Last week Michael posed the question, ‘who fought and won the battle of Jericho?’. And the answer was…The Lord! The Israelites faithfully followed the Lord’s instructions given through Joshua.
This week we might ask the question, ‘who fought and lost the battle of Ai?’ And the answer is…the Israelites!
After the fall of Jericho, chapter 6 finishes on a positive note…So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
However, before we get carried into thinking that all is going to go easily for the Israelites as they move further into the promised land, the beginning of chapter 7 starts with a ‘But…’
But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[b]; 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.
We quickly get the sense, that all is not going to go well soon. Why was the Lord angry? Why was it wrong for Achan to have taken some of the ‘devoted’ things from Jericho, after all they often took plunder from a battle… However, if we look back at chapter 6, the Lord had given very clear instructions through Joshua regarding what they were to do with the ‘devoted things’ from Jericho.
17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[a] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
Mmm, it seems Achan must have been a little hard of hearing, or more likely his desire for some wealth and pretty things, was stronger than his desire to be obedient to the Lord. And he thought he could get away with it, by hiding these things in his tent!
We’ll come back to that shortly.
Joshua was unaware of Achan’s disobedience, but nor did he seek the Lord before sending spies off to check out Ai and then heading to battle with a smaller army.
What is the saying? Pride comes before a fall…
The spies came back from their mission and advised Joshua that Ai wasn’t very big, and they didn’t need to take the whole army to capture the town.
But it seems they were overconfident, they had forgotten that it wasn’t them and their strength that had won the battle of Jericho, it was the Lord. They did not defeat Ai as they arrogantly presumed that they would. They were chased, struck down and 36 men were killed.
Their pride and confidence quickly disappeared and replaced with hearts that melted in fear and became like water. We’ve heard that phrase earlier in Joshua, describing how the Canaanites felt about the Israelites and their God.
Why did this happen we ask? Well, we know…but Joshua doesn’t, and he is quickly discouraged and concerned for God’s honour.
He and the elders go into a state of mourning, copying what he would have seen Moses doing…tearing his clothes, sprinkling ash on their heads, prostrating themselves before the ark of the Lord…but his words to the Lord sound more like the grumbling of the Israelites after they fled Egypt into the desert. Hope and trust and faith in the Lord is now in question…had he forgotten what the Lord had recently done for them? Drying up the Jordan River for them to cross and making the walls of Jericho tumble with a single shout!
Joshua has jumped to the wrong conclusion that it is the Lord’s fault that they lost the battle of Ai. He doesn’t think to ask what they had done wrong!
Aren’t we the often the same? Quick to blame God for the terrible things happening in the world, rather than seeing the sin of humankind at fault. We have failed to care for the world, we have failed to love God and our neighbours. It is not God’s fault that sin is in the world. He has given us free will.
The Lord tells Joshua to ‘stand up!’ and he lets him know exactly why they were defeated at Ai…
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.
He tells Joshua to consecrate themselves ready for the next day. Get clean and focused on the Lord, ready for his intervention.
The next morning it is like a criminal line up as clan by clan, family by family, man by man, the Lord somehow reveals to Joshua who the guilty one is. It comes down to Achan being the last one standing before Joshua. Achan is the one who violated the covenant of the Lord and done ‘an outrageous thing in Israel!’
Joshua appeals to him to give glory to God and tell the truth. We don’t give any honour to God when we live lives of deceit.
Achan has no choice really, he has been exposed, he can’t hide and deny it any longer. He could have come forward earlier, but he waits until the finger is pointed to him, and he can’t run away.
He knows he sinned, and he now confesses…
“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,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
He didn’t just deliberately disobey the command that had been clearly given to them before they entered Jericho, but he also broke the ninth and tenth commandments, do not lie and do not covet.
His eye saw something pleasing that he wanted, and rather than asking for God’s help to resist the temptation, he took what he wanted. He was selfish and foolish, for the warning had been that not only would he bring destruction to himself, but also make the whole camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
Thirty-six men had lost their lives due to Achan’s sin, and now he and his whole family who had colluded with him were about to lose their lives too.
Often, if not always, our sin impacts other people.
Achan’s sin reminds us of the first sin recorded in the bible back in Genesis, that continues to have an impact on humankind today.
Like Achan, Eve saw something that she liked, and she took it. She saw a nice-looking piece of fruit that she and Adam had clearly been told by the Lord not to touch. She was then tempted by the serpent to eat it for he said it would make her and Adam like God, whereas God had said that they would die if they ate the fruit. They may not have physically died, but their pure innocence died, their relationship with God was marred. They saw themselves as naked and felt the need to cover up and hide from God.
There was consequence for their sin, and they were banished from the garden and life was going to be hard, for them and all humankind.
We have another example of these two commandments being violated later in the bible in 2 Samuel, where the much-revered King David, a man after God’s own heart, sees something or someone that he likes. He saw Bathsheba, he desired her, he coveted his neighbour’s wife and instead of looking away, he took her, broke another commandment (adultery), lied to cover up, and ended up committing murder (breaking yet another commandment) in his attempt to cover up his sin.
His sin had major consequences for many people. David also suffered consequences from the Lord including the death of the son born from his adultery with Bathsheba.
Achan and his family were taken to the valley of Achor, meaning ‘trouble’, Achan had brought ‘trouble’ on many people. They were stoned to death and then the Lord turned from his fierce anger and in the next chapter we read that the Lord told Joshua again not to be afraid or discouraged for he was with them. This time it was under his direction that they went and attacked Ai and were successful. They were also allowed to take the plunder…if only Achan hadn’t been greedy, he could have freely taken some treasures in the next battle…too late for him.
These stories of God’s judgement are difficult for us to read, and they are not only to be found in the Old Testament. Today we heard the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5 and the consequence of their sin of cover up and lying was also death for the two of them.
All these stories from Adam and Eve to Achan to Ananias and Sapphira remind us how much God hates sin. He is a holy and just God and we do not get what we deserve. We need to be careful of our tendency towards coveting things that are not ours or turning them into idols that take our devotion away from the Lord and remember that we cannot lie and hide from God. I don’t know about you, but I know that I have been guilty of lying and covering up sin…
Is there anything that you need to confess to the Lord today, that needs to be brought out to the open? Is there anything you are desiring so strongly that it blurs your vision and devotion to God.
God sees, God knows, and he wants us to be fully devoted and obedient to him. He wants us to desire him above all, to trust and put our faith in him. There are no greater blessings to be had in any riches in this world than the blessings we have in walking close to God and being in the fully restored relationship we have with him made possible through Jesus.
God loves us so much that he sent his son Jesus to take on our sin and the sin of the world. Jesus took on God’s wrath and anger at our sin when he died on the cross. Jesus suffered the consequences of our sin for us. And by God’s grace, when we confess our sin, and truly repent he forgives us.
Who lost the battle of Ai? The sinful Israelites who went off in their own pride and strength and suffered the consequences of one man’s greed and sin. The consequence of Achans sin was death. Once this price was paid, the Israelites relationship with the Lord was restored and he again journeyed with them.
Who has fought and won the battle over sin and death? Jesus.
Jesus has paid our price through his death, he obeyed God, he devoted himself to destruction, so that we the disobedient may have a grace filled, abundant life with God today and for eternity. Thank God for Jesus. In Romans 5 we read this…
if the many died by the trespass of the one man, (Adam), how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
It seems fitting to finish with our prayer of confession at this point:
Confession:
Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Let us now confess our sins to almighty God.
Heavenly Father,
You have loved us with an everlasting love,
But we have broken your holy laws
And have left undone what we ought to have done.
We are sorry for our sins and turn away from them.
For the sake of your Son who died for us,
Forgive us, cleanse us, and change us.
By your Holy Spirit,
Enable us to live for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
God desires that none should perish,
But that all should turn to Christ and live.
In response to his call, we acknowledge our sins.
God pardons those who humbly repent and truly believe the gospel.
Therefore, we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ. Amen
(Share that peace with another)