Verse of the day: 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.
One of the first things that stood out in reading this was passage is that the chapter opens with this statement, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass”. Hold on…was it not Achan who sinned? Yes, it was Achan who sinned, but this passage is a great lesson on how our sin, our personal sin, affects others. We may think that keeping our sins private is no one’s business, and we can do whatever we want as long as no one is being hurt by it, but the reality is that our sins do affect others, even if no one seems to know about it. As Christians we must never forget that we may be able to hide our sins from man, but we cannot hide our sins from God. In Numbers 32:23 Moses warned Israel, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.” Jesus warned in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” Even before our sins are publicly revealed, the secrecy and nature of the sins we commit change us. For example, pornography has become a great stumbling block in many relationships. A husband or wife who “dabbles” in pornography will eventually become addicted to it. Their attitude toward sex, something God gave us as a blessing between a husband and wife, now becomes tainted. A husband or wife now begins to lose interest in their spouse because their idea of what sex should be (or what their spouse should look like or perform) is now based on the staged scenes they view day after day. The other spouse notices the change and becomes suspicious that their husband or wife has lost interest, no longer loves them or might be involved in having an affair. This private sin can lead to the breakdown of the marriage. There are other sins that can affect our relationships with others. The most important relationship that is affected is the relationship between us and God. Achan’s sin, although hidden from Israel, was not hidden from God. In this case, his sin resulted not just in putting a wedge between Israel and God, but also in the death of thirty six men. What we do not think about, that is not recorded for us, is that it is probable that these thirty six men had families. So, it was not just these men that were affected by losing their lives, but their families were affected as well, their parents, wives, children, etc. One thing we can observe in this tragic defeat is that when we read this chapter, not once do we see Joshua go to the Lord before he commanded the attack against Ai. He assumed that because it was small, the victory would be easy. Had he gone to God first, he may have found out that sin was in their midst and that defeat was inevitable unless he dealt with the sin that was lurking in their camp. When Joshua finally goes to God in tears, God is direct and firm in His response in verse 10, “So the LORD said to Joshua: ‘Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?’” In other words, “Why are you coming and crying to me now?” God then proceeds to give him instruction on what he needs to do to handle the situation immediately. It is of utmost importance that we deal with sin when it is discovered within the church. Our personal responsibility is to immediately repent and confess our sins before God, but when it is discovered within the church, it must be dealt with. However, we must also make sure that we deal with it in love, so that in dealing with it, the church not sin by dealing with it in a manner that dishonors God. In Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 2:3-11, and Galatians 6:1-3, God has given us the process with which we can best deal with sin, in a manner that will please the Lord and keep unity within the body. The bottom line is that sin in our lives affects those around us, even when we do not see it. More importantly, nothing is hidden from God, and it is to Him that we will ultimately give an account (Hebrews 4:13).
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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