What are the Consequences of your Sin?
Imagine you (or your son) are playing for a state title in football. The game is basically over. All you have to do is run out the clock and you will be state champs. But one guy, rips off his helmet and gets a 15 yard penalty. They other team has life and come back and win.
The team loses because of one guy that does not follow the rules. Easy rules to follow. What do you think of this guy? What are the consequences of his sin?
I’m going to give you a quick history lesson of God’s people of Israel. Most people have heard of the story of Moses. The people of Israel are slaves to Egypt at this time. Moses comes and frees the people and they all leave Egypt. God promises them freedom, and that they will enter an area called “the promised land.”
They are in the desert, after escaping from Egypt, and the people, sin, and Moses sins. As punishment, the people have to wander in the desert for 40 years until the entire generation except for two people, has died out.
Moses dies, and he makes Joshua the new leader. God has selected Joshua to lead the Israelite people into the promised land.
The people cross the Jordan River and they get strange instructions from God on how to defeat and enter the city of Jericho, which is the first battle to take over the promised land.
This is a whole study alone, but basically the people walk around the city blowing their trumpets for seven days in a row. On the seventh day, the walls crumble and the Israelites get to enter the city.
Joshua lays, all this out to his people with instructions on how to march around the city, how to enter the city, and what to do with everything in the city.
As Joshua is giving instructions on how God will deliver Jericho, Joshua says this:
Joshua 6:18 – ESV
18. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it.
These “things” are idols of the people devoted to demonic and depraved worship.
This is a warning that Joshua gives the people. The chapter ends with the fall of Jericho and this verse:
Joshua 6:27 – ESV
27. So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.
…Now look at the first word of chapter 7 – …but…
So everything is good. God delivers, the Israelites are in the promised land, Joshua is famous …but…
Our study tonight focuses on one guy that is the subject of this “but…”
Read:
Joshua 7:1-9 – ESV
1. But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel. 2. 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.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4. So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5. and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water. 6. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8. O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9. For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
1. But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
In verse one it says that the people broke Faith and disregarded Joshua’s warning. A man named Achan took some of the items that God had commanded them to destroy.
Think about this scene. The people had just marched around Jericho for seven days in a row. They were blowing trumpets the whole time, but other than that, they were not antagonizing the people inside the city walls. The first couple of days the guards on the walls inside Jericho were taunting the Israelites. By the time it ended, they were all getting nervous, wondering what the Israelites were up to.
On the seventh day, all the people screamed and the walls of Jericho crumbled down. The Israelites then entered the city from all sides and slaughtered all the people at God‘s command. Achan was one of these people. He was part of the group that marched around and saw, the miracle that God performed. He saw how the Israelites didn’t have to fight in a war in the typical sense. God supernaturally gave them the victory. He was part of that and he was on that mountain top of spiritually emotion.
And yet, it says he disregarded God’s warning through Joshua, and took some things for himself. Because of this, God burned with anger at all the people of Israel.
What do you think went through Achans head before he took that first item?
Can our sins have consequences for others?
Does God think sin is serious?
There’s a whole bunch of stuff laying around. Why is it so important to God that nobody takes anything?
2. 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.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”
What is missing in the story about Joshua’s approach to the second battle?
There’s no mention that Joshua seeks the Lord. It would appear that he does this all on his own.
When you read what the spies tell Joshua, what is the main vibe?
Overconfidence or arrogance. They just knocked out the far superior Caninites in the city of Jericho. Clearly a small place like AI would be no problem for the great warriors of the Israelis, right?
However, they don’t have God on their side right now…
4. So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5. and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
They sent 3000 men, but it wouldn’t matter if they sent 1 million men. They were not going to win, because they were outside of Gods will.
It says that 36 men were killed. This is not a large number when you think about wars, but it is 36 more than we killed in the much larger battle at Jericho.
I think of the matrix when Neo finally is able to hurt agent Smith. He doesn’t kill him, but he realizes that he can be harmed.
The Israelites now know that they can be defeated even in the promised land.
What is significant that Israel only lost 36 men?
Even though, this number seems small. The Israelites still flee and panic. They were chased as far away. The difference to Jericho is huge. With God‘s help, they can conquer the mightiest army. When they leave God behind, they can get defeated by the smallest of armies.
In verse 5, it says that their hearts melted and became like water.
Jump back to:
Joshua 5:1 – ESV
1. As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
We didn’t study this part, because we jumped in right at the point when the walls were going to crumble down in Jericho. However, this is the same language that is used to describe the people that were already in the promised land, before the Israelis came there. If you go back a few chapters, you’ll see that the Israelites were wandering in the desert. God dried up the Jordan river so they could walk across it into the promised land. The people who live there heard this and were terrified because they knew that God was with the Israelites.
Side note – why do you think they are terrified? What’s wrong with God being with the people?
People in God’s will are not afraid of him coming…
6. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8. O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9. For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
Why did Joshua tear his clothes and fall to the ground on his face and put dust on his head?
Genesis 37:29 – ESV
29. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes
Job 2:11-12 – ESV
11. Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven.
Revelation 18:18-19 – ESV
18. and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?” 19. And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
This is just three out of several examples throughout the Bible. Tearing their clothes is associated with morning, grief, and loss. It’s also mentioned to express pain and sorrow by David, Saul, Jonathan, Elijah, Elijah, Mordecai, Paul, Barnabas, etc., etc. etc..
In verse 7, Joshua cries out to God. Why did you bring us here at all? Just to give us into the hands of our enemies to destroy us? Would it be better if we just stayed where we were?
The people of Israel rely on God fully for their victories. What is wrong with the phrasing of Joshua’s question?
He is calling out to God, as if this is God’s fault. He doesn’t know about Achans sin, but shouldn’t he look to the people to see how they have left God, rather than God leaving us?
Have you felt like God has left you?
Or things going well at one point, and then they weren’t?
Do you think it was you that fell out of step with God?
What is Joshua saying in verse 8 and 9?
Josh‘s greatest concern was for the glory of God. When we stumble or fail, maybe our greatest disappointment should be that we have brought shame to God‘s great name. If we claim to be born again Christians, then we are representing him.
Does this have any impact on your thoughts or acceptance to some of your own sins?