Sin Prevents God’s Blessings

 God had worked miraculously, giving Israel victory over the city of Jericho.  Both the children of Israel and the enemies around them were convinced that there would be no problem conquering the rest of the cities.  If they could take such a heavily fortified city as that in a week, what chance did less well fortified cities have?  What no one knew was that one man had disobeyed God’s commands, as Joshua 7:1 tells us.  “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.”

 

Unaware of Achan’s sin, Joshua sent a couple of spies to the village of Ai.  Learning how small the village was, he sent just a small group to attack it, in Joshua 7:2-4.  “And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.  And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.  So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.”

 

Rather than locking the gates and depending on their walls for protection, the men of Ai attacked the Israelites, killing thirty six of them.   The Israelites were so shocked they panicked and fled in terror, as Joshua 7:5 describes.  “And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”

 

Joshua was dumbfounded by the defeat.  If their enemies could defeat them so easily, what chance did they have of taking the land?  Joshua 7:6-9 describes his despair.  “And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!  O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?”  How could people trust God if he didn’t always keep his promises?

 

God had not broken his promise.  In Deuteronomy 11:26-28, He had promised to bless them if they obeyed and to curse them if they did not.  “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”  Deuteronomy 28 lists the curses God would send if they disobeyed.  One of those curses was that they would be defeated and terrified by their enemies, according to Deuteronomy 28:25.  “The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”

 

God had done exactly what he promised.  As God pointed out, the problem was that the Israelites had not done what they were supposed to do, in Joshua 7:10-12.  “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?  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.” 

 

God would not bless them until the sin was dealt with.  He told Joshua what they would need to do to resolve the problem with the sin in Joshua 7:13-15.  “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.  In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.  And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.”

 

Still having no idea what had happened, Joshua followed God’s instructions.  As a result the guilty party confessed, in Joshua 7:16-23.  “So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.  And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

 

And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.  So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.  And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.”

 

Achan’s disobedience had resulted in the deaths of thirty six men.  He and his family were executed because of what he had done, as Joshua 7:24-26 tells us.  “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.   And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.  And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.”

 

God never breaks his promise but frequently sin, whether our own or that of others keeps us from receiving the blessings God promised.  Until those sins are dealt with, we cannot expect God to bless what we are doing, even when we are doing what he has called us to do.