I'd like us to turn this evening to the passage we read in Joshua chapter 7. I want us to think of the deceptive power of sin in the life, firstly of Achan, but by way of instruction in us too. I want to read verse 11 and then verse 20 and 21. This is God's diagnosis of Achan's behavior. Verse 11 in Joshua 7. 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. Verse 20, 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." Well, we are confronted in this chapter with some unpalatable truths. Firstly, the reality of the power of sin to deceive us and secondly, the just punishment which God displays in His Word against all sin. Sin is a very solemn thing. We are all guilty of it. Doubtless as we witness the stoning and burning of Achan and his family at the end of this chapter, we begin to wince. But you know, that stoning was just. And God's just punishment, which will be meted out upon our sins, will also have to be acknowledged to be a just punishment. if indeed we face that day, having never sought the refuge of Jesus Christ. Now before we look at the detail of this chapter, I want to try and paint a picture of the situation. Israel has come from the wilderness into the land of Canaan. Canaan at this time was inhabited by tribes which were utterly immoral. utterly godless and idolatrous in their ways. They would offer their children in child sacrifices, such was the awful manner in which they lived. And God had decreed that through the instrumentality of the children of Israel and their army, these tribes and nations would be utterly destroyed. But Israel had been commanded through Joshua as they embark upon that first pivotal battle, the battle for the strategic city of Jericho in the previous chapter, that they were to take nothing of the spoil to themselves. Firstly, because the gold and the silver here was consecrated to the Lord, it belonged to him, after all he was going to give them the victory in the battle, and secondly because so much of the artifacts of that place was tainted by the idolatrous life of those that lived there, and the Lord in his wisdom wish that none of those practices and influences should have the least touch upon the minds of the Israelites. And so they were warned, as we read in verse 18 and 19 of chapter 6, to keep themselves from the accursed thing, lest you make yourselves to be accursed. that when we disobey God we bring down God's curse upon our own life. So that is the background to this situation. But we are told here at the beginning of the following chapter that Israel committed a trespass in the accursed bin. I just want to stop here a moment because there is something very telling about this sentence. It does not say here to begin with, Acap, there was one individual who breached this command of the Lord, it says Israel committed a trespass. There was something very solemn about Achan's behavior here, and it was that the whole host of Israel would suffer the consequences of that sinful member in their midst. And here is a warning to every believer, to every church member. When we begin in our lives to breach God's commandments, we begin to tolerate sin in our life, we begin in some way to flirt with the cursed things of this world as Achan did, then we will bring the curse of God potentially upon our whole fellowship. Here the people of God lost a battle. 36 men lost their lives and the whole host were discouraged and Pastor Joshua was brought down upon his knees in despair. Such can be the effect of one sin in the camp of the Lord's people. And let that be a warning to every single one of us who are the children of God to beware lest we be the cause of the blunting of this church's testimony. because it will be a solemn discouragement to all, and the Lord may have to withdraw his blessing and his support for a time. But I want to move on to focus particularly, not so much upon the pastoral lessons of this chapter, as to just focus in upon how Acan, reap the rewards of his own sinfulness, because sin often follows the same pattern in all our lives. Just look at verse 21 here, and I want to pick out four verbs. Chapter 7 verse 21, Achan said, I saw, I coveted, I took, and I hid. That was the route which Achan took as he began this course of defiance and disobedience to God. He saw, he coveted, he took and he hid. And I want to roughly speaking explore those four things as we go through the first part of our study this evening. First of all, eyesore. It's a reminder that skin so often attracts us. it attracts our eyes, it flatters us, it appears to be appealing to our natural eye. And it may be this evening that some of us, we are attracted not so much to one particular sin as Akan was here, But we are attracted to a life of sin, a life away from the Lord. You see, that was the heart of this matter. Before Achan could partake of these goods, this spoil that was hidden within the city of Jericho, he had to defy the Lord and his commandment. He had to choose a pathway that would lead him away from the laws. and yet to him because of the benefits that he saw the spoils of such a life he was prepared to forsake the Lord. Sin to him was so attractive and so it may appear to us all sin says follow me Come away with me, you can have a life without the Lord, without his boundaries, without his rules in your life and it will be so attractive. It may be some particular sin. You know, even anger can be attractive to us. We are cornered. We feel like we need to lash out. and in that split second of time sinful anger appears to our minds eye if not our physical eye so attractive It looks like something which will enable us to give vent to all our frustration, and we don't really care what words come out, and how we say, and who we will upset, who we will hurt, what damage will be done to those around us. We will go down that route because it seems so attractive at the time. That's what happened with A.K. Sin here, that taking of these forbidden goods was going to involve not just the damage of his own immediate family, but it would involve damage to the whole host, the whole nation of Israel. But in that moment, Sin appeared so attractive to him, that all the negative things failed to make any mark upon his mind. That's how sin works. It worked with Eve, didn't it? In the Garden of Eden. She saw the fruit and it seemed to be so attractive. It looked tasty. It looked something to be desired, to make one wise. And in that moment all of the solemn consequences of sin were forgotten. She was like a rabbit dazzled by the headlights, that could see nothing of the danger, only that attractive fruit. Sin attracts us, and sinful ways are often attractive to us too. But sin does more than that. Here, he said, I saw among the spoils, let's just look at these words, a goodly Babylonish garment. Now Jericho stood as a trading center almost certainly, it was a strategic town well fortified, it was to the east of Jerusalem and the west coast of Israel and Palestine and it had to its east the land or the plain of Shinar with all the trade that was done there. And Babylon was renowned for making beautiful garments carefully woven together. Some suggest that even gold was laced into these garments. They were goods of ostentation. They were symbols that were status symbols. They were luxury goods. And here Achan's mind is dazzled. by the possibility of owning such a unique gown. Not only that, but alongside them he sees a wedge of gold and a great deal of silver. It's difficult to translate the weight, the substance of the value here into our own language, but doubtless to say, this was a serious amount of money. it would bring him great wealth. And we read that he coveted these things. You see, sin does not only attract us, but it captivates us. And such was its effect upon Achan, he couldn't get the idea out of his mind. We don't know exactly the chain of events that led to this. Perhaps he was posted by his battalion in a particular street or quarter of Jericho. and while he was involved in that army he spied some room that hadn't quite collapsed in one of the buildings that wasn't completely burned out and he knew and he loved in his mind the fact that hidden behind a certain wall with perhaps a certain brick on the outside or a certain number there was hid this booty and as he goes home that day he cannot get out of his mind the substance that could be his if he was to return under cover of darkness and scoop up this great wealth he coveted sin captivated him and so captivated was he with the possibility of this great wealth that he was blinded to the dangers he saw that love and it filled his pride, he could be a man of power, of wealth, it filled his vanity, he could wear a garment which no other member of his nation would own. Do we crave a forbidden life this evening? You know, Achan overlooked all that the Lord had done for him and for his nation and all the promises which God had given through Joshua concerning how before long they would be settled in the land of Canaan, they would have their own farms, they would be able to extract metals from the hills, they would be in their own cities, they would have a great deal of wealth. And Achan in that moment of covetousness was impatient too. He could not wait for those promises of God to be fulfilled among his nation. He wanted something now. And so often that is the case, that is the temptation with which sin approaches us. God has promised that if we seek Him and we yield to Him, He will bless us in days to come in a wonderful way, He will teach us, He will watch over us, and He will prepare for us Heaven itself. And yet we say as Achan did here, now I want my wealth now. I am prepared to lose all the blessing of God, all the favour of God, all the care of God upon my life, if I can have the benefits that I see, the trappings of sin now. Well, sin did more than just captivate Achan, it enslaved him. if we read not only he coveted but he took and actually here we are reminded that Achan was enslaved enslaved by the power of his own sin of covetousness he was a slave to his pride pride said you need that garment you need that wealth sin enslaved him and made him selfish. Oh how selfish this act was really when you stop and think about it. And that's how sin is with all of us. Sin makes us selfish. We do not think of how our sin will affect others around us. If we cheat, if we lie, if we steal, if we, in some way, lose our temper, these are things which affect others, but we don't think of that. Achanid, he didn't think of the consequences for his family, or even for his tribe, in taking these goods to himself. Sin makes us dishonest. Look at what it says lastly, I hid, behold they are hidden in my tent. And earlier in verse 11, We read that the Lord said the children of Israel have stolen and dissembled. Also this word dissemble, it means to hide or to act deceitfully or deceptively. And that's what Achan had done. Sin makes us dishonest. We put a facade of uprightness on and we deport ourselves not only among men but also perhaps almost before God. and yet hidden within our lives there are deep-seated resentments and deep-seated urges to do sinful things we become dishonest people not open before the Lord not acknowledging actually who we are and what our traits are you know Akan here, it's amazing when you think of it firstly that he was the only one among the host of Israel tempted by such a glitter, but also that even when Joshua announces that the accursed thing has been taken. He doesn't come forward. He doesn't acknowledge that he is the guilty man. Perhaps he could have been spared if he had taken the initiative. But he waits until he is identified as the man. Such is the dishonesty which sin causes within our life. People would have been sad. Is it you? Who do you think it might be? and he perhaps was shrugging his shoulders well it would seem his family were party to the act they must have known and shared the secret because they also would have known what was in his tent nevertheless we are reminded that sin makes us dishonest are you dishonest this night about your true character not before me not before your friends and family perhaps but in the sight of God you are unwilling to come before the Lord and condemn yourself and acknowledge that you are unworthy of his touch, of his blessing, of his pardon, that you deserve to be crushed, to be stoned as it were under the justice of God and banished forever and ever. Such is your guilt. That is what we are called to be before God. But we dishonestly pretend that we are better. that actually our characters are not as bad as they are portrayed in scripture. But you know sin not only enslaved this man and made him dishonest, it made him a thief. He was stealing. Look at verse 11. That's how the Lord sees it. They have taken of thee a cursed thing and have also stolen. They have disobeyed, or the Lord is saying here, this person has disobeyed, they have taken of the accursed thing against God's express commandment, they have also stolen. I don't suppose it felt like stealing to Achan. Achan would answer and say, well nobody else had picked it up. The priests hadn't picked it up and put it into the house of the Lord's coffers. It was just there, buried under the rubble. And yet in the sight of God this act of Achan was theft. He had stolen something which belonged to the Lord. Verse 19 in chapter 6 said All the vessel, all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord. They shall come into the treasury of the Lord. Achan, if you had salvaged that metal and you had turned it over to the priests, you would have been doing the right thing. But Achan, in taking it and hiding it in your own tent, you have stolen from God. We all steal from God. We don't see it as stealing, but you know when we steal from God's day to do our own business, we are stealing from what is consecrated to the Lord. It belongs to Him. Sabbath breaking is theft. It's stealing from God that time which is due to Him, when we steal from Him praise and honor, and we want to be admired, and we want to be lifted up on a pedestal, where we lift ourselves up, and worship ourselves, and praise ourselves, and admire ourselves in the place of God. We are stealing from God, when we would deprive Him of gratitude, It is like stealing or withholding rent from God. We may steal from him loyalty. All these things are sinful things. Sin deceived Achan. He overlooked the reality of what he was doing. Sin has deceived many many people to date. I say this because Achan was convinced that his best interests would be served by flouting Joshua's warning. Joshua had said, don't touch the accursed thing, don't touch all the paraphernalia connected with this idolatrous tribe and city. But he was convinced that the opposite was true. sin had convinced him that his best interest was served in disobeying God. And we can be so deceived as well. Many people in our society are absolutely convinced that a life away from the Lord, a life without the boundaries which God sets, a life in which they snub the Lord and reject the Lord and ignore the Lord is that way of life which will serve their best interests. But sin has deceived us if we think like that. What happened here? Well Achan forfeited great blessing. He lost far more than he gained. That was the deception. You see the reality of sin is that it's not attractive at all. It will not lead to great and lasting blessing at all. Let me mention three things that this passage teaches us about sin. Firstly, sin is defiance. In order to undertake this mission, Achan had to defy God. It was an act of defiance and rebellion. And in choosing that path, he forfeited God's blessing in his life. He forfeited all the advantages of the covenant. Verse 11 said, Israel has sinned, they have transgressed my covenant which I have commanded them. That was a covenant which promised them the land of Canaan. It promised them great wealth and blessing. It promised them God's protection. It promised them ultimately eternal salvation and rebellion is a forfeiting of God's blessing in our lives. Is that the course that you have embarked upon in your mind? You found a life of sin attractive? You've been captivated by such a way of life? You are almost at the point of being convinced that if you rebel against the Lord, you defy Him and turn away from Him, and cast Him out of your life, you will be better off, will be reminded by what happens where you can. If you take that route, ultimately, the price you will pay is losing God's favour, God's help, God's blessing. You make God your enemy, and when you ignore His claims, you forfeit everything that He can do for you. Secondly, sin is transgression. Verse 11 again, Israel has also transgressed my covenant. This word transgress, it means to break through, to breach a boundary. And so often, you know, there appears little to stop us sinning. I don't know if any of you saw in the wee pictures of the Palestinian crowds, breaching the national boundary between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. And first there was one man who went through the boundary and made a run for it. But before long there was a JCB coming along and it was digging up the boundary stones and making a great chasm, a great opening in that boundary and hordes of people rushed through. You know that's what happens in our lives with sin. Firstly, we break through with a little breach. It's not easy to break God's commandments the first time. Our consciences tell us that we shouldn't do something but we step over, we get away with it, we learn to cope with our conscience and before long we're bringing in the diggers and we're digging up all the boundary fences that God has placed in our life and we live our way and we go on to a life of sin. That's what sin is. Sin is a breaching of God's boundaries. and you cannot do that with impunity ultimately the Lord will bring his law to bear upon you but his sin is folly look at verse 15 he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord and because he has wrought folly in Israel. Have you ever thought to the life of sin or an act of sin being foolishness? A foolish thing to do? Something that is stupid and mindless? That's what is being taught here. You see, the folly of Achan's act was that he overlooked the all-seeing nature of God. He thought he promised to himself that he could go under cover of darkness and salvage these wealthy items and bury them in his tent, no one would know. It's a bit naive really, because when was he going to wear the status symbol of that Babylonish garment? Everyone would say, Achan, where did you get that from? Where was he going to splash around the silver and the gold? He could only hide it. But that was the tip of the iceberg of this man's folly, because his greatest folly was he overlooked the all-seeing eye of God. The God who had displayed such wonderful provisions in the wilderness, the miraculous manner The God who had so recently, the day before perhaps, brought down the walls of Jericho in a remarkable way, could he not see? Did he not note the process that Acham was going through, the covetous thoughts that he entertained, that act of clandestine theft and burial? Of course he did. don't make the same mistake friends in your life do not think that because others do not notice your actions or your thoughts or your words you can get away with it be sure your sin will find you out God reads your heart God notes your conversations and mine and God will bring us each to account ultimately God sees everything or how solemn it will be to come to the end of our lives to be called to stand before Almighty God and to have brought in an instant before our mind the realization of every evil thing that we have done and to see and to be forced to confess those things before Almighty God and to condemn ourselves for all eternity see that's what happened to Achan here he overlooked this was part of his folly he overlooked the catastrophic consequences of making God his enemy it seemed that all was calm perhaps when those goods were first buried in his tent but just read verse 24 here Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his asses, his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had. And they brought them unto the valley of Achor, and they were destroyed and burned. Akan lost absolutely everything. Here is a picture of a man who had such high hopes perhaps two days before and yet everything that he has now is brought to ruin. Isn't that the picture of so many sinners? I don't know if any of you have heard of a man called Nicholas Van Hoofskarp. He's a horrible man, from what I know of him, from reading about him, he's a self-made tycoon, but he's a bully. He's one of the worst landlords the country has got, from what is said. He's worth so many hundreds of millions, but he is supposed to have been arrested in Zimbabwe, even though he thinks Robert Mugabe is a very good man. but he's been arrested and apparently he has said the only reason you get wealth is so it can put you on a pedestal. He lives in a 40 million pound mansion but you know that man all his wealth, all his hopes will one day be brought to nothing. He will stand before the Lord in utter nakedness and he will have to confess his covetousness, his pride, his unkindness, his greed, his selfishness, his vanity, and he will have to condemn himself before the throne of his Creator. How solemn! That's what Achan had to do here, and there was no hope for him. Achan's great loss is a testimony to you and I. But I want to close by just contrasting Achan with the dying thief. Because you know, although Achan was not repentant until it was too late, there is a way that all of us can find God's pardoning love, God's grace. Here is another thief, we don't know what he'd stolen, but doubtless he'd stolen from the Lord, Doubtless he had breached through every boundary that God had put in his life. But as he condemns himself upon that cross at Calvary, in verse 40 of Luke 23, he says, Dost thou not fear God? He says to his accomplice, Seer thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds. This was the confession of this dying man. I deserve to be punished. I deserve to die. By implication he is saying the providence of God that saw that I was arrested and and tried and judged and condemned and nailed to this cross. The God who oversaw those events is a just God and I indeed deserve to die. And I deserve every punishment that God brings upon my head. And yet, despite that, he says this at the end of verse 41, this man has done nothing amiss he's done nothing wrong he looks to his left he sees the Lord Jesus Christ there hanging in agony pleading for the pardon of those that had nailed him to that cross and he recognises that here is the Saviour the one who has done nothing wrong and he asks him saying Lord remember me and he obtained mercy his guilt was removed, his sentence was taken away, and though he died, yet we read that he would that day be with Christ in paradise. This is the mercy of God. to condemn sinners. That's what we are friends. Sin has enslaved us. Sin has deceived us. And in many ways we have acted foolishly. We deserve to be condemned. And yet when we follow the footsteps of this dying thief, and we acknowledge that we deserve God's punishment, and plead for mercy, trusting in the Lord Jesus who has done nothing wrong, then these are the reassuring words of Jesus all that come to me he is implying here as this dying thief did shall find my love and my pardon are you prepared to be honest with the Lord to confess your sin there is a way of pardon open when we die May God help us each to find it. Let's pray. O Lord God, we confess that sin has so often dazzled our minds and we have been enslaved by its power, deceived by all that it stands for, but we ask Lord God that we may recognise the folly of our own sinfulness, the awfulness of breaching Thy boundaries and Thy commandments. Give to us that willingness to be honest, to confess our sin, our guilt with shame and to trust only in Jesus Christ of whom we read, the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all. O cause us each to yield to him, to trust him, and to discover his pardoning love. Amen. Let's conclude with 417. O Lord from whom there's naught concealed, who sees my inward friend, To me, I always stand revealed exactly as I am. 417.