to live for Christians. Worship is downplayed to something that I like. Theologically rich Hymns are thrown out, and in their place are wishy-washy songs which elevate ourselves.

The Bible paints a different picture. Sin is a serious offense against God. It is so serious that our first parents were thrown out of the garden for eating forbidden fruit. The is light at the end of the tunnel because God has provided the only way to get out from its power is be sending His Son to pay the price for our freedom.

Achan broke God’s holy covenant, placing greed above his devotion to God, and as much as I would like to say that we are better than him, I don’t think I can. Though we have been declared as clean, pure, through Christ’s blood, we still find ourselves transgressing God’s Holy law. The statistics still show that Christians are jsut as likely to commit adultery, divorce, have sex outside of marriage. Sin still plays havoc in our lives. Scripture directs us to repent of our sin often, and rest in God’s grace and mercy. We don’t have to expect the same outcome as Achan. Instead we may understand the absolute horror of sin in God’s eyes, and turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.

Joshua 7 ends with the place of Achan’s judgement being named the valley of Achor. I will end with a quote from Dr James Boice,

Who can turn the Valley of Achor into a door of hope? We certainly cannot do it. But there is one who does: Jesus. He has done it by taking Achor’s trouble upon himself. He was troubled for us. He went down into that dark valley of judgment, dying in our place, in order that he might raise us up in hope by his resurrection.

James Montgomery Boice, Joshua (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 63.

Let us pray.