THE SIN OF ACHAN

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. In the taking of the city of Jericho, God gave instructions    
      that they were not to take of any of the spoils.
   B. Everything was to be destroyed except the precious metals which
      were to be brought into the treasury of the Lord. Joshua       
      6:18-19
      1. Thus, no one should have had any problems understanding
         God's will in this matter.
   C. As recorded in Joshua 7 & 8, everyone obeyed God, except one.
      1. Let us examine the historical events revealed in those two
         chapters.

I. THE HISTORICAL EVENTS.
   A. Joshua sent spies to spy out Ai. Joshua 7:2
   B. The spies said that only two or three thousand should be
      sufficient to take Ai because it was a small city. Joshua 7:3
   C. Three thousand were sent, and they were defeated. Thirty-six of
      the Israelite soldiers were slain. Joshua 7:4-5a
   D. The hearts of the people melted, and Joshua made a plea to God.
      Joshua 7:5a-9
   E. God revealed that there was sin in the camp, and for this      
      reason Israel could not stand before its enemies. Joshua       
      7:10-12
   F. God explains how Joshua was to find the sinner - Tribes,
      Families, and then households were to pass before Joshua.
      1. The tribe of Judah, the family of the Zarhites, and,        
         finally, the household of Achan was identified by God.      
         Joshua 7:16-19
   G. Joshua compels Achan to confess his sin, and Achan does so.
      Joshua 7:19-21
      1. Thus, he said, more or less, "I saw"; "I coveted"; "I took."
   H. Achan and his household was severely punished. Joshua 7:25-26
   I. The Israelites easily then take Ai by surprise attack.
      1. They send 30,000 men by night to wait in ambush behind the
         city.
      2. When Joshua and the others came to the city, they fled as
         though they were being defeated as before.
         a. The whole city comes out to chase them.
         b. The 30,000 quickly went into the city and set it on fire.
         c. Joshua and his men turn on the men of Ai, the soldiers
            come out of the city and the people of Ai are caught in
            the middle and are defeated.

II. LESSONS FROM THE SIN OF ACHAN.
   A. The severity of sin.
      1. Our sins are abhorred by God just as much as Achan's was in
         that ancient time.
         a. God does not immediately expose and punish sin today
            as He did back then, but he will punish in due time.
         b. Because the punishment is not immediate (both from
            God and civil authorities), there is much wickedness.
            Eccl. 8:11
         c. We have faith that the punishment will eventually come,
            and thus walk in the fear of God. Eccl. 8:12-13
         d. The punishment of sin is reserved for the great judgment
            day.
      2. The N.T. warns of the impending vengeance and wrath of
         God. Heb. 10:30-31
      3. With the examples of God's wrath on the sinners, and with
         the warnings of future punishment, we should walk in the
         fear of God.
         a. We should so live that God is pleased with us. Heb.
            12:28-29
   B. God sanctions capital punishment.
      1. Capital punishment has been so fixed by God under all ages.
         a. After the flood. Gen. 9:6-7
            (1) Note that the "reason" for capital punishment is
                based on a lasting fact, and, thus, as long as man is
                in the image of God, that's how long this applies.
         b. In the Mosical age, as seen in the punishment of Achan.
         c. Under the New Testament age - Rom. 13:1-4
            (1) The "sword" was a means of capital punishment
                under the Roman Empire.
   C. Sin cannot be hidden from God. Prov. 15:3; Heb. 4:13
      1. Ananias and Sapphire also learned that one can't hide his   
         sins from God. Acts 5:1-5
   D. Our sins can trouble other people.
      1. Achan's sin caused Israel to be defeated by their enemies.
         Thirty-six men died as a result of Achan's sin.
      2. God punished the whole family of Achan so that the rest of
         the nation could see that God would not tolerate sin.
      3. There are many sins which not only bring evil effects to the
         sinner, but to the sinner's family as well; e.g., stealing,
         murder, lying, drunkenness.
         a. We would not hurt those who we truly love, especially
            those of our own family. Rom. 13:10; 1 Cor. 13:4-8
   E. We should immediately confess our sins and not wait until we   
      are caught.
      1. Achan's confession came only after he was directly
         confronted by Joshua.
         a. He did not come forward when Israel failed in its first
            attempt to take Ai.
         b. He was still hiding his sin even when the lengthy
            investigation was underway.
      2. Thus, so far as God was concerned, his confession came too
         late.
         a. If Achan had confessed his sin, sometime before he was
            confronted by Joshua, no doubt, God would have been
            merciful to Him. Isa. 55:6-7
      3. We should confess our sins immediately, and not wait until
         we are caught.
         a. To be sorry we were caught is not true repentance.
            Prov. 28:13
   F. The church cannot tolerate sin in its midst.
      1. God required that they purge the sinner from the
         congregation of Israel.
         a. He requires the same today. 1 Cor. 5:4-7,11
         b. The whole church at Peragmos was told to repent when
            it allowed sin to remain its midst. Rev. 2:14-16
      2. Let us all keep ourselves pure, and sin will not be named
         among us. Eph. 5:3-6
      3. Even though most in the body of Christ are trying to do
         right, there are some who are sinners just like Achan was.
         a. When there is open sin in the congregation, and it is
            overlooked, it preaches the lesson: "Sin doesn't matter."
         b. Those who try to uphold the wicked are abomination to
            the Lord. Prov. 17:15
      4. The church cannot have the victories it should when there is
         sin in the camp.
   G. Beware of covetousness.
      1. Achan said, "I saw; I coveted; I took." Joshua 7:20-24
      2. Covetousness is idolatry. Col. 3:5
         a. Achan wanted those material things more than a right
            relationship with God. He placed a chunk of metal and
            some clothing above his relationship with God.
      3. The example of Achan teaches us of the dangers of
         covetousness. We need to beware.
         a. We, too, can place material things above our
            relationship with God.
      4. The fate of covetousness will be the same in the end as that
         of Achan.
      5. Heb. 13:5
         a. Several years ago, construction workers were laying a
            foundation for a building outside the city of Pompeii.
            They found the corpse of a woman who must have been
            fleeing from an eruption of the nearby volcano, but was
            caught in the rain of hot ashes. The woman's hands
            clutched jewels, which were preserved in excellent
            condition. She had the jewels, but had lost her life.
         b. To covet the things of this world is foolish because we
            cannot take them with us when we die.
      6. Let us read the parable of the rich fool. Luke 12:15-21
         a. There's an old legend about two very covetous men who
            were granted a wish upon the condition that whoever
            made the first wish, the second would receive a double
            portion of the what the first requested. The first greedy
            man knew what he wanted, but he would not make his
            wish because he wanted the double portion for himself.
            The second covetous man felt the same; thus, he was
            also unwilling make the first wish. After a long while,
            the first, who was strongest of the two, grabbed the
            second by the throat and said he would choke him to
            death unless he made his wish. As the second man was
            about to die, he said, "I wish to be made blind in one
            eye." Immediately, he lost the sight of one eye, and his
            companion went blind in both eyes!
         b. The moral is of this story is, "Beware of covetousness."

Concl.
   A. All these lessons can be learned from the story of Achan. (See
      chart below)
   B. If we don't learn anything else, we should be impressed with   
      the fact that God will punish us when we sin against Him.
      1. God punishes sin, and God punishes severely.
      2. Thus, it is a very serious thing to sin against Almighty    
         God.
      3. God loves the sinner (the person himself), but utterly hates
         the sin.
   C. There's a great judgment day coming in which all of us will    
      give account of ourselves to God.
      1. Let us repent of our sins while there is time and           
         opportunity.
      2. God has promised that he will forgive us when we humbly
         turn to Him. 1 John 1:9

Chart:
Lessons From The Sin Of Achan
                        
The Severity Of Sin
                        
God Sanctions Capital Punishment
                       
Sin Cannot Be Hidden From God
                        
Our Sins Can Trouble Other People
                        
We Should Immediately Confess Our Sins
                        
The Church Cannot Tolerate Sin In Its Midst
                        
Beware Of Covetousness