Forty years had passed since Moses led them from Egypt. The rush of optimism that followed their freedom from slavery carried Israel through the first days of their journey. Four hundred years of slavery in Egypt had been replaced by the thrill of going to a “promised” land. A new generation had rejoiced on that amazing day when they crossed the Jordan River into that land, and knew God was with them, that victory was theirs for the taking.
Then reality struck them a terrible blow. Moses was dead, and Joshua was now their leader. Jericho lay in ruins by God’s power, and only the small city of Ai stood in their way, but that city’s strength was limited.
Joshua sent in a small contingent of troops only to see them defeated, losing the lives of thirty-six of their men. The first response of Joshua was to bow before God and ask, “Why?” (Joshua 7:6-7). The answer: forbidden spoils from the city of Jericho had been taken, Joshua 6:17-19. Later it was found that a man named Achan had done this, hiding the “accursed” (or “devoted” ASV) thing under his tent. God said:
“Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them...there is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you,” Joshua 7:10-11, 13.
When the people brought Achan to justice, God then allowed them to conquer the land, possessing it as He had promised long before. The place of punishment was called the “Valley of Achor.”
On your calendar, go forward now some 600 years to a time when the Israelites were in danger of captivity at the hands of Assyria. Their sin was even more vile in that idolatry had become part of their lifestyle and their worship. Slavery was on the horizon for them, and the prophet Hosea told the people they had one “door of hope,” and that hope rested in the “valley of Achor,” Hosea 2:15. Discipline must be administered!
It was not hard to understand that to avoid the threatened captivity they must rid themselves of the sin that was within their ranks. Achan’s sin endangered Israel then, and Israel’s sin in Hosea’s day placed them in line for God’s punishment. In the desert or at home, sin had to be eradicated. It was their only door of hope.
God’s Attitude Toward Sin
Even the word, “sin” has become the subject for humor among today’s comics. A philosopher wrote a book entitled, Whatever Happened to Sin? He was not imitating the comics for even he knew sin exists, and that sin is not a good thing. Sin is not merely a mistake, or a weakness. It is not merely a flaw in our character. It is “transgression” of God’s Law, 1 John 3:4, and God has revealed how He feels about sin. When He saw man’s rebellion in Noah’s day, “it grieved Him at His heart,” Genesis 6:6. Plus:
“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee,” Psalms 5:4.
“The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord,” Proverbs 15:9.
“Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord,” Zechariah 8:17.
A Lesson For Today?
Could those words in Joshua 7:13 apply to God’s people today?
“O Israel: you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”
Not all Israel had sinned before God, but directly or indirectly they allowed it to continue. If they knew of it they had not tried to bring it to an end. They all seemed to look the other way. But to look the other way did not help, and thirty-six men died. In Joshua’s day God’s people were kept from their Promised Land until they eliminated the sin in their camp. They could not accomplish that which God had intended for them until they confronted their sin.
God’s church, His “Israel” of today, Romans 2:28-29, can have the same problem. Yes, “...all have sinned,” Romans 3:23, but if we repent and continue in His Word, we can remain in good standing in the eyes of God. But what if we ignore sin – other’s and ours? And what if our neighbors and friends know it?
Will we ever have the impact on our community we should have if we refuse to confront and rebuke sin?
We have been given a mission to fulfill: to take the gospel to the world, to “seek and save that which is lost,” Luke 19:10. As Israel of old, how can we expect to accomplish this task if we allow sin to be ignored? Our attempts at evangelism may be received with skepticism because it appears that we do not really believe sin is as serious as we say it is.
We must pray for the lost and show love toward the sinner. Therefore we must “...restore such an one in the spirit of meekness,” Galatians 6:1. Let’s think on these things.
