Zero Tolerance for Sin

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Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, I want to see You as You really are, and to love You as I really should.

Read Joshua 7:10–26

^[10] 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. ^[13] “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. ^[14] “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the LORD chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the LORD chooses shall come forward man by man. ^[15] 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!'” ^[16] Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. ^[17] The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. ^[18] Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. ^[19] Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” ^[20] Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ^[21] 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. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” ^[22] So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ^[23] They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. ^[24] Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. ^[25] Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. ^[26] Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

Meditate

We cannot take God’s grace and forgiveness for granted. We must declare war on sin and recognize that the problem is often inside us.

Think Further

Joshua was on the ground, lamenting in self-pity, asking God the wrong

questions. God told him to stand up and came directly to the point. “Israel has sinned; they have

violated my covenant” by stealing the devoted things (11). Achan’s sin was clearly visible to

God and had corporate consequences. Joshua was commanded to deal decisively with the sin.

Unless this was done, Israel would lose God’s presence (12) and be unable to stand against its

enemies (13).

Joshua acted promptly by asking every tribe to come forward before God (16,17). God, who

knows and sees everything, revealed the real culprit. The finger of God zeroed in on Achan, who,

realizing he could not hide his sin any further, confessed. He had stolen a beautiful Babylonian

robe and a significant amount of gold and silver (19–21). The words “saw,” “beautiful” and

“coveted” (21) describe the process and motivation that tripped Achan, not unlike Eve in the

garden. Achan revealed where the loot was hidden and it was recovered. Achan and his sons and

daughters were stoned by the entire community and burned with the loot (24,25). A large pile of

rocks was placed over them as a reminder (26).

Some readers may have difficulties with such a harsh punishment. Does God’s “fierce anger”

(26) show a revengeful, unforgiving and hot-headed God? The answer is “No.” God’s

everlasting love and his forgiveness expressed through the cross of Christ help us to understand

why he had to deal with sin at the beginning of the conquest of Canaan, just as he dealt with

Ananias and Sapphira at the dawn of the church (Gen. 3:6; Acts 5:1–11). Achan’s children died

with him, probably because they knew of his sin and colluded with him, but his wife is not

mentioned.

Joshua was on the ground, lamenting in self-pity, asking God the wrong questions. God told him to stand up and came directly to the point. “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant” by stealing the devoted things (11). Achan’s sin was clearly visible to God and had corporate consequences. Joshua was commanded to deal decisively with the sin. Unless this was done, Israel would lose God’s presence (12) and be unable to stand against its enemies (13).
Joshua acted promptly by asking every tribe to come forward before God (16,17). God, who knows and sees everything, revealed the real culprit. The finger of God zeroed in on Achan, who, realizing he could not hide his sin any further, confessed. He had stolen a beautiful Babylonian robe and a significant amount of gold and silver (19–21). The words “saw,” “beautiful” and “coveted” (21) describe the process and motivation that tripped Achan, not unlike Eve in the garden. Achan revealed where the loot was hidden and it was recovered. Achan and his sons and daughters were stoned by the entire community and burned with the loot (24,25). A large pile of rocks was placed over them as a reminder (26).
Some readers may have difficulties with such a harsh punishment. Does God’s “fierce anger” (26) show a revengeful, unforgiving and hot-headed God? The answer is “No.” God’s everlasting love and his forgiveness expressed through the cross of Christ help us to understand why he had to deal with sin at the beginning of the conquest of Canaan, just as he dealt with
Ananias and Sapphira at the dawn of the church (Gen. 3:6; Acts 5:1–11). Achan’s children died with him, probably because they knew of his sin and colluded with him, but his wife is not mentioned.

Apply

As with the Israelites, has the Lord had to get “tough” with you to get you back on track? When? What other lessons have you learned from this passage?

Closing prayer

“Teach me, O God, so to use all the circumstances of my life today that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin” (John Ballie, 1886–1960).

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