Take Two: Joshua 7, Proverbs 30

Chapter 7 never ceases to amaze me. In Joshua 7:1, we see the thesis statement for the chapter. Israel has sinned and therefore God's anger burned against them. Often times, we (in the church today) view sin as something that is true...but is also a part of reality. We have become, in many ways, tolerant of sin in our lives. We don't like "big" sins, like murder and idolatry...but we have come to be accepting of sins like lust, covetous (greed), and even adultery. We can "understand" how a person could become unfaithful to his/her spouse...and can even "work with them" as they think about forsaking the sin.

God's view of sin is much more "black and white." If it is sin, it must be forsaken. No sin is allowed. Sin requires judgment. Period.

In Joshua 7:2-5 we see the consequences of sin. A stunning defeat (in the wake of the victory at Jericho) has taken place and 36 men are dead.

In Joshua 7:6-11 Joshua and the elders are praying before God and seeking answers. God said to Joshua, "Get up. the problem is sin." God will not tolerate, wink at, or bless the product of sin. You may think that God is blessing you...but if there is sin involved...you can bank on the fact that judgment is coming.

Joshua 7:12-21 details God's prescription for the sin. Bring the people by until I identify them, then exercise judgment and utterly destroy the entire family for the sin. (Sounds a little harsh doesn't it? How else though is a holy God to act toward sin?)

It was interesting to me that Joshua gave them the night to think it through (Josh 7:13-15). Achan knew what was coming in the morning. So did his wife and family. Yet...he decided to "roll the dice" and wait and see. This is the same attitude displayed when the command to avoid things under the ban was given in ch. 6. It is not that this was new information. "Do not take the stuff," was pretty clear...whether you agree with it or not. Even after the line-up, Achan never confessed. It was not until Joshua looked him in the eyes and confronted him that he came clean. At that point it was too late.

Every person has their sins judged. Even those who don't believe in the things of God. We as believers give a call to repent (not unlike the implication in this text) and they must choose to confess their sins...or to take their chances. If one chooses to "roll the dice," a day will come when the game is over. God will examine the person, examine the sin, and pronounce holy judgment against it.

For those who have confessed their sins and called on Jesus to have mercy and save...your sins were judged too. In Christ, God judged your sin with His death. Not one sin was overlooked, winked at, or mitigated. Christ bore the full weight of every sin so that you could avoid the judgment of Achan. As a Christ follower, you now are called to "feel" and "act" the same way toward sin as God does.

Proverbs 30:5-6 are the takeaway for me today. God's Word is solid. It stands on its own merits and is sufficient to accomplish its task. We are not called to mitigate it or to add to it. We are called to obey it...knowing that it is sufficient in itself. In fact, we do great harm to people's trust in the Word when we try to add to it. Once they realize that we cannot back up our claim of what we say the Word says...they wonder what else we are embellishing.