What Matters Most
The Story of the Old Testament: Joshua • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Prayer
Things Go Awry
My guess is, if you’re a sports fan, you know the highs and lows. Those times when your team is unbeatable. As many of you know, I’m a big fan of the Texas Rangers (2023 World Series Champs, by the way) Last season, at one point, they were unbeatable, win after win after win. We couldn’t be beat. Then for some reason, no idea why, they couldn’t win a game. Complete flip, loss after loss after loss. From full confidence to utter despair - which is exactly what we see happen to the Israelites as they seek to conquer the land of the Canaanites.
Over the last several weeks, we’ve been looking at their “high”, being unbeatable. God cut off the Jordan River so the entire nation could cross over. When it came to their first battle, the city of Jericho - all they had to do was march around the city multiple times, boom, the walls came crashing down - and the army was able to march right in and destroy the city.
As we talked about last week, part of the conquest of Jericho came the command from God for herem. Like a burnt offering, this first conquest was to be given over to God completely, devoted to him. This was the Lord’s battle (they are on his side, not vice versa, God is not on their side). All the inhabitants, both people and animals, were killed. All the valuables - gold, silver, etc. were to go into the treasury of the Lord.
Now Joshua and the nation of Israel are ready to take on the next city, which is called Ai. It’s not as big or as well fortified as Jericho, this should be a cinch. We learn how it goes in Joshua 7:2-5...
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
So, as you can see, it does not go well. Like he did for Jericho, Joshua sends out a couple of spies to check out Ai. They come back and give the report - should be a breeze, send just a couple of thousand soldiers, we don’t need the whole army. Three thousand men go up, and they get routed. They are chased down by the men of Ai, who kill many of the Israelites. Finishes with this ominous note: At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. What a powerful image - solid, stout heart just melting into liquid.
What the heck went wrong? Where was the Lord? Did he abandon them? That’s exactly the question Joshua and the elders of Israel ask him, Joshua 7:6-9...Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
We’ve been routed, Lord! What’s going on? Why did you bring us over to this side of the Jordan if you’re just going to let us be destroyed - we’d rather have stayed on the other side. As soon as all the tribes hear about this, they’ll be coming for us - you’re our God, what’s that going to say about you?!
Turns out, this is what happened, this is why they went from unbeatable to getting routed - this is from verse 1, which I skipped: But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. God’s anger stirred against the Israelites because they did not obey his very specific command that all of Jericho was to be devoted to him. Because a man by the name of Achan decided he wanted some of the goodies for his own.
This is exactly what God tells Joshua and the elders, Joshua 7:10-12 - The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 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. 12 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.
As the story continues, the Lord commands Joshua to consecrate the people - to make them holy. In order, to go through acts of ritual purity - and to avoid things that would make them impure. God is commanding this so that the people can present themselves the next day before him, so he can chose from them, tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family and finally, man by man, until the guilty party is revealed.
All this plays out until until Achan son Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah is chosen. Achan confesses his evil act, describing how he saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels - he saw them, he coveted them, and he took them (the classic progression of sin).
He hid them in the ground inside his tent - which likely suggests that his family was aware of what he did. After his confession, the punishment comes on Achan on his family - he and his family and possessions are taken to the Valley of Achor and then “all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.”
Now, just to let you know how the rest of the story plays out, in Joshua 8 the Lord encourages Joshua to continue the fight. So the entire army make their way to Ai. The Israelites set up an ambush so that when the men of Ai come out to attack Israel, thinking they will route them again, they end up trapped between the two sides of the Israelite army. The city of Ai is destroyed, but this time God tells them they can keep the livestock and the plunder. It is not herem, devoted to God.
Full Devotion to the Lord
So we were actually talking about this on Wednesday at our Spiritual Formation Group - and it really is a difficult concept, this of herem. Not so much the absolute devotion to the Lord, but the destruction of it. The fact that all the people, young and old, men and women, are to be put to death. And the livestock - literally, butchered. All put to the sword. Everything then burned. I want to talk a little bit about this, see if we can make some sense of it.
So the image I think is the most helpful is that of the burnt offering - especially in comparison to say, a grain or fellowship offering. When a fellowship offering was made, the animal sacrificed, only certain parts of the animal would be burnt - the rest would be taken and eaten. It was food for the priests or the people. But a burnt offering was given totally over to the Lord. Entire animal burned up.
So this is what is meant to herem, by something being absolutely devoted to God, for no other purpose to be given over to God (destroying that object ensured that). It is in that sense holy to the Lord, set apart for him.
In this sense holiness and herem, were intricately connected, as one scholar says, there were a two-way street. The Israelites were a people holy to God, set apart for him. They were to live out their lives in holiness. We see this in this story - before the Israelites were to come before God for the guilty party to be revealed, they were to consecrate themselves, make themselves ritually pure.
To be holy to God, set apart for him, includes the willingness to give anything and everything over to the Lord. He is first. He is the Lord. He above everything else. The Lord God deserves your loyalty above everything else. Which is why, in Deuteronomy 13, God warns the Israelites that when they have been given the land, and it is discovered that in one of their towns they start worshiping other gods - if, after an investigation determines this is true, they are to make that town herem to God, literally, it says, a burnt offering. Devoted to destruction. Because they failed to be holy to God, loyal to him.
This is why Achan’s sin is so egregious. It is a breaking of faith. Which is exactly how it is described in Joshua 7:1, “But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things.” The Hebrew word there, ma’al, translated unfaithful, is adultery. They committed spiritual adultery. They were unfaithful to the God they were to be loyal to above everything else.
Something - the plunder - mattered more to Achan - than God. He coveted it. He wanted it more than the Lord his God. So he took the forbidden things and became a model of what brings judgment to God’s people.
Fascinating to contrast him with Rahab, polar opposites - why Rahab is so prominently featured in the book of Joshua, because she demonstrates true loyalty. Achan betrayed his people, God’s people, taking the loot, hiding it in the ground under his tent. In the process, he destroys his whole family. Rahab, on the other hand, betrays her people, the people of Jericho, and comes over to the other side, to God’s people. She hides the spies on her roof, and in the process, saves her whole family from destruction.
The contrast between Rahab and Achan makes the point that it is not the pedigree, the family lineage, the ethnicity, that matters. What matters is loyalty to the one true God. That’s what makes you holy, set apart, by being for him, above everything else.
As we read these stories, it’s tempting to contrast the Old Testament versus the New Testament, as if it’s not the same God. But as Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” The character of God does not change. His desire for our commitment and loyalty - above everything else - does not change. His judgment and wrath and mercy and compassion - none of that changes.
We see a very similar story to today’s story in Acts 5, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This couple was a part of the early church. They sold a piece of property and set the money before the apostles - which seems like a wonderful thing. But here’s the thing - they kept some of the money for themselves and presented the money as if it were the full price they were paid for the property. When Peter confronts them about it, they are struck dead by the Holy Spirit.
Here’s the thing - the issue wasn’t that they kept some of the money, Peter had told them that after they sold the property, the money belonged to them. The issue was that they were more loyal to themselves, they wanted the admiration of the rest of the community for appearing so generous. So they lied. How they appeared to others mattered more to them than their loyalty to God.
Jesus teaches the same thing to us - that to follow him, to be holy to him, is to be more loyal to him above everything and everyone else. Listen to what he says, Luke 9:23-25...Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
If you’re going to follow me, be my disciple - you have to be more loyal to me than yourself. You must deny yourself. You must be willing to lose your life. You can’t chase after the world and gain what I have to offer. If Jesus is truly the Savior, the Lord, the one true God, he is more valuable than life itself. He must matter more.
Paul says the same thing, Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. That’s complete devotion language, burnt offering. Holiness - wholly devoted to God - offering your bodies as a living sacrifice. Here I am, set apart for your, Lord, I want to please you with all that I am, all that I do. I give myself to you. That’s worship. Lord, you above everything else.
Here’s the thing, with all this talk of devotion and destruction. Achan and his family are devoted to destruction because he did not honor the things devoted to God, he was unfaithful to God. The gold and silver, wealth, mattered more to him.
But God’s desire is not that we respond to him out of fear - that our loyalty only comes as a result of being afraid ow that happened to Achan will happen to us. After all, we were already devoted to destruction. Because of our sin, because we turned against God, been unfaithful to him - we are deserving of wrath. We are, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2, dead in our transgressions and sins.
But notice what Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, as to why we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices, to fully devote ourselves to him - because of God’s mercy. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. We give ourselves to him because of how he’s given himself for us. Because he’s been so gracious to us. After all, as 1 John tells us, perfect love casts out fear. God’s desire is not that we respond to him out of fear, but because of his love.
The Gospel, the good news, is that God loved us so much, he gave us his son, his only begotten son - who was devoted to destruction on our behalf. God wants us to know and experience life in him. It’s just another reason why we can trust that God himself is the greatest good. There is nothing and no one else worth devoting ourselves to compared to him. Nothing matters more. Even our own lives.
Doc Sloop (Pastor Care Team of the East Central Presbytery), preached on Psalm 63, an amazing expression of David while he was in the desert of Judea. Hear his heart, his desire to be fully devoted to the Lord God. Psalm 63:1-5...You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Because your love is better than life. And because your love is better than life, I will seek you earnestly. I thirst for you. My whole being longs for you. My lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live. In your name I will lift up my hands.
May that be our heart’s desire. May we know the love and goodness of God so much that - not out of fear - but out of desire for more of his love and joy and goodness and glory that we would wholly devote ourselves to him - denying ourselves. Taking up our crosses. Willing, living sacrifices.
Spiritual Disciplines
As David makes clear in Psalm 63, that one of the best ways to express our devotion to Jesus is by worship. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you…This week, make a point of engaging in the discipline of worship. Worship God every day. Sing a praise song. As you do your daily reading of Scripture, what does it teach you about the character of God? Praise God for that (his faithfulness, his love, the wonders of his creation). Lift up your hands!
Another discipline to consider is fasting. Fasting puts into practice our willingness to deny ourselves for the sake of Jesus. To let nothing else be master over us - because he matters more. Cell phone fast. Fast from eating. Fast from gossip. Fast from spending money.
The goal in all of this - to fully devote ourselves to Jesus Christ. Kingdom First. Nothing else matters more. Let’s express that now...