So what about Achan...taking clothes
from a dead man because it was beautiful. A beautiful mantle, a
gorgeous robe from Shinar, or Babylonia. They had just wiped out
Jericho...walking and fighting until the last man, woman, and child,
and all things were dead. And there it lay...in the ruins of
someone's home...a pile of money and a gorgeous, fancy robe. Now mind
you, these folks were slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years, then
walked around in the desert for 40 years, where it said that God
preserved their clothes and shoes for the endurance of the journey.
So the fact that he knew where the garment had been made surprises
me. Nonetheless, he couldn't resist it. The house from which he took
these things had to be a rich one, and Achan decided that he deserved
his reward, though he had been instructed to take nothing, and that
all of the gold and silver was to go to the temple for the Lord. In
Jude we are told to hate even the garments polluted by the sins of
the wicked, so this may be where he got his material (pun intended).
Giving these things to God by temple or by flame was a small payment
considering He had fed and watered them, clothed and provided for
them, for 40 years. But Achan took them for himself. He disobeyed,
and he stole from God.
That part we understand...and he paid
the consequences, as did the men who went to fight in Ai and his
whole family. The part that amazed me was that he hid it in the
ground. I seriously wonder where he thought he was going to wear this
garment without someone asking where he got it. He would definitely
stick out like a sore thumb. God had not given them permission to
take spoils, and there was no indication that He ever would, but
Achan risked it. And he buried it.
How like him we are. We collect things
and hide them from our spouses or friends. We do things that we don't
want others to know about, but we just feel like having them in our
possession, even when they can't be used or displayed without putting
our sin on display. But we feel somehow we deserve it and store it up
to our destruction and the destruction of those around us. I had
never really thought that God could put whole churches, ministries,
or families under judgement for the sins of one person. All for the
cause of a little gold and a garment, taking from God and for self,
whole ministries of the Lord can be stopped in their tracks until the
sin is weeded out and dealt with. We have all seen it...a once
thriving organization goes into a lull, a funk, so to speak, and no
one knows why. But God does.
So we are left to ponder. I know
myself. I have sneacked purchases into my home before, hoping the hubby
didn't notice, and didn't mind. I would usually tell him about the
trip to the fabric store later out of shear guilt. It wasn't that I
bought it, but my guilt over it, that makes for the sin, and the
desire to cover it up and not display it is reminiscent of Adam and
Eve thinking they could hide from God in the garden. I would have
been the one gathering too much manna and getting worms in the
morning. We have the tendency to disobey thinking that it really
doesn't matter and won't hurt anyone. But disobeying God is a serious
matter, and hiding the beautiful thing we just had to have is not
only foolish, it is a sign that sin is there.
Shall we uncover our sin before God? He
is merciful if we ask for His mercy. Achan told what he had done when
confronted, but he did not apologize or beg for God's mercy. There is
no sign of him coming forward when the inquiry started to find the
sinner in the ranks. He hoped not to be found out or that someone
else had sinned and would get caught before him. Repentance leads to
forgiveness, and uncovering leads to restoration. Let's go to God and
confess our sinfulness, our silly lusts, and become agents of
blessing and not cursing in our churches, homes, and world.
No comments:
Post a Comment