OASIS – Winter 2024 – March 19/20, 2024
JOSHUA: part 3 of 4 –“The Devastating Cost of Disobedience” – Joshua 7-8
Joshua week 1: Key teaching from Joshua 1:8: “Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night.”
The challenge: Make a shift from INFORMATIONAL reading to TRANSFORMATIONAL consumption and contemplation.
Joshua week 2: Joshua and the Israelites COMPLETELY OBEY the LORD, despite a most unconventional battle plan. And, once again, the LORD does the heavy lifting in this miraculous victory!
TODAY – Joshua week 3: The terrible and devastating cost of DISOBEDIENCE, both individually and in the community
Review of what we have studied over the past three weeks:
Clear instructions from Moses in Exodus 14:13-14: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today . . . the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
The impact of newly ordained Joshua on Israel in Deuteronomy 34:9: “Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.”
Clear instructions from Joshua in Joshua 6:18: “Keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.”
What’s the constant message? OBEY TRUST Let the LORD do the heavy lifting!
Our four-part journey into the terrible pain and agony of SIN:
#1: SIN and Consequences.
Joshua 7:1: “But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan, son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.”
• Achan’s SIN is a VIOLATION of the Lord’s command and His will for Israel.
Think about SIN for a moment, and not just Achan’s SIN but our SIN as well:
o SIN is missing the mark.
o Our God is HOLY and SIN is any behavior that pushes us away from the HOLINESS of the Lord.
o SIN creates a SEPARATION from God. We get that picture all the way back in Genesis 3, the first SIN. What do Adam and Eve do after eating the fruit? They “hide” and they “cover their nakedness”: separation from the Lord.
• Achan’s SIN goes unnoticed for a time.
Joshua 7:2-3: “Now Joshua sent me from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, ‘Go up and spy out the region.’ So, the men went up and spied on Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, ‘Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are up there.’”
o For a time, the community was oblivious to the SIN.
o That’s a truth we must acknowledge about SIN: For a season, it is enjoyable and for a time, we can “get away with it.”
o What potential concerns do we read about in vv. 2-3? How is the attitude different from Exodus 14 or Joshua 6?
• Achan’s SIN leads to painful CONSEQUENCES for the entire community.
Joshua 7:4-5: “So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about 36 of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this, the hearts of the people melted and became like water.”
o There are ALWAYS consequences to SIN eventually. ALWAYS. Some consequences are stronger than others, but there are always consequences
o Here in Joshua 7, the great momentum of the Promised Land conquest is squelched. And before long fear, and doubt, and despair begin to set in
o In our lives, the consequences of our SINS can create a whole avenue of problems: anxiety, separation from those we love, damage to a reputation we’ve spent our entire life trying to build, the list could go on and on.
o And one more thing: Notice here the SIN of ONE impacts the ENTIRE community. And just so you don’t think that is only an Old Testament thing, understand this plays out in 2024 as well.
What should we do with our SIN when it comes to the surface?
What should be our response as a community to SIN?
#2: SIN and REPENTANCE.
• Joshua responds with HUMILITY and REPENTANCE, but also FEAR.
Joshua 7:6-9: “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, ‘Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?’”
• This defeat at Ai has created CHAOS and SUFFERING, and it is the CONSEQUENCES of SIN in motion!
#3: SIN and TRUTH. The LORD speaks TRUTH to Joshua for the community.
Joshua 7:10-13: “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand Up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you; O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.’”
• After the Lord informs Joshua of the SIN that has been committed, Joshua acts SWIFTLY and JUSTLY
o An investigation of the entire community commences. Joshua 7:14-18.
o Achan is exposed and confesses, and the sin is confirmed. Joshua 7:19-21.
o Achan and his entire family are purged from the community. Joshua 7:22-26.
o “Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger.” Joshua 7:26
#4: SIN and the God of SECOND chances Joshua 8.
• The Lord gives Joshua and the entire community a SECOND chance. (And this time, they are even allowed to “plunder”)
• This time, they find great success! They are living and acting within God’s Will.
• They are literally once again living the truth of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Compare/contrast the final words of Joshua with the final words of the book of Judges:
• Joshua 24:15: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!”
• Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit!”
What lessons abound for Christ Followers in 2024?
First, understand SIN is EVER-PRESENT! The battle is always raging.
o Listen to the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:14-20 and his battle with SIN.
Second, God HATES SIN, and it always leads to CONSEQUENCES
o Sin is fun for a season, but there are ALWAYS consequences.
o Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to man but, in the end, it leads to death”
Third, OBEDIENCE matters! It absolutely makes a difference
o 1 Peter 2:11-12: “Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in this world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
o Saturate your life with/ God’s Word: Read it, Know it, and Live it!
Fourth, Jesus Christ is the ONLY ANSWER that makes sense in our SIN struggle.
o 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had NO SIN to BE SIN for us, so that in HIM we might become the righteousness of GOD!
o 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our SINS, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness!”
o Romans 5:8: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us.”
Next week March 26: Holy Week Study. NO Wednesday evening Oasis on March 27.