Brian Maloy

Last week we read about the conquest at Jericho, the protection of Rahab’s family, and legacy of faith left in her wake. God is faithful to the promises made to Rahab and her family. Her faith in Yahweh provides salvation. It’s a really cool foreshadow to the salvation we find in Jesus, through faith alone. I love it.

This week we have to dig into the consequences of sin — heartbreaking. While the lesson technically hones in on Joshua 7:10-23, we have to read ALL of Joshua 7 to understand what is going on. The narrative matters to the seemingly brutal response to the sinful choices. 

Now before we read chapter 7, I think it’s important to remember a few theological truths. 

1. Every human, ALL people — are sinful. The Bible is clear on that. We inherited the sinful nature from Adam and Eve, and it has since only compounded. We win against one another, against creation, against ourselves, and God. 
2. We cannot hide from our sin. No matter what we do, trying to avoid, run from, or deny our sin, never lasts before Yahweh God, He knows. 
3. Negative consequences always follow sin. It may not be what we expect, it may not be initially obvious, but our sin has consequences. 
4. There is always good news! We know in God’s Word that whoever confesses their sin, and turns back to God will find forgiveness, mercy, and grace. 

It’s important to have theological grounding when we read tough passages in the Bible. We must read with what we know of God’s character, and what Scripture has said, not with our emotions (which is very human of us, and very common in our world — to interpret everything through our emotions or personal worldview. That said, let’s read Joshua 7 again. 

Before we move on — question:
What should be a person’s motivation to confess sin and seek forgiveness?

I suppose there are many answers that are correct, and most of them could be the right thing to do, or a little self-serving. In the end, that depends on the heart. 

• It clears the air, perhaps resets the relationship. 
• It might reduce the negative consequences.
• It frees us from hiding, or “running” from sin.
• We learn in Scripture that God is merciful when we confess.
• We love other people, and we don’t want to live in conflict.

BUT in the end — we should confess sin and seek forgiveness because God is holy, God is merciful, and fellowship with Him is better than anything sin promises.

1 John 1:7-9 is a GREAT reminder of exactly why we should seek forgiveness. 

Joshua 7:1-9

Our lesson starts out BEFORE our lesson begins. Joshua has sent men to scout out the city of Ai. They return and tell Joshua that he need not send all the people, but 2000-3000 will suffice for conquering Ai. 

Joshua sends 3000 (they don’t want to exhaust their whole army), and they are sent FLEEING from the men of Ai, and even more agonizing, the Hebrews actually lost 36 men in the battle. 

We read in Joshua 7:5 — that the Hebrews lose heart. They fell the defeat hard. Joshua even tears his clothes and falls down before the Ark of the Lord. Joshua’s words really echo in my mind — this is NOT what he expected, and he does NOT know what to do next… thankfully, he seeks the Lord, and implores Him for wisdom and direction. Which is a wise move. 

We could all learn from Joshua’ example here — in the midst of uncertainty, unexpected suffering, shame, heartache, you name it — we too should seek the Lord with such fervency and sincerity. 

Joshua 7:10-15

This section (well all of this week) is a bit hard to read… it’s heavy, and while we may not be able to relate to defeat in a battle in the ancient near east, we can relate to the emotion of feeling helpless, frustrated, and dead-end beat up. This is where Joshua is in layman’s terms. 

Question:
Think about when you’ve suffered because of someone else’s actions?
Or perhaps, when others have suffered because of YOUR actions?

NOT the most fun questions… but very real, relatable, and wise to ponder given our lesson here. Joshua is going to be confronted with a very similar question by God Himself, and he is directed to do something about it. 

So as Joshua and the elders lay down before the face of Yahweh in the Tabernacle, God has a firm rebuke for Joshua! Look at v. 10-11 — “Stand up! Why have you fallen down? Israel has sinned”. Eeek. Nothing a leader (or anyone) wants to hear from anyone, much less the mouth of the Lord. 

Joshua has been called to action, but he also now knows what has brought this unexpected turmoil upon the people. Sin in the camp. Joshua now needs to deal with the problem. Someone has stolen items that were clearly set apart for the Lord (after all, nothing went to the people this time, clear and easy), and as a result, the covenant with God has been breached, violated, disregarded. 

So Joshua learns that in God’s mercy, He will not be with them, unless they remove the sin, they rid themselves of what had been set apart. So in God’s mercy, there is consequence. His mercy if not without “cause and effect”. We would do well to remember that in our days and lives too.

Question:
Why is it SO important for us to recognize sin’s impact on us and our relationship with God?

• We know sin causes us to hide — think back to Genesis, Adam and Eve hid, from God, which of course is laughable because how can one hide from God — yet! We do it too… (Gen. 3:8-10)
• Sin distorts our view of God — when we don’t acknowledge our sin, God begins to feel distant, harsh maybe, or irrelevant (Rom. 1:21-23)
• Sin numbs our conscience — sin lies, and hardens our hearts (Heb. 3:13)
• Sin affects other people too — we see this with Achan, right now — people died, because of his sin (Joshua 7)
• Sin steals our peace — We struggle to find peace and contentment (and fail miserably) when we have allowed sin to fester, it is impossible for us to find lasting peace outside of God, and sin will separate us (Psalm 32)
• Sin reveals our need for Jesus! — Romans 3:23, ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, we are ALL 🙂 

David reminds us in Psalm 32 — specifically vs. 3-5, but ALL is worth a read.

“When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me, my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity, I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

Joshua 7:16-19

As we re-read Joshua 7:16-19, a question floats to mind.

Question:
When have you been excited to be chosen for something? When have you dreaded being chosen for something? 

I know I have been excited to be chosen in the past, and there have been roles/responsibilities I’ve been chosen for that I have to grin and bear it… We probably ALL have been here. 

So Joshua has the tribes come forward one by one, at the Lord’s guidance. Judah is selected by God, and it’s narrowed down clan by clan to the family of Zabdi — then Achan. 

It’s noteworthy, this LONG process God had Joshua undertake gave Achan plenty of time to come forward on his own, he could have confessed, repented — but his waiting until God identified him, shows that he refused to confess and repent on his own. That’s important to this story. 

The narrative continues, and as Achan is identified, Joshua then approaches him as a son — and implores him to confess and glorify God. 

But we must ask… 
What might prevent us from confessing and seeking the Lord’s forgiveness?

• Obviously SIN — it blinds and binds us… 
• Our pride — we are prideful beings. I hate it, but we are. 
• Self-protection — not wanting to be exposed.

There is much, and for as many people are there are, there are probably reasons why we avoid confession… 

That said, I remember learning once, Martin Luther would wear out the confessing priest when he was young in the faith. His sin GRIEVED him, and he worried if he allowed anything to be unconfessed, it would consume him. While it may have been extreme, I think there is some natural wisdom here in realizing that we must be destroying and confessing sin — or it is certain to destroy us. 

I suspect Achan’s sin was slowly killing him, long before his final reveal and confession — it was eating away slowly, painfully — as sin always does. 

John Owen once said: 
“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
— John Owen, The Mortification of Sin (1656)

After all, sin is not neutral, sin is not idle, and it is not harmless. Sin is hellbent on stealing, killing, and destroying. 

Joshua 7:20-26

Question:
How does it feel when we “come clean” about something we’ve done? 

Achan’s fall is very much like what happened in the Garden of Eden. He saw, he coveted, and he took. It also echos to the Garden in how his sin has an effect on others too. Sin has an impact. Remember. 

The fall of Achan seems harsh, quick, and ungracious — isn’t God gracious?

YES, He is gracious. Yet He must also deal with sin. If God doesn’t deal with sin there is nothing for Him to be gracious toward. Yet in this moment… we have to consider the WHOLE story, not just this short moment that “seems” harsh. 

Remember, Achan had time to come clean for his sin, he didn’t. 
Achan also chose to sin, and hide his sin. He buried his sin. 

It was a VERY clear command (not suggestion) from the Lord — and Achan was led astray by his temptation, indulged it, hid it, and then didn’t confess until God revealed him. Yikes. (V21)

Also important to remember, God was protecting His Covenant Children FROM the evil of the Canaanite world — sin would abound, and He wanted them to remain steadfast against it. It would consume them otherwise. 

So yes — it is sad. Achan and his family were stoned to death, and buried with the stolen items… but Achan’s sin cost the life of 36 warriors at the initial battle of Ai. Achan’s sin collectively caused harm on the entire tribe of Israel who had a covenant with Yahweh. (Josh. 7:1,10-11)

I think this reminds us HOW UGLY sin is, how broken, how wrong, how much evil flows in its wake. Because sin is so evil — it must be dealt with. 

THIS IS WHY JESUS CAME TO SET THINGS RIGHT.
THIS IS WHY JESUS HAD TO DIE FOR OUR SINS. 

It is the only way, there must be consequence for evil. We live in an evil world. And we know there should be consequence for evil actions — yet when also live in the tension of struggling with the consequences. I believe this is a lie of the enemy. I don’t LIKE the consequences of sin — but they exist, and the confusion in our hearts and minds I believe is a crafty deception of the enemy to make God seem cruel, unjust, and harsh. 

But justice is exactly WHY there is consequence for sin. 

We should be able to see the connection – the punishment for sin here purifies God’s people again. Remind you of anything, foreshadowing?

Question:
Why is it so important for us to view sin as seriously as God does?

• Sin is real, and it destroys. (Jam. 1:15, Rom. 6:23)
• Sin cannot abide in the presence of the Lord. (Isa. 6:3, 59:2)
• Sin deceives and lies. (Jer. 17:9)
• Sin hardens the heart. (Heb. 3:13)
• Sin spreads. (Jos. 7:1, 11-12)
• Sin prevents growth. (1 Pet. 2:1-2)
• Sin makes the GOSPEL necessary.

BUT — in short:
We must view sin as seriously as God does because only then do we understand its danger, our need, and the beauty of Christ’s salvation.

Wrap Up

Think about your own sin. 

I heard years ago — and I forget where and from whom it was attributed too, but in short, “If our sin is small, than our Jesus is small – but if our sin is big, than our Jesus is big”. 

I don’t know about you, but I want my Jesus to be big. I know that means I need to see the bigness of my sin. But trying to deny the bigness of my sin is futile — it exists whether or not I acknowledge it… so in the end, it’s better, wiser even, to see the bigness of my horrid sin — because then I understand the grace given to me by Jesus’ sacrifice. THEN the Gospel becomes real, living, and active. Then the Gospel can change my life. 

So how do we take our sin seriously?
How do we deal with our sin?
Do YOU deal with your sin? Or do you tend to ignore it/hide it?

Today’s lesson should confront us with a very heavy reality — 

After all, John Owen said, “Always be killing sin, or sin will be killing you”. 
I don’t know about you, but if I am honest I would rather kill my sin, than let it destroy me, slowly and painfully. 

Remember Psalm 32? — our iniquities eat away at our bones, the crush us.

Let’s take our sin serious — so we can bask all the more in the goodness of the Gospel of Jesus — and then we will understand what real peace and joy in the Kingdom of Heaven can be.