In Joshua chapter 7, the Israelites lose an important battle at Ai. This defeat is especially disheartening because it comes on the heels of a major victory at Jericho. In a military sense, Ai should’ve been much easier to defeat than the stronghold of Jericho, yet the Israelites miserably failed, losing 36 men in the process.
Joshua and the Israelites soon find out that the problem is the sin of a man named Achan. Achan plundered some riches from Jericho when the Israelites sacked the city, but God had specifically instructed Israel to leave the plunder or destroy it because the people of Jericho were majorly devoted to the occult and to evil of all kinds.
In verse 19, Joshua confronts Achan by saying, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me” (ESV). First of all, the thing that I noticed right off the bat is how gentle yet firm Joshua is in his reprimand. This man is guilty of a serious sin against God and he has caused defeat in battle and the death of 36 men. The Israelites knew that without the help of God, they were not going to succeed, yet this man broke faith with God, knowing the consequences it would reap for his people.
Joshua’s main focus throughout his story is the glory of God. He comes to Achan with a firm hand of justice and metes out consequences fairly, but he also reminds everyone that the purpose is to restore the glory to God. Truly, Achan’s theft was an attempt to take some measure of worldly glory for himself in the form of riches. The glory in all our trials and battles should belong to God only. God is the reason for Israel’s freedom from slavery, their success at Jericho, and their ultimate possession of the Promise Land. Joshua’s main goal is to restore this relationship between Israel and God by reminding the people that God is the one who should receive glory.
The other interesting thing about this situation is that it is Achan who will restore glory to God because his confession will repair the broken faith. Joshua asks Achan to “give praise to him” because the truth is that when we confess our sins honestly and openly before God, we praise Him for who He is.
Confessing our sins creates an opportunity for two things to happen:
1. It allows God to show His loving grace, which is His favorite thing to do! God is able to forgive us time and time again, proving His promise to “never leave [us] or forsake [us]” (Joshua 1:5 ESV). This forgiveness comes from His unconditional love for all of His creations.
2. It allows us the opportunity to trust God completely with the darkest parts of ourselves. When we confess our sins, we put ourselves out there to be judged and cast away (as the world does so often). It allows us to place that great trust in God and then be vindicated in the knowledge that He will not cast us away. Instead, He draws us closer to Him through this humble act of bearing our burdens to Him.
Now, I know what you’re thinking– Achan wasn’t really given that grace because he was killed, though…right? But the truth for us is much different than the truth for Achan. Just as we face consequences for our actions regardless of God’s forgiveness, Achan’s consequence by law was death because he not only caused the death of others with his selfishness but he broke the covenant with God. This is before Jesus died for the sins of everyone, so the consequences were much more severe because the effect that sin had on the spiritually immature and vulnerable people of Israel was great.
Facing the consequences of the law doesn’t mean that Achan wasn’t given the opportunity to make it right with God. That ultimate judgment is for only God to decide, not those of us reading thousands of years later. In the same way, we have to show grace to the world because while we may be a force of correction, guided by the Holy Spirit, we are not the source or ultimate judgment for anyone’s sin.
BIG IDEA: God is glorified by our humble confessions of sin and that confession is a form of genuine worship♥️
kat robinson 