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Central I Saw, I Wanted, I Took Peninsula Joshua 7 2:2 McKenna Mitchell Church …to make and mature more followers of Christ October 9, 2016 series: Ventures in Faith: The Book of Joshua Good morning everyone! My name is McKenna Mitchell and I them and took some of the riches from the city for himself. God am one of the Directors here at CPC North. Back in June, Rob had declared herem on the city of Jericho, which means he had came into my offce and told me to take a look at the preaching ordered its complete destruction and that no Israelite would take schedule the pastors had just fnished for Fall. He slid it across my for himself any of the plunder found in the city. It was all God’s. desk and I was like, “Cool, we’re doing Joshua!”, and I scanned Herem warfare was God’s way of keeping his people holy. I am the list and saw my name listed there. I almost started crying I pretty sure Achan didn’t miss the memo about herem, but we was so excited! I looked at Rob and said, “Really? I am preaching?” fnd out later in the passage that somehow Achan was tempted He said, “Yeah, you are.” I fipped my Bible open and looked at the past the threshold of obedience. passage… and my heart dropped. “Rob, the passage is Achan’s What did he end up taking? A beautiful Babylonian robe, fve sin.” He kind of snickered a little and said, “Well, you have three pounds of silver and a pound of gold. All three of these things months, it better be good.” And then he left my offce. would be pretty easy to conceal. You can fold up a robe, fve It might surprise you, but this passage is not my new favorite. pounds of silver isn’t that big, and a pound bar of gold? I have This is a hard part in the story of Joshua. It offends our cultural an old cell phone that would have been bigger and back in high sensitivities, it begs questions of God’s justice and his mercy and school, I sported it in my pocket! I can imagine Achan wouldn’t in many ways, it throws our sense of individualism into confu- have thought it was that big of a deal. In comparison to the piles of sion. But I think the real part of this story that messes with me treasure devoted to God after the victory, what difference could is it deals with secret, hidden sin and the way the consequences those three tiny pieces actually make? No one would even know. play out for God’s people. I can imagine him thinking, “My secret is safe with me.” It turns Secrets are very tempting little things. On the one hand they’re out, what Joshua and the Israelites didn’t know did hurt them. kind of exciting. We love having secrets and holding on to things Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near no one else knows about. They give us a sense of power. They Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied also give us a rush and make us feel included. Sometimes, secrets out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all even make us feel loved. But other times they are quite the oppo- the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three site. Sometimes secrets don’t give us power; they leave us power- thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole less. Sometimes the kinds of rush they give us comes with a deep army, for only a few people live there.” So about three sense of anxiety and the scary part is sometimes we don’t even thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of realize it. It is very clear throughout scripture that all sin that is Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries kept secret has power over us and let me tell you, the old saying, and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts “Your secret is safe with me” well, we are going to see in this next of the people melted in fear and became like water portion of the story of Joshua that secret sin is never safe. (verses 2-5). We are picking up on the high note we left on last Sunday. In a The Israelites suffered a humiliating loss at Ai. Not only did they miraculous campaign, Israel had just defeated the city of Jericho lose 36 men, but they fed the battle. What was especially con- and the quest for the Promised Land had begun. God was ful- cerning was this battle had made strategic and even spiritual flling his promises to his people. Unfortunately, the excitement sense! Now, most scholars think that Ai was about 15 miles away was short lived; the victory was followed by dark disappointment, from where the Israelites were camped at Gilgal. To get there re- all because of secret sin. Turn to Joshua chapter 7 in your Bible. quired an uphill march through a ravine which ended on the top But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the de- of a ridge. Taking Ai would have made strategic sense because it voted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the would have created for Israel a foothold in Canaan. So Joshua son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. sent spies to scout out what is going on in the area. The report So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel (v. 1). when they get back is so good, it’s like they say, “Joshua, this is Immediately, in this dramatic irony, we are given information going to be easy. We don’t need the whole army, let them rest! that Joshua and the Israelites do not have yet. While the author Just send some of us and we’ll take it, no problem.” calls Israel unfaithful, and God’s anger burns against them, we Some people try to argue that the reason Israel was defeated fnd out that the root of the unfaithfulness is one man—one man at Ai was because they were confdent in their abilities, and not out of the multitudes and his name was Achan. After the victory in God. Perhaps. Things may have been different if Joshua had at Jericho, Achan directly disobeyed the orders God had given waited to hear from the Lord directly, but I don’t think that’s the point here. I actually think it made spiritual sense to Joshua for Israelite conquest. God had promised the land. And the battle the progression to continue into Canaan. It is clear from the be- had made logistical and even spiritual sense! What went wrong? ginning the reason Israel is defeated is because of Achan’s sin— Joshua pleaded with God and then did something similar to what the secret sin no one but Achan knew about. What Joshua and Moses had done generations before: essentially he warns God the Israelites didn’t know did hurt them; the hearts of the people that if Israel gets wiped out, his benevolent, all-powerful name melted in fear and became like water. The only other times that would be at stake in a way that will hinder the belief of all the phrase is used in scripture is to describe Canaanite fear of God surrounding nations. That’s a bold statement. And while Joshua and his people. Here, the hearts of God’s own were reduced to was concerned about the surrounding nations remembering terror in the wake of this loss. God’s name and benevolence, remembering God’s holiness had It’s easy for us to overlook what Joshua and the Israelites may to start with Israel. Yes, God promised the land. Yes, God prom- have been experiencing because we know what is really going ised deliverance and an enduring name for Israel, but dwarfng on. But for just a minute, put yourself in Joshua’s place.They had all of those promises was God’s real promise—his presence. And crossed the Jordan; there was no going back, they had started that demanded holiness. These were God’s chosen people. His a conquest that had no doubt made a stir, bought them some own. God’s chief concern here wasn’t moving the Israelites into enemies, and as much as the Israelites were the vessel of God’s the land. If it had been, the Israelites may have won that battle at redemptive plan, they were weak when measured against the Ai while Achan’s treasures lay buried in his tent. God could have tribes and people of Canaan. God had brought his people this far dealt with Achan later. But no, God’s chief concern was focusing and had given them one sure victory but now it looked like he the eyes of Israel on himself so they would know his name. They had deserted them. What we don’t know can hurt us. would know his holiness. They would know his presence is far Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the more valuable than any conquest and victory ever could be.

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