love.passion.life

EPIC LIFE JOSHUA/EPIC FAIL ACHAN

Joshua 6:18-21 (English Standard Version)

18But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 19But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” 20So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. 21Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

Joshua 7 (English Standard Version)

Joshua 7
Israel Defeated at Ai
1But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.
2Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”
[and so Joshua came before the Lord and asked “OH LORD whom delivered Jericho to your people and goes before us, what do you wish to take this city for the Glory of your name, and fame of your chosen people?” NOPE]
4So about 3,000 men went up there from the people.
[Jospeh in the course of one victory takes control back, and allows God not even a secondary advisor role]
And they [Israel] fled before the men of Ai, 5and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
[In one swoop, the deliverance and victory is shattered]

1. In your life, God is sovereign Lord of all or not at all
- Sovereign
1 a : superlative in quality : excellent b : of the most exalted kind : supreme e : having undisputed ascendancy : paramount
2 a : possessed of supreme power b : unlimited in extent : absolute c : enjoying autonomy : independent
- The easy conquest of Jericho excited contempt of the enemy, and a disposition to expect the Lord to do all for them without their using proper means.
–Developed lax attitude to God

6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7And [Now] Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

Joshua’s humiliation and prayer.
Joshua’s concern for the honour of God, more than even for the fate of Israel, was the language of the Spirit of adoption. He pleaded with God. He laments their defeat, as he feared it would reflect on God’s wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness. We cannot at any time urge a better plea than this, Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name? Let God be glorified in all, and then welcome his whole will. (Jos 7:10-15)

2. We must have expectancy of what God will do, not expect that He must.
-It becomes dangerous to superimpose God’s Holiness and action over your life just because of His nature when you choose and refuse to acknowledge that everything is His.
–Yes they were God’s people, but just being that, or being a Christian or paying your church dues and droppin your check is not spiritual life insurance, I do my part so God you gotta do yours, as if we could ever manage our lives successfully.
–God’s Holiness acts in our lives when we are surrendered wholly.
-Where do you obligate God?
–Deepest root of bitterness against religion I have seen is unrealized expectations of God, as if the creator was made by the creation?

The Sin of Achan
10The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households. And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

3. Sin is sin, and it moves against the very being of God
- you cannot pass off the calling of Holiness we have been given, a call to be Jealous for our God and His will as He is Jealous for us.
-God will Honor His name and dishonor yours.

16So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise
[not a command for worship but a demand for confession, similar to the instance in John 9:24 in the greek where the Jewish leaders put a man to an oath  whom Jesus had healed saying “Give Glory to God, we know this man is a sinner” Todah  can connotate confession as well as praise]
to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
[The spoil that Achan took was not a small thing in amount or in meaning.
The 6 pounds of silver, and the 1 pound and 1/4 of Gold represent what is believed to amount to a lifetimes wages for the average worker.]
22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. 24And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
[They gathered Achan and His entire family and the whole of his possessions before the assembly of the nation.
Parents realize that before God the decisions you make in your relationship to God will affect your family, your children’s children and all you hold close to your heart. And your faith or your rebellion will bless or curse your family.]
25And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.

4. Sin of Achan is a Sin of Disobedience and Control
-Disobedience well because he mocked Gods command by not following it as instructed.
–Oh yes there is no gray area church, you either follow your you mock
-Control because we see what is Achan attempting to Lord over his own future and forsaking trust in Gods plan, He desired a short cut as opposed to the natural gifting of God
–That which he took could’ve symbolized the ending of all his worries financially, all his needs met. His family provided for.
—But it was a mockery to God
—You cannot take Gods place, He will not be second to your plans for your life.
-Where do we let our plans and needs over ride and overrun God and His plans and desires?
-Where do we place God in order of importance in our life?
-Do you treat church as second priority; Parents are you training your children that the number one most important thing in life is God?
That without him first nothing will work out, or are you teaching them that just one more cheerleading, football, softball, baseball, extra circular this or that is more important than the living sacrifice of their life, because after all it deals with there “future”? And if you don’t pursue “success” you’ll be a failure in this life.
-Are we teaching our families that having the extra toy, or house accessory is more important than them or God as we look to pull extra hours to “provide” for our families. Taking us out of the home and finding us seldom to never in church.
-These are trying times we live in not because of this recession fear and turmoil of the world but because everyday we wake up is a day God seeks to bless our life and the enemy plans to steal it, and this is the battle the War we will fight till the day we cease.
-God instructs Joshua what to do.
Times of danger and trouble should be times of reformation.
We should look at home, into our own hearts, into our own houses, and diligently search to find out if there are cursed things there, which God sees and abhors;
secret lust,
desire for some unlawful or easy gain,
withholding from God or from others.
We cannot prosper, until we let it all go and let cursed things [idols] be destroyed out of our hearts, and put out of our habitations and our families, and forsaken in our lives.
-Achan forgot the miracle of the salvation of Israel from Egypt , the miracles God had done to sustain a people in the wilderness while those previous unfaithful dies off, He lost perspective of the great promise we have church, that God is our provider, and if we first pursue and honor him jealously and whole heartedly that He will not forsake us.

Hebrews 12:4-29(The Message)

Hebrews 12
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
4-11In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

12-13So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

14-17Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
An Unshakable Kingdom
18-21Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—”If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead”—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.

22-24No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.

25-27So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.

28-29Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!