Joshua 7
Up until this point, Joshua and the people of Israel had experienced only victory. However, Chapter 7 is the story of defeat. Thirty-six men were dead, and the army was frightened. No doubt, Joshua must have been confused and puzzled! Certainly, he expected an unbroken string of victories, and a winning season, as it were.
Of course, that was God’s desire, too – for Israel then and for us today. God provides every avenue to make victory possible for us. But at the same time, he does not make defeat impossible. We from time to time make choices that can lead to victory or failure.
Too often, we choose to break our fences and go our own ways, and sin is the result. But remember, a failing in life does not make life a failure. When we experience failure, it does not have to be a lasting defeat.
- The curse that is here (verse 11): “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.”
Joshua reminded the lsraelites that all of the gold, silver, and bronze was to be kept holy to the Lord (6:19). But Achan took a portion of the treasure from Jericho, violating the commands of God (7:1). Even though God’s command was clear, somehow Achan rationalized his sin, and compromised his integrity.
As a result of Achan’s sin, God removed his hand of blessing and protection from the lsraelites (verse 12). God never honours disobedience. In verses 10 11, God told israel that they had sinned. And what caused their failure? - Overconfidence (verse 2-3): An attitude of overconfidence reduced the size of the army. The people’s thinking went like this: Since we did so well at Jericho, let’s not worry much about a small place like Ai. But remember, they did not do the work at Jericho; God did! The people simply walked around the walls, and God brought the walls down!
How often do we succumb to this kind of thinking? Fchristians and churches are susceptible to being overconfident and forgetting that “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). Standing in our own strength without dependence on God through trust and prayer leads to defeat, and disobedience.
Disobedience (verse 11a): Notice that the failure of one man led to implication of the entire nation. When we harbor sin in our hearts, we affect those around us. The failure in our own lives touches our families and churches.
Are we, then, left without help or hope in the midst of our failure? It has been said that it is bad to fall but worse to wallow in it. The good news is that something can be done:
- A cure that is near (verses 19-20, 25): What do we do when we fail? We kneel at the feet of Jesus, the one who paid our penalty, confess our failures, and seek his strength to go on.
- Confession (verse 19-20): Achan’s personal confession details the event. He confesses that he saw the treasure, coveted it, and took the items. Then he confesses that he hid them.
How many times have we had to say that? “1 saw it, I coveted it, I took it, and now I’m trying to hide it”! God calls for a confession of our failure, and our sins. God desires that we see our failures in the same way he sees it – disobedience. - Correction (verse 25): God said in the beginning that sin brings death. Sin brought defeat in the life of Israel. Joshua and the people of Israel took Achan, his sons and daughters, and all that he had to the edge of the city and stoned them. Achan’s sin brought tragic consequences,
But before we think that God was too harsh, remember that the same God who punished Achan sent his Son, Jesus, to deal with our sin problem through his death on a cross. Our failure broke the heart of God to the point that he sent his only begotten Son as the solution to our sin problem.
