Joshua 7- "The Seriousness of Sin" The Lord commanded the people to bring all spoils to Him at Jericho. One man, Achan, kept some of the spoils for himself. So the Lord caused Israel to be overcome in battle. Joshua pleads with God for Israel and God reveals to him that someone has broken His commandment. Joshua calls all the people and tells them to repent. The Lord leads Joshua to Achan. When confronted, Achan confesses to keeping some of the spoils for himself. He and his household are killed.
I have to admit, when I read this chapter, I thought it harsh that he and his family would be killed, even after he confessed. But Tabletalk pointed out that Achan only confessed after he was filled with the terror of being found out. He did not come forward on his own, this shows his willingness to continue in his sin if he was not found out. The family was also killed for the same reason. They did not love God's commandments enough to reveal Achan's sin.
I think it is easy for people today to take God's apparent lack of disciplinary action as a sign that He loves us so much that He overlooks our sin. Yes, Jesus came to save us from our sin. Believers (those who have repented) are forgiven. But if we give ourselves a license to disobey God, just because Jesus died, that is not true repentance. God does not honor insincere repentance, as we saw with Achan. Though God's judgement may not be obvious now, it will be at the Judgement, when all will have to give an account.
The questions I have to ask myself today are:
Do I love God's commandments enough to hold myself to obey them?
Do I have true repentance?
The 10 Commandments
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord am a jealous God...
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet...
Just in case I am tempted to be content in my knowledge that I have never killed a person, in Matthew 5 Jesus talks about not just keeping the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law as well. I have a renewed thankfulness for Christ. Without Him, I would be doomed.
I have to admit, when I read this chapter, I thought it harsh that he and his family would be killed, even after he confessed. But Tabletalk pointed out that Achan only confessed after he was filled with the terror of being found out. He did not come forward on his own, this shows his willingness to continue in his sin if he was not found out. The family was also killed for the same reason. They did not love God's commandments enough to reveal Achan's sin.
I think it is easy for people today to take God's apparent lack of disciplinary action as a sign that He loves us so much that He overlooks our sin. Yes, Jesus came to save us from our sin. Believers (those who have repented) are forgiven. But if we give ourselves a license to disobey God, just because Jesus died, that is not true repentance. God does not honor insincere repentance, as we saw with Achan. Though God's judgement may not be obvious now, it will be at the Judgement, when all will have to give an account.
The questions I have to ask myself today are:
Do I love God's commandments enough to hold myself to obey them?
Do I have true repentance?
The 10 Commandments
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord am a jealous God...
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet...
Just in case I am tempted to be content in my knowledge that I have never killed a person, in Matthew 5 Jesus talks about not just keeping the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law as well. I have a renewed thankfulness for Christ. Without Him, I would be doomed.
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