Joshua 7 TO 8 SIN OF ACHAN

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I)       Sin in the Camp

A)    File:  Joshua 7 TO 8 SIN OF ACHAN.doc

B)    Audio:            

C)    Series:  Victory in the promised land

D)    Preached:  July 15, 2007.

II)    A soldier sins  7:1,

A)    Who:  Achan:  Trouble 1 Chr. 2:7 “Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing”

B)    What:  “Broke faith” KJV, “committed a trespass”

1)      “break faith, commit a violation, i.e., act. in a manner which is untrustworthy or unreliable in relation to an agreement or relationship”

2)      The command 6:17-21, 24 6:17a set apart as an offering

3)      We know he knew the rules –

(a)    He hid the items.

(b)   someone would have seen him. 

C)    Not just what God said in ch. 6 but the spirit of the law:

1)      Firstfruits prov 3:9.  “Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest;” 

2)      Last week:  this is a tithe – their first battle in the land.

D)    How could this happen? vv20-21 detail:

1)      He looked, coveted, took, (v21) and attempted to cover it (lied, v11)

(a)    Adam and Eve, David.

2)      He even tried to deceive himself by saying “spoils” i.e., booty, plunder, anything taken by the victors of a battle.

(a)    God had called it the “devoted things” (7:1) – consecrated, things set aside for God and His purposes.  “Devoted for destruction” means set aside to offer as a sacrifice to God.

(b)   Achan’s word implies something the victor is entitled – and he is right, only he is not the victor – God is!

E)     Well, when a soldier sins – it affects others.  There is a divine result of sin – “the Lord burned against the people of Israel.”

1)      And that anger results in a real, physical, result:

III) The enemy wins 7:2-5

A)    36 men die.  One person’s sin affects others:

1)      Examples:  David, 2 Sam. 11:1-4, 70,000 people.  Jonah 1. 

2)      We must examine ourselves Heb. 12:15, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.”

B)    Let’s not fully hang these 36 lives on Achan – Joshua and the leaders also appeared to make a mistake.

1)      It wasn’t in sending spies, nor the number of men

2)      It was in assuming that God was with them

(a)    If they had consulted God in prayer before going up against Ai, God would have told them

(b)   A mistake we often make – things go good, we get what we want, we ignore the Lord for a while.

C)    There is no sin that goes unnoticed.  Those 36 men had nothing to do with Achan’s robbery yet they lost their lives.

1)      Another affect:  appears much of the family was in on it as they are killed with Achan.  More later.

D)    There’s another affect of his sin, the leaders are on their faces all day in distress:

IV) The leaders cry 7:6-9.

A)    Joshua and the elders do the proper thing – they seek the Lord.  But they could have saved lives doing this before attacking Ai.

B)    It says – “until evening.”  They were at this a while. 

1)      Why doesn’t God answer right away?

2)      He waits for Joshua to get himself straightened out:

C)    Look at Joshua’s prayer:

1)      likely a summary – more words than this ‘until evening’

2)      The key points are here.

3)      7:  Why have you brought us over here just to kill us?  We should have stayed with the 2-1/2 tribes over the river.

4)      8:  What can I say, when we retreated?

5)      9:  The inhabitants will hear of it and kill us.

6)      9:  (now he gets it right) And what will you do for your great name.

7)      Joshua works through his emotion, wrestles with the situation in prayer, until he begins to see it God’s way:  This whole campaign is about God and His glory.

(a)    Not where they live, the Canaanites, the Israelites – it’s bigger than those things – it’s about God’s plan.

8)      Notice that not until Joshua gets to this does the Lord answer and tell why:

V)    The Lord tells why 7:10-12,

A)    God’s reply indicates that Joshua should have known what to do – almost like God rebukes him for wasting time here in prayer when there is work to be done. V10.

1)      We should be constantly in prayer so we don’t have to do ‘marathon’ prayers “until evening” to discover what we should already know.

2)      A leader has got to know the condition of his people before going into battle

B)    So what’s the problem (v11)? “Israel has sinned,” 

1)      We say how they have all shared the affects of Achan’s sin – but the guilt?  How is this fair?

(a)    Exo. 19:5-6:  “Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, 6 and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.”

(i)     They were one people in the Lord – a nation.  Standing out and distinct in the world.

(b)   Dt. 23:14  Their camp was to be holy “For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything improper among you or He will turn away from you.”

(i)     Maybe this is why he seems to rebuke Joshua for being on his face in prayer!  God just said this to them – they should have known there was sin in the camp as soon as they experienced this failure!

2)      So one man sins and the whole nation is guilty of sin?  Yes, the terms of their covenant said so.

C)    So what do they do now?  God continues:

VI) The sinner burns 7:13-15

A)    They have to clean house – Find the perpetrator and destroy him and the devoted things.

B)    7:16-21 They rise early.  Cast lots narrowing it down to Achan.  He confesses (20-21).  Then we come to v22:

C)    7:22-26.

1)      By the way “Achor” like Achan also means “trouble.”

D)    This was dirty work:  temptation is to ask: “Do two wrongs make a right?” or “Isn’t that murder?” or “How could a loving God judge this man and his family so harshly?”

E)     Some very important things to keep in mind:

1)      Be assured no one innocent is killed.  Co-conspirators.  God had serious laws about shedding innocent blood.

2)      Killing may seem harsh – but remember the 36, Noahic covenant – murderers are to be executed.

3)      Something much bigger!  But not just 36 at stake.  What is God doing here?  That’s right, God is about redeeming the world – hundreds of millions will be saved by Jesus Christ. 

(a)    God’s plan is too important to let a family of traitors stand in the way.

4)      In a sense – Achan’s sin was a sin against us as well – spiritual Israel, jeopardized the conquest of the promised land – a crucial step in God’s redemption of mankind.

F)     Well, that’s not the end of the story.

VII)          The Lord returns 8:1

A)    “I have given it into your hand” Sound familiar? Back on track.

VIII)       What it means to us:

A)    We need to keep sin out of the camp:  1 Cor. 5 – an immoral person among them – Paul instructs to have taken out.  In fact, any who is called ‘brother’ but is immoral should be thrown out!  Why?  1 Cor. 12:26 “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it”  We are one body like a nation.

B)    Our sin affects others:

C)    James 5:16, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

D)    1 Cor. 11:17-34.  The Lord’s Supper:  Divisions, not sharing, drunkenness:  an unworthy manner.  Judgment on himself:  “that is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”  “If we judged ourselves truly we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”


IX) Notes:

A)    Look around your tent

B)    Know what’s going on in the camp

C)    But, they are a people – as we are a church.  And our sin – no matter how private we think it is, affects others.

D)    We must root it out of the camp like 1 Cor. 5.

E)      

X)    Songs, etc.

A)    Take my life and let it be

XI) Possible outline:

A)    disobedience (unbelief)

1)      will be discovered

2)      removes God’s presence

3)      affects others

(a)    Dead soldiers

(b)   Discouraged leaders

4)      will be punished

B)    Or

1)      The sin

2)      The sinner

C)    Or

1)      How can it happen

2)      How we should respond

3)      How God responds

D)    Or

1)      A man sins

2)      The army fails

3)      The leaders pray

4)      An investigation

E)     Or

1)      A soldier sins

2)      The enemy wins

3)      The leaders cry

4)      The Lord tells why

5)      The sinner burns

6)      The Lord returns

F)      


July 15, 2007, Sin in the Camp!

Joshua 7:1-8:1. 

I)       The Story:

A)    A soldier __________________ (7:1, 20-21; 6:17-21, 24;)  

B)    The enemy _________________ (7:2-5; 2 Sam. 11:1-4;)

C)    The leaders _________________ (7:6-9)

D)    The Lord tells _______________ (7:10-12; Exo. 19:5-6; Dt. 23:14)

E)     The sinner __________________ (7:13-15, 22-26;)

F)     The Lord ___________________ (8:1)[1]

II)    What it means to us:

A)    In much the same way, this can happen in the church where many (eternal) lives are at stake.

B)    We must root sin out of the camp (1 Cor. 5) because we are one body (1 Cor. 12:26).

C)    We should be accountable to one another for confession and prayer (James 5:16).

D)    We must practice church discipline in the proper manner, when necessary (Matt. 18:15-17).

July 15, 2007, Sin in the Camp!

Joshua 7:1-8:1. 

III) The Story:

A)    A soldier __________________ (7:1, 20-21; 6:17-21, 24;)  

B)    The enemy _________________ (7:2-5; 2 Sam. 11:1-4;)

C)    The leaders _________________ (7:6-9)

D)    The Lord tells _______________ (7:10-12; Exo. 19:5-6; Dt. 23:14)

E)     The sinner __________________ (7:13-15, 22-26;)

F)     The Lord ___________________ (8:1)[2]

IV) What it means to us:

A)    In much the same way, this can happen in the church where many (eternal) lives are at stake.

B)    We must root sin out of the camp (1 Cor. 5) because we are one body (1 Cor. 12:26).

C)    We should be accountable to one another for confession and prayer (James 5:16).

D)    We must practice church discipline in the proper manner, when necessary (Matt. 18:15-17).


----

[1] A) sins; B) wins; C) cry; D) why; E) burns; F) returns;

[2] A) sins; B) wins; C) cry; D) why; E) burns; F) returns;

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