“The God Who Sees” – Joshua 7

My sin effects me. It also effects my family…oh, and my church…and my community…and my nation…and my leaders…and how God tells His story through my life. Wow, when you think about it, it really affects…well, everything that matters!

To set the story in the context necessary to understand the lesson, it is important to understand what the book of Joshua is all about. The point of the book is to show how the completion of the work of God in forming the nation out of a rabble of slaves under Moses was completed in Joshua, his successor (11:15). The issue of coming back into Canaan was second to the formation of the national identity of the people. Yes, they conquered the land – but “they” needed to become a single people before that could happen.

Forty years in the desert provided for by God was coming to an end. The book is divided into three parts: Entering the Land (Joshua 1-5); Conquering the Land (6-12); Dividing the Land (13-21).  Our story follows the great move of God to give the first fruits of the cities into the hands of the sons of Israel. He had one great command that He demanded of the people – leave the itens of that city as a “Korban” gift – under a ban of use – for the Lord Himself. Most of the people faithfully destroyed all that was in the city and left the spoils behind (6:21), with the agreed exception of Rahab and family, who got a pass from Joshua for her assistance to the spies (6:25). Joshua 7 opens with a lesson of God on the formation of the nation, set up in the moral of the story by Joshua 7:1.

Key Principle: We need to face anew the high cost of SIN to warn us to reign in our wayward desires.

Problem: One secret sin was committed – and all paid (7:1).

Joshua 7 begins with a secret sin. The leadership of the people had no idea. We don’t know how many people really were aware before God opened up the judgment – but it was a small number that were involved – possibly only one man. Joshua 7:1 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

The passage is painfully specific as to WHO broke the rule of God. His name was Achan, and his pedigree was known. At the same time, the end of the verse is given in contrast to the one man – God judged the MANY for the sins of the ONE. In essence, the moral of the story was given in the very beginning. If the people were to become a nation, they needed to understand that the failure of one would lead to the collapse of many. It is critical in the beginning of a venture to make sure that people know how essential it is for everyone to do their part at their best leve. One unattentive soldier who allows a gap in the line can cause the fall of an army. This principal needed to be made clear to the church early on as well:

Acts 5:1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

What can secret sins do to God’s people? The passage suggests six tragic consequences:

Among the people of God (7:2-5):

1) Secret sin will expose leaders to blame for things they did not do wrong!  7:2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 7:3 They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”

Joshua and his men were wholly unaware and continued the battle expecting the victories to continue (7:2). Spies were unaware of God’s removed hand, and planned for an easy victory (7:3). The people following Joshua may have used this as a point of criticism against him or his leading men in later times (if God hadn’t exposed the problem). It may have even pulled apart his work for God in the erosion of confidence. Don’t forget: We’re extremely vulnerable to temptation in moments of apparent success.

2) Secret sin will open God’s people to devastating losses. 7:4 “So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim [crevice breaks; quarry cuts] and struck them down on the descent…”

Three “bands” ["eleph" may mean bands or thousands] went up, and they were routed when thirty six fell (7:4-5a). Thirty six men who had families and no guilt in the sin paid with their lives because God removed His hand of protection in light of the violation. Thirty-six families were affected deeply, and wounded by the loss.

3) Secret sin will discourage the faithful among God’s people, and wipe out the work built up to that time. 7:5b “…so the hearts of the people melted and became as water”.

The people’s confidence was decimated, a swift turnabout from the testimony of Rahab to the spies of Israel in Joshua 2:11 “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

In the leader’s tent (7:6-9)

4) Secret sin will bring grief to the hearts of godly and obedient leaders. 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

The loss was not understood. He had done all that God asked, how could God allow this humiliation of the people? Prostrate in a ripped garment, groveling in the earth’s dust, the broken hearted leader through a tear-stained face cried out to God the whole day until evening. The pain was severe, and he felt responsible for the losses of good men, but had no idea why it happened.

5) Secret sin may cause doubt and distance between the heart of the leader and God! 7:7 Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies?

The inevitable “why question” poured from a broken heart. Joshua didn’t know what the problem could have been. He sounds a bit like he may have even wavered on the idea of God’s goodness. The fact is that “hurt people hurt people.” In the same way, hurt leaders can turn that hurt into painful accusations – even at God. We ascribe too much maturity and steadfastness to many Christian leaders. When they are hurt by my sin and its effects, will they abandon their post?

I cannot overstate the damage I have seen done to caring Christian colleagues in ministry by well covered sinful behaviors of their people. The Pastor I know that had a ministry partner who was secretly molesting young men left the ministry for good. A whole denominational work among a people group was disbanded for the same sin. A man died a prisoner of the state who once served the Lord in ministry – but he took down many with him when his sin was exposed. Countless young men were damaged in this terrible abuse before it came out! Secret sin can kill like a cannon ball ripping through the lines of the advancing troops – taking out many at one time.

6) Secret sin can destroy the testimony of the Lord’s people and work in front of the lost world. 7:9 “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”

Note that Joshua was concerned with two things – the reaction of the stronger unbelievers around them killing them off; the humiliation to the God of Abraham’s great Name. He didn’t want his people to be destroyed or suffer – an impulse any leader who truly cares about his people feels… at the same time, the Name of the living God mattered – and he couldn’t stomach that being trashed. Secret sin can lead to open judgment, which can open God’s people to broader criticism’s and even destruction.

Four critical actions of the leader from the Word of the Lord (7:10-15):

1) The leader cannot allow judgment to disable them. 7:10 So the LORD said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?

The leaders do not have the same rights as the followers. They are to accept the pain, but not allow that pain to debilitate them. If the leader falls to the ground and remains incapacitated, the work will not go on. Leaders surrender the right to pick at their scars and let them become scabs.

2) Then leader must open his or her heart to God’s Word and let God direct us as to what is really wrong, and what should be done about it. 7:11 “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. 12 “Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.

God knows what He wants, and God sees many things I cannot. Elijah thought he was alone when God had 7000 that were pure of Baal’s worship. We cannot assume we see it all, so we must listen to the Word of God and follow things precisely. Note that God stated the set back was not only a result of sin – but He names the actual sin: Rebellious disobedience in a specific area. God also made clear that the leader needed to act on the sin – and could not dismiss it. The failure to act would imperil the whole community of believers – and it ALWAYS DOES.

Paul urged the Corinthian believers to act on a situation of sin that was taking place in their midst with swift and thorough responsive action. 1 Corinthians 5:1 shares: “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

3) The leader will need to offer direction to the people to prepare them for God’s discipline of the community. 7:13 “Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.”

Note that it was essential that Joshua tell them three things: 1) we need to prepare ourselves for the time of discipline; 2) God has already indicated the standard He has and how we have violated it; 3) God has said we cannot move past this unless we deal with it. In the case of Joshua, God spoke audibly and clearly. Does He always do that? No, but He has committed to answering if we ask and wait on Him! James 1: 2  reminds: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Note that James 1:5 is in the context of trials. It is a promise God has made to believers – If you are going through difficult times of external trials and don’t know why, ask Me!

4) The leader needs to explain God’s Word to the people, so that God can act with clarity. Joshua 7:14 ‘In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15 ‘It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

Don’t imagine the scene without deep emotional undertones. Thirty-six families were about to be deeply bitter at the site of Achan. Many wept and buried loved one directly connected to Achan’s greed and deceit. On the other hand, many would react to the fire that consumed them by losing their lunch! What a sickening thought to have to take lives of a family. The next door neighbors would want to plead for leniency. This is what made the explanation essential BEFORE the actual family was exposed. When people agree to the rules before the specific situation, it is easier to quell the emotional blows.

Final Judgment – Facing the Nation with Five Steps (7:16-26)

Joshua prepared the people as God instructed. The night passed and Achan knew what was coming, yet he did not repent and confess his sins. He waited to be caught, hoping the God of Israel did not have eyes that could pry into his tent – or his heart. It was a bad bargain, and there was no way Achan could lose – but it is a game many of us play in our lives. We somehow feel safe because MEN cannot see our hearts, and they don’t know where our closets with skeletons are to be found.

1) The people needed to be assembled to see God work in front of all of them. Joshua 7:16 So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 He brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was taken.

2) The leader needed to make the man annunciate the crime clearly – to clarify any misunderstanding. When it was clearly impossible to hide any further, Joshua stepped up to make the confession easier for Achan. He directly asked him: Joshua 7:19 :Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” 20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.”

Achan gave an excellent definition for secret sin: “I saw…I coveted…I took…I concealed….” This sequence of events is the commong fall into sin. It begins with the look – that leads to the desire that envelops us (coveting), and that ends in eventually finding an opportunity to take something that wasn’t given to us by God’s hand. We seem discontented with His care and we take care of ourselves. We affronted His provision and then we hid our sin.

3) The people needed to make sure the evidence was exposed, as the testimony needed validation and all Korban (banned) items needed to be accounted for. Joshua 7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it. 23 They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD.

It was clear that Achan was guilty, and all Israel could see the sinful spoils. No one stood to suggest the humiliation was too great- for after all many had suffered for this man’s actions!

4) The leader needed to side with God, not simply his compassionate heart. Joshua was not a cold hearted leader. He knew that people needed direction, but he also loved and cared for the people. They were always in his thoughts. Yet, he could not vote against God and for some warped sense of compassion. God spoke – and he served God – not simply the people. When he served the people, he was serving God by serving them – and he could not afford to forget that. Joshua 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26 They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

5) The leader needs God’s Word for the longer view of things. God can turn disaster into hope – if we trust Him. The “Valley of Achor” was a reminder of the high cost of sin for generations. A prophet arose generations later named Hosea who offered a brighter end to this story than Joshua ever knew. In Hosea 2:13 God picked up the story of that memorial.

He said: “I will punish her for the days of the Baals,  When she used to offer sacrifices to them,  And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry,  And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the LORD. 14“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,  Bring her into the wilderness  And speak kindly to her. 15“Then I will give her her vineyards from there,  And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.  And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,  As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”

God promised the memorial in the Valley of Achor, (which means “trouble or disaster”) will become a “door of hope.” Israel would see the sin pile, but also experience in its shadow the renewal to her God. Where a pile of stones explained defeat God would bring the message of comfort, restoration and victory. The place of disaster would, in God’s hands become a place of renewed hope.

Make no mistake about it, An entire church family can be delayed, derailed or defeated by the malignancy of an individual’s un-confessed sin. We should also not be mistaken – God can find sin, rout sin, and renew men in the shadow of the stones. We need to face anew the high cost of SIN to warn us to reign in our wayward desires.