SIN AND CONSEQUENCE
Joshua 7:1-26
“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.”
It was all so easy. Achan saw, coveted and took what he coveted. He knew he shouldn’t. Joshua had commanded that all silver and gold will go into God’s treasury. It would appear that for all his experiences in the wilderness, he did not think that God is one who will know what he has done or at least, wouldn’t be bothered.
This, however, is how God saw it: “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.” And this is God’s judgement: Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’
“Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.”
Joshua was unaware of what had happened. He was focused on the military campaign and, to my mind, did not pay enough attention to the concerns of God. Having witnessed the might of God to bring down the walls of Jericho, that put the fear of God into all the inhabitants of Canaan, he inexplicably decided to deal with Ai without the help of God. And when things went horribly wrong, blamed God.
God’s patience with Joshua and restraint in responding to him is revealing. Joshua was, after all, new to the role of leading a nation of God’s people. He had stepped into the shoes of Moses on the promises of God to “never leave you nor forsake you.” God was true to his promise.
Joshua thus learned a valuable lesson, one that he would take to heart after he defeated Ai in chapter 8. “That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” Israel’s might is the God who stands with them and Joshua’s most important task is to ensure that Israel remains true to their covenant with him.
It is important that we do not confuse God’s relationship with Israel and his relationship with us as followers of Jesus. That covenant was based on Law; compliance with the terms of the covenant. God’s relationship with us as Christians is based on Grace; God’s favour extended to us in response to the obedience and sacrifice of Jesus. God’s commitment to us is based on his commitment to Jesus.
However, it would be foolish of us to think therefore that our actions—our trivialising of God’s concerns and commands, our allowing sinful practices, sinful behaviour and sinful values to take root in our minds and hearts—have no effect on God’s relationship with us. Paul in Ephesians 4:30 warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit and in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, not to quench the Holy Spirit. Our relationship with God is spiritual and allowing sin, unconfessed and unrepented sins, to fester will certainly compromise the power of God’s presence with us and in us.
Israel suffered the consequence of Achan’s sin but Achan died for his own sin before God’s relationship with Israel could be restored. In our case, Jesus died for our sin. Sin is never trivial; never inconsequential.
Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”