Israel troubled

 Christ in all the scriptures

The valley of Achor   Joshua chapter 7

This is one of the most heart wrenching bible stories in the bible, and is relevant for the present day.  Believers, churches, need to take note, that one of of their members sinned against the Lord and affected the whole congregation.  This led to abject defeat in battle, and the anger of the Lord being kindled against them.  All sin is hateful and hurtful to God, it is particularly so when it happens amongst His redeemed people.  It took place in the wake of the demonstration of the great power of God unleashed over Jericho.

The matter seemed harmless, the possession of a religious garment and a few shekels of silver and a wedge of gold, taken as the spoils of war.  But what seemed harmless was anathema to the Lord who specifically demanded the burning of all in Jericho, and the transfer of all silver and gold to the Divine treasury for the common good.  This is reminiscent of Eden, when the simple eating of the fruit of a tree was magnified, as it was in disobedience to the Lord.  The disobedience of Eve, then Adam, brought the judgment of God on the world, resulting in the present chaos.  So opposed to the idolatry of Jericho was the Lord, He wanted no trace of it left.  This sin, unknown to the congregation at large, was known to the Lord, and this led to abject defeat against AI, for the Lord withdrew His support.  AI means "heap of ruins", and so the might of Israel was embarrassed against an unruly and untrained people.  God's people fail when sin in the camp is unexposed.  The victory over fortified Jericho was quickly followed by defeat to the haphazard AI.  The strength of feeling was expressed by Joshua, "Oh, Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth their back before their enemies"?

We must learn from this today, this is a solemn and sobering event.

1)  The sin of one member affects the whole company.      God will withhold His power from us because of it.  The New Testament equivalent is 1st Corinthians chapter 5.

2) The Lord demands action from the leaders rather than ritual posturing  refer Joshua 7v6-10, "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face"?  The modern way is to cover it up rather than expose it-is this the reason for our weakness?  God says, Don't hide from this, deal with it.

3)  The Lord associates the whole company with the sin  

"Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.  Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you"-Joshua 7v11-12.  The word dissembled, rarely used in scripture, seems to suggest that more in the camp knew about it but had covered it up.

4) In association with Himself, God will have His people to be holy    

"Up, sanctify the people and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee. O Israel, thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you"-Joshua 7v13.  Modern applications would be that if there exists a matter unacceptable to the Lord it must be investigated.

5)  The offending individual or party must be exposed before the whole congregation  Joshua 7v14-15.

6) Confession of the sin must be made in full by the person or persons concerned  Joshua 7v16-21.  This was done by Achan the son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, as to what he had done, and why he had done it.  Messengers were sent to recover the offending items.  They were taken, along with Achan and all his people and possessions to the remote valley of Achor, where they were stoned, and a memorial was raised to the folly of individuals or family who corrupt the congregation of the Lord.  Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 3v17, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are".

7) Judgment must take place for the offending sin  Joshua 7v22-25

The whole camp and the leaders are in agreement that the punishment of law must be enacted.  This affected Achan's family and all his possessions.  All perished in the fearsome judgment.

If we are part of a community of God's people, this sad episode should humble us today.  Instead of covering up, or excusing, behaviour that is offensive to the Lord, what is needed is exposure and judgment of sin in accordance with New Testament guidelines.  The Lord cannot work with communities which turn a blind eye to sin.  The entire company is affected, and powerlessness and loss of blessing will result.  Spiritual leaders today be warned, God's attitude to sin will never change.  The memorial stones at the valley of Achor serve as a testimony to the Lord's displeasure with His people.

This is mentioned centuries later by the prophet Hosea, in a time when Israel had gone astray yet again, by turning to idolatry.  Appeal is made for them to repent and return to the Lord, as the compassion of a sin-hating God rings out in endearing fashion, "Therefore, behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her.  And I will give her vineyards from thence, AND THE VALLEY OF ACHOR FOR A DOOR OF HOPE: and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt"-Hosea 2v14/15.

The valley of Achor was a tragedy for Israel that they should never forget.  But a return there in humble repentance can open a door of hope for the future.  Failure amongst God's people is a common occurrence, but it need not be an end.  We can turn it to triumph, with the help of the Lord.  As scripture says:

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy"-Proverbs 28v13.

Achan confessed, but was stoned, because he was under Divine law.  In the present day of grace there is no such punishment.  Sin, amongst His people, remains hurtful to God, and alternative punishments are given, and there should be no compromise with it.  The coming of Christ into the world has made such a difference, for we are no longer under law but under grace.  We should not, however, relax our view of sin, nor fail to apply Divine standards as revealed in this chapter.  God has many ways of sanctioning His people in the case of severe sin.  We need strong leaders, loyal to the Lord, to maintain sanctity in His service.