What Hinders Your Blessing

TEXT: Joshua 7: 1-12
Victories after victories were experienced by the Israelites in the wilderness days. Either against nations or nature, God led the Israelites victorious. Even entering into the promise land was a great victory. All that they needed to do was to march around the walls of Jericho by sounding the horn and on the final day shouted to claim the land – the walls of Jericho collapsed (Josh 6:16).
But here comes an episode of defeat that the Israelites and Joshua had to face. All this while Israel and Joshua were greatly proud and happy about the victories the Lord has given them. But in chapter 7, the defeat that they encountered broke them and melted away their courage (7: 5). Joshua the great man of God who was called by God, commissioned by God, encouraged by God is now broken in a great disappointment (7: 6). Why should this disaster come against them? Was their enemy greater than them? Not at all. Ai was a small country with small military strength comparing to Israel. But then why did the Israelites lose the battle?

Lesson # 1: The disobedience of one individual can have a negative effect on the whole community.

To uncover the identity of the one who sinned, God tells Joshua to line up the people, tribe by tribe, family by family, household by household, man by man. Sanctification and purification were needed. The household of God has been dirtied and it was time for the mess to be cleaned up.
Achan is eventually indicted as the culprit. Achan had been relatively successful in covering up his sin up to this point. But as Joshua works through from tribe to family to household to individual he finally comes to Achan. Then, and only then, does Achan acknowledge his sin and confess that he is the cause of Israel’s troubles. (v. 20)
Achan is the epitome of the dark side of every individual and every community. All of us have within us the potential to fall, and fall hard.
He admits to having taken three things that were supposed to be destroyed or turned over to the Lord’s treasury: a beautiful Babylonian coat, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels.
Notice the way Achan describes the sequence of events that led up to his sin:
1. (v. 21) “I saw…” This is the beginning of all sin: the looking, the desiring, the envying for what we know we cannot have. Looking at those beautiful items was more than enough temptation for Achan.
2. (v. 21) “I coveted them…” There’s no doubt that Achan didn’t need any of those things. What was he going to do with them? He couldn’t use them. Imagine if he tried to wear that Babylonian coat out in public. All he could do with them was take them out, touch them, and feast his eyes on them. Maybe there was some kind of personal satisfaction in knowing he possessed something so beautiful and so rich. But to whom was he going to boast about them. When we possess forbidden things, or engage in forbidden activities, what good is it to us? What good is a treasure that you have to keep hidden so no one will find out about your sin?

Achan said, “I saw…I coveted…I took…They are hidden….” This is the sequence of events that all of us follow when we fall into sin. It starts with the look, which leads to the desire (coveting), which ends in eventually finding an opportunity and taking it. Last of all, we hide our sin. That which we wanted we cannot fully enjoy because we’re always hiding it so no one will know.

There is someone who knows, however. A much deeper truth about Achan’s sin is also evident: disobedience to God is a malignancy that has serious effects on the whole community of believers. Thirty-six men lost their lives because of Achan’s sin. The nation went down to defeat because of Achan’s sin.
My sin cannot be isolated from you, and your sin cannot be isolated from me. There are corporate consequences of our sins; even those that are hidden from the eyes of men.

Lesson # 2: God’s judgment is not to be taken lightly.

Achan’s story is one of the saddest in the Bible. A good man overcome by the evil desires of his heart. It’s a story that’s been repeated over and over throughout history. Good men, godly men, men intent on doing God’s will, men blessed with success because of their godliness, but in one moment are brought low by succumbing to the temptation of Satan.
Achan, the coat, the gold and silver, his family and all that he owns are taken to the Valley of Achor and there they are stoned, then burned with fire, and finally a great heap of stones are raised over them as a reminder of Achan’s sin.
I’d like to sugarcoat this whole story and tell you that when Achan confessed his sin, God forgave him and everything was all right—but that isn’t what took place. All around us we see evil men committing terrible atrocities and never suffering the consequences their sins deserve, while good men, godly men, by one act of disobedience will suffer with consequences that seem overwhelming and unjust.
Why? We can hypothesize all day about why God did what He did to Achan, but here’s the lesson to be learned: God is God, and God’s judgments are always just, and God’s judgment is not to be taken lightly.