Burunche’s Blog

Joshua 7:15 – 26 “So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the Zerahite clan come forward by families, and Zabdi was selected. And he had Zabdi’s family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.

So, Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

So, Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.

Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.

“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies. And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So, the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore, that place is called the Valley of Achor(“Troubler”) to this day.”

Why would anybody risk their life, the lives of their loved ones, and everything they owned? Look at what Achan stole and hid: a beautiful cloak from Shinar – this should have been burned; two hundred shekels (five pounds) of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels (1.26 pounds.) The silver and gold should have been turned over to the temple. The total value of these things was far less than the value of a single human life; yet, Achan had grabbed these things and had hidden them. It’s likely that even Achan’s family had no idea what he had done.

Why did God want all the spoils from Jericho to be destroyed or turned over to Him? Jericho was to be the first fruits of conquest, and first fruits always belonged to the Lord. Achan was actually quite well to do, having oxen, donkeys, sheep, a tent, and a family. But in a moment of weakness, Achan doomed his family and himself to destruction.

Notice that once Achan’s sin was uncovered, even the things that he had stolen were included in the destruction. Every person and every animal was stoned to death and the bodies burned. A huge pile of stones was erected so that every time an Israelite passed that way, they would remember Achan and remind themselves to be obedient and not to be greedy. How horrible it must have been for Achan as he saw his wife and children being dragged into that valley, knowing that he was the one who had brought them to this awful fate! How many of the Israelites standing throwing stones were thanking God that they had managed to resist temptation!

APPLICATION: Jesus told his disciples, “What will it prophet a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Achan began as one of the faithful and ended in shame and disgrace.  There’s a song made popular by the group “Casting Crowns” called “American Dream.” The song describes a businessman who has spent his entire life chasing the American dream of prosperity. We may not face exactly the same challenges as Achan, but we can certainly make the same mistakes! May God help us to chase Him and not gold and silver! May we not make human sacrifices out of our families! 

AMERICAN DREAM

All work, no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work, no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he’s moving on full steam
He’s chasing the American dream
He’s gonna give his family the finer things

Not this time son, I’ve no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow, we’ll have time to play
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

‘Cause He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better
Better in time

So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin’ crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
“Daddy, can you come to my game?”
“Oh Baby, please don’t work late”
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

‘Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It’ll just take a little more time

So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin’ crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

He used to say, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins”
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end?
I’ll take a shack on a rock
Over a castle in the sand

Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It’s not getting any better
Looks like he’s running out of time

‘Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us! Lord, help us to seek Your Will for our lives and not to chase after money or possessions! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on February 17, 2022 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.