Joshua 7:1-21
Just One Sin
Based off audio sermon of Dr. Curtis Hudson
What harm can one sin cause? Who is going to notice one little sin?
These are the kinds of questions that someone might ask who about to
do something that they know they should not, something that they know
is sinful. Tonight, let’s see what one can cause.
I. The details of the sin
A. Detail Summary:
Josh 7:1 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.
B. \\#19-21\\ In depth details.
Josh 7:21 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.
1. \\#21\\ Notice the DRAW of Sin.
a. Achan saw sin. Granted, what he saw was just stuff,
but it is stuff that would become sin for him.
b. Achan coveted what he saw.
c. Achan took what he saw.
d. Here is the formula.
(1) Achan looked.
(2) Achan lusted.
(3) Achan latch onto.
e. This is always the formula that sin uses.
(1) The eyes are the most common gate to sin. They
are the only gate else blind people would be
sinless. I am sure the devil and the flesh will
adapt to whatever gates are available but for
most of us, the first attack will come through
what we see.
(2) Achan’s heart will make sin out of it. We are
not totally responsible for what we see or hear,
even for what we image; but we are totally
responsible for what we dwell upon after we have
seen it.
(3) Then Achan latched onto his lust. He stole it,
took it home, hid it in his tent.
(a) Some wonder why the family was stoned too.
(b) They likely were there when this soldier
came in (while the battle was still going
on) and hid the loot in the tent!
f. No doubt Achan, Mrs. Achan, and even the little Achans
all figured that no one would miss what Achan had
stolen.
(1) After all, it was just one little sin.
(2) But God saw it!
2. Additional details:
a. \\#2\\ No one was doing much praying about this
battle.
Josh 7:2 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.
(1) That would be Joshua and Israel’s leaders.
(2) It is interesting but the only two times I can
think of where Joshua made a decision without
seeking God turned out to be disasters.
(a) They did not seek God when the Jebusites
pretended to come from afar.
(b) They did not seek God before attacking Ai.
b. \\#3-4\\ Human reason only wanted to send a few to
fight with Ai.
Josh 8:1 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear
not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the
people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai:
see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai,
and his people, and his city, and his land:
(1) God wanted all of the people to go up when human
reason thought only a few were needed.
(2) God always likes it when everyone gets involved.
(3) The more hands on the plough, the easier the
work and the more God blesses.
c. This defeat came after one of Israel’s greatest
victories, the fall of Jericho.
(1) Jericho was the largest, most fortified city in
the Promised Land.
(2) \\#Josh 4:13\\ tells us that about 40,000
soldiers went into the battle against Jericho.
(3) When the battle was over, not one Israel had
died-—not one.
(4) At Ai, 36 men fell!
(5) Could pride have played a part?
d. God considered the sin was on all of Israel.
Josh 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a
trespass in the accursed thing….
Josh 7:11 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.
(1) Lesson - You can say what you do and how you live
doesn’t affect anyone else if you want, but it
does.
(2) As authority flows from the top down so
protection flows. One a person in authority
sins, their wage is likely to passed down to
those under authority as well.
II. Debt of Sin - Does one little sin matter? What can it cause?
A. \\#4, 8\\ Israel was defeated, bad!
1. Israel had to turn their back on their enemy.
Jos 7:12 Therefore the children of Israel could
not stand before their enemies, but turned their
backs before their enemies….
2. This is the only defeat Israel suffered in the entire
conquest of the land!
B. \\#4\\ 36 people died.
C. \\#5, 7\\ The people were depressed and discouraged.
Josh 7:5 …wherefore the hearts of the people
melted, and became as water.
Josh 7:7 …would to God we had been content,
and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
D. God’s name was defamed.
Josh 7:9 …and what wilt thou do unto thy great
name?
III. Deliverance from Sin
A. The sinner had to be found.
1. \\#6-9\\ After the defeat, Israel spent some time praying.
2. I don’t know how long that lasted but I believe it was
long enough to Achan and his family to consider what they
had done and to do something about it.
3. They did not.
4. So God had every tribe march through, every family in the
tribe, and head in the family, and every individual in
the family until the sinner was found it.
5. I bet a lot of people got right with God about a lot of
things on that day!
6. Many had sinned but only one had caused the trouble that
Israel experienced and God found him.
B. The sin had to be confessed.
Josh 7:19 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.
C. \\#Josh 7:25-26\\ The sin had to be paid for.
1. They stoned them all and then burned then with fire and
then buried them under more stones.
2. Someone says why? Because there was no one to pay for
their sins.
3. There is no record of them asking for mercy and none was
given.
4. We need to understand how blessed we are that Jesus died
for us.
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