I'm returning to Joshua chapter seven this afternoon, and I want you to notice that the chapter begins with one of the most ominous words in all of scripture, but, but. You see, the previous six chapters of the book were filled with victory and blessings. The presence and power of God was known amongst his people. But now when we get to chapter seven, everything changes. That little word, but, just completely reverses everything that went before it. Previously, Israel had been involved in a great military conquest. They've seen the mighty city of Jericho fall before them. They've witnessed the amazing defeat of their enemies. Having marched around that city, God caused the walls to collapse and the city was conquered. and they're still basking in the glow of that great event, and they're all filled with enthusiasm for the adventure that lies before them. They are certain that they are unbeatable, that every obstacle in their path will be moved out of the way. Every obstacle will be swept out of their way, because they feel themselves to be a tide that no man can hold back. And victory is certain until we get to chapter seven. And the word but signals for us that Israel is in serious trouble and doesn't even realize it yet. But the children of Israel committed a trespass and 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. There was one man in the camp who was causing problems for the entire family of God. This is a scenario that still happens today. In the book of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul describes the various members of the body of Christ. And he says that we're all one body. And being one body, that means that when one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body suffers with it. And our spiritual temperature can have a profound effect upon the entire body of Christ. In other words, what we do, what we say, what we are has an impact upon those around us, whether we realize it or whether we want it to be true or not. And my desire this afternoon in coming to Joshua chapter seven is that we might, each and every one of us, examine our hearts and our lives before the Lord, see if there's anything there that we think might that we think we might have hidden away, some sin that we hope that no one else will discover, realize that God sees it, knows about it, and is going to deal with it, and may we seek then to have that matter settled before the Lord before we leave. This is a passage that warns us about the dangers of unconfessed sins. Let's begin in the chapter. The chapter begins with revealing to us the source of their troubles Quite interesting that the chapter six finishes with the words that the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was noise throughout all the country, only for the whole thing to spin around when we get to chapter seven and find now that the Lord is working against the children of Israel. But as you read through the first few verses of chapter seven, it's very clear that no one expected a defeat at the hands of the city of Ai. Compared to Jericho, they were nothing. Jericho was the main difficulty. It was the great walled city. That's the one that the children of Israel were worried about, not Ai. Ai was going to be easy. but it turned out to be a rather shameful defeat for the children of Israel. Arthur Pink makes the comment, and I've found it to be true, and I suspect we will also. He says, how susceptible we are to defeat after our greatest successes, when we think we are untouchable. We let down our guard and the enemy strikes. What caused their defeat at Ai? Well, firstly, the word of God was disobeyed. The children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing. Achan took of the accursed thing and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. It's interesting that the name Achan actually means trouble. Here's a man that's living up to his name because he not only troubled God, but he brought much trouble on Joshua and the children of Israel. What did he do? He disobeyed God. Cast your eye back into chapter six and verse 18. Here's the command given to every soldier from Joshua by the Lord. And ye and any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing. lest you make yourselves accursed when you take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it. And verse one, chapter seven says, Achan took the accursed thing. in spite of all of the warnings, in spite of the command from the Lord through Joshua. Keep yourselves from the accursed thing. Jericho is a cursed city. Everything in it is cursed to you. Do not, do not take anything from the city. The battle of Jericho is underway and Achan is in the midst of the battle and he's about to disobey the command of God. All of the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron was all to be taken to the treasury of the Lord as part of the first fruits of conquest. Everything else was to be burned with fire. Nothing was to be left to the city of Jericho. Achan completely disregarded, disobeyed God's word, because we're told that he took the accursed thing. He put unholy hands on holy things, things that were consecrated to the Lord. He tried to bless what God had already cursed. And he lives up to his name by bringing all kinds of trouble upon everyone around. See, like Achan, we tend to think that sin isn't really as bad as what God says it is. And so we disobey God's word, and we take the accursed thing, the thing that God says to avoid. And as a result, sin is no longer seen as something to be avoided, but rather something to be appeased. But God has not changed his mind about sin. Sin is always sin in the sight of God. Sin is always what it has been and always what it will be. And there's no such thing with God as a great sin and a little sin, it's sin. And every sin is the result of the word of God being disregarded and disobeyed. And so the word of God was disobeyed and the will of God was disregarded. the Lord who had delivered Israel from 400 odd years of Egyptian slavery and captivity, who'd raised up Moses as a leader to deliver them, to bring them to the land of promise, the Lord who had taken them through the formidable waters of the river Jordan, who had brought the walls of mighty Jericho tumbling down, the Lord who had done great things for his people, Achan not only disobeyed his word, but he disregarded his will. The city of Ai was to be next. The next pawn to be targeted and defeated. And verse two tells us Joshua sent out his spies. Go and make preparations for the battle. Come back and tell us what you see. And they came back with a report in verse three and said, let not all the people go up. Two or three thousand men will be sufficient to smite AI. Don't make everyone to go up. It's such a labor to send all of the people. Just send a few. In chapter 8 we learn that the population of AI was somewhere around 12,000. That might mean that their army stood around 2,000 to 3,000 men, but the spies and their calculation and in view of the size of AI's army and the great conquest we've just been engaged in, we don't need to all go up, 2,000 or 3,000 men will suffice. What's interesting is that you'll find that when you look at the account that God is completely left out of the picture altogether, You know we're read of Joshua or his commanders or the troops on the ground ever consulting the will of God. Rather they look at their own strength and their own ability and they decided, well, we're sufficient for this. We don't need to trouble God about AI. We needed his help for Jericho, but AI we can deal with by ourselves. And they completely disregard the Lord and his will. Well, let me suggest to you that individually and collectively, as Christians and as a congregation of church, that wherever God's word is disobeyed and his will disregarded, we are headed for trouble. Every time that we leave God out of the picture, we're heading for disaster. We have to do God's work God's way. But they've left God out. They've given no place to God. And sin is the cause of that. So we find that defeat is on the cards because sin is costly. But what's presented to us as wonderful and attractive and appealing and cheap, easy, but there's always a cost in the end. We find there's a defeat for the children of Israel just around the corner. The army marches up to Ai, but they don't go in their strength or in the strength of the Lord. They send the two or 3,000 men. Joshua takes the advice of his spies and his military advisors, and he leaves out the Lord from the equation. And we're told in verse five, and the maid of Ai smoked of them about 36 men, for they chased them from before the gate, even unto Shebarim, and smoked them in the going down. The hearts of the people melted and became as water. This is Israel's first and only military defeat in the land of Canaan. The only time under Joshua's leadership that defeat is mentioned and casualties are reported amongst the children of God. In the next five to seven years of battles and conquest, this is the only one that's reported in the scriptures. Why? Because of their sin. God's word had been disobeyed, God's will had been disregarded, and now God's people are defeated. This one battle against the smallest of cities an army that they should have overcome so easily. And they run with their tails between their legs, defeated. The reason of their defeat was not that they only sent two or 3,000 men. Had Israel been right with God, they could have won the battle with one man. The problem is they're not right with God. Defeat is experienced when God's word is disobeyed, his will disregarded, and God himself dishonored. Strange defeat and a sad denial. Joshua holds a prayer meeting. We find that when he hears the news of the defeat, that he falls on his face before the Ark of the Lord, even until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their heads. And it's interesting that we find Joshua praying after the defeat, but not before it. If only he had prayed before, the defeat would not have happened. Now, if ever there was a time when we shouldn't pray, Joshua shows us when it is. because he prays in verse seven, alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side, Jordan. This prayer is not Joshua at his best. He is critical of God. He's blaming the Lord for the defeat. He wonders why God would bring them across the River Jordan only to have their enemies destroyed. Notice how the Lord deals with Joshua's prayer. He tells him, get up. Get up. I don't want to hear your prayers. Get thee up, wherefore lies thou upon thy face. This isn't a time for praying. This is the time for dealing with the problem. How dare you blame me for this defeat, is what God is saying. Get up off your face and do something about the issue that caused it. Israel hath sinned. They have transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them. where they've even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen and dissembled also, and have even put it among their own stuff. God is not pulling any punches with Joshua about their defeat or the defilement in the camp. In fact, the Lord refers to this sinful act in a number of different words. Notice what he says, Israel hath sinned. The word there means they've missed the mark. We've often used the picture of the archer pulling back upon his bow and letting loose the arrow, aiming for the target, but he misses. Israel has missed the mark. They've missed the standard that I've set for them. They've fallen short. They have sinned. You'll also notice he says, and they have also transgressed. So if the sinning is the arrow falling short of the target, transgressing is going beyond the boundaries that God has set. It means to pass over. For God has said this far and no further to transgress is to go beyond what God has said. Not only have they fallen short of the things that they should have done, but they've gone beyond the things that they ought not to have done. They have sinned and they have transgressed. He says they have stolen. They have stolen. They've taken that which did not belong to them. In fact, they've taken that which belonged to me, said the Lord. He also says they dissembled also. They use deceit and dishonesty. They've not only taken, but they've hidden it within their tent. We're also told that they put it among their own stuff. The phrase there comes from a word that actually gives us our English word, sacrilege. It speaks of a disregard for God's property. It speaks of an irreverence towards the things of God, where we have taken holy things and treated them as if they were profane. Back in verse one, the Lord speaks of a trespass. And the idea there is of treachery, that Achan was a traitor. He was disloyal to God, unfaithful to his Lord. The Lord doesn't cover over the sin, he saw it for what it was. Sinful, treacherous, a transgression, dissembling, dishonest, all of these things. And then he says to Joshua, verse 12, neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy thee, curse it from among you. Sin has a cost attached to it. They're going to miss out on the presence of God that once they enjoyed. Neither will I be with you anymore. God's presence no longer with them. We're also told in verse 13, there's an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel. Thou canst not stand before thine enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you. Not only will my presence not be with you, but my power will not be available to you. there is a hefty price tag on sin. When we sin as Christians or as a church, the presence of God will be withdrawn and the power of God will be withheld. See what happened at AI is a picture, an illustration that's happening again and again and again throughout churches across the world. Instead of enjoying God's blessing and his presence and his power, God's throne of disapproval is upon them. And instead of overcoming the enemy, they are being humiliated by him. And instead of making progress, we find ourselves defeated at every turn. Could it be that the reason that we see so few being converted is because we are in desperate need of revival. Because we have disobeyed God's word and disregarded his will and we as a people are defeated because there's sin in the camp that we haven't dealt with. There is a remedy of course. In order for their defeat to be turned to victory, they need to deal with the problem that's before them. I find it interesting that the Lord tells Joshua just exactly what needs to be done. how they have to bring the people forward by their tribes, by their families, by their household, and then the Lord shall identify the man. And he says in verse 15, and it shall be that he that is taken with the accursed things shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath. They're told in advance just exactly what the Lord is going to do. The Lord is still doing that. When you read his word, we find that he's given very clear instruction to us, just exactly what's going to happen, and when he comes again, all sin will be exposed, and all that are still in their sins will be judged by the mighty Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're warned in advance, just as Israel was in that day. And so, the sin will be exposed. Those things that Achan had taken and hidden in the midst of his tent that he thought no one else knew about, that he had cleverly disguised, that no one had witnessed him take, he had failed to realize that he was still under the ever watchful eye of God. All things are naked and opened onto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4.13. Having identified the sin, the Lord outlines the procedure to deal with it. He that has taken with the accursed things shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath. God reveals the plan to Joshua, how to identify the source of the problem within the camp. And the plan, the approach is so methodical. We'll bring them by the tribes. So I suspect representatives of each tribe were brought before Joshua, and the tribe of Judah was singled out. The rest of you can leave. Judah, you remain. From the tribe of Judah, the families were to be assembled. The family of the Zarlites were chosen. The rest of you can go. Zerah, you remain. And from the family of the Zareis, the household of Zabdai was chosen. And from the household of Zabdai, Achan, the son of Carmi, thou art the man. You're the one. Joshua proceeds to bring before him the tribes and then the households, and then the families, until finally the guilty party, Achan, is left standing before Joshua alone and exposed. The net, if you like, is getting closer every time. In verse 18, we're told that he brought his household man by man, and Acham, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah was taken. Why go through this whole procedure? Why announce the day before this is what we're going to do tomorrow? This is the plan of how we're going to identify the culprit. Why go through the whole drama of the events of bringing them out by tribes and families and households and such. God knew who was guilty. God could simply have exposed Aitken there and then at that very moment. Why go through this whole, this whole drama? I think the reason is very simple. God was giving Achan time to repent, time to confess his sins. Standing there assembled with all of the others in that vast group numbered in millions, perhaps to begin with, Achan is thinking to himself, nobody will ever know. Why, there's millions of other people around me. How will they ever identify me out of all of the others that are here? Will the tribe of Judah please step forward? He's thinking, well, that's my tribe. But sure, it was a one in 12 chance that could have been Judah chosen. I'll not say anything just yet. The next call comes forward. Will the family of the Tsarites please remain behind? That's my family. Will the household of Zabdi please step forward? Every time it's getting closer and closer and closer. And I believe that with each step that's been taken, the weight and the burden of guilt is pressing more and more down upon Aitken. And I believe there's that still small voice of the Spirit of God that's speaking to him, Achan, we know about your sin. And every time that the name was called forward and the net was getting closer, it was an opportunity for Achan to come forward and confess and say, enough of all of this. He could sense the finger of God getting ready to point at him and still he refuses to own his guilt. I believe with all my heart that if at any time, right up until the time that he was singled out as the offender, that if Achan had stepped forward and owned his guilt and repented of it before the Lord, he would have been met with grace. I believe that with all my heart. But if you wait until the day when you stand before the great Savior of men, you wait until the day that he opens up his accounts and exposes for all to see and hear and know of your great guilt before the Lord, you will find that there will be no time or place for repentance left. Achan squandered his day of grace and opportunity. Surely there's a lesson that needs to be heeded and learned from this episode. God already knows your sins. He knows all about them. And his finger is getting closer and closer and closer to your life. And each time that you hear the gospel preached and the warnings given, It should be a prompting to your soul. I need to deal with my sins. I need to get right with God. I need to repent and confess. I need mercy from the Lord because if you wait, if you wait until the day that you stand before God and your sins are laid bare, it's too late. It's too late then. It's only a matter of time before the finger of God lands upon your life. You stand before him exposed in your sins that cannot and will not ever be hidden. Your sins will find you out. Sin is the great detective. It finds us out. run to him while you can. While we're still in the day of grace and gospel opportunity, cast yourself upon his mercy, confess your guilt unto him, and he will see. He will cleanse you, he will pardon you, and your sins and your iniquities he will deal with, he will wash them away, and he will remember them no more. Sin will eventually be exposed unless it's dealt with in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the exposure might not be today and it may not be tomorrow. It may not even be in this lifetime. You may go through your entire life and no one knows just exactly all the wicked things that you've thought and said and done, but there will be a day. The day in which the small and great stand before God and the books are open and everything is exposed. And sin will not only be exposed, but it will be dealt with permanently. You see, for the children of Israel to return to blessing, sin must not only be exposed, it must be expelled, must be put out. And we read Achan in verse 20 say, indeed I have sinned against the Lord. This isn't repentance. The time for repentance is over. This is simply the exposing of who he is and what he has done. Indeed I have sinned against the Lord and thus and thus have I done when I saw among the spoils of goodly Babylonia's garment. and 200 shekels of silver and a wage of gold of 50 shekels weight, then I covered them, took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent. As I said, he's not repenting here. His sin has simply been exposed for all to see. And he admits to the driving force of sin in his life, that he looked at, lusted for, longed after, and eventually took that which belonged to the Lord. A goodly Babylonian garment. I'm told that Babylonian garments were something of a prestigious thing to wear. They were able to interweave threads of gold and silver through those materials to make a garment that well, was fit for a king. Maybe Achan has seen this garment and he thinks to himself, what a terrible waste to take this garment out and to burn it with fire as God has commanded. How good I would look in such a garment. What recognition I would receive from those around me when they see me so wonderfully well-dressed. Here's a desire to be fashionable Create an impression with those around us. To have them look up to us has been somewhat important. Here's a garment to be desired and Aitken says, I want it. I want people to think well of me. Then he sees the silver. He thinks, I could take some of that. The desire for material goods and wealth and riches. He takes the silver, and I suspect a little while later he finds the wedge of gold. You know, if he had come across the wedge of gold to begin with, it would have been such a huge sin for him to commit there and then. It wouldn't even have crossed his mind, but he allowed the garment into his life. And then the silver came, and then the gold didn't seem to be so much of a stretch at the end of it all. Sin is a way of creeping in until eventually it takes over. He gave in to his desires to take the things that God said are not yours. He took them and hid them. I'll hide them for a while. I'll not wear the garment just yet. I'll not spend the silver and gold just yet. It'd be too suspicious, but later down the line, when we get set up and well-established, well, I can just come into the small fortune. live a life of pleasure and luxury the way that I desire. But his sin was exposed, and now he must be dealt with. We're told in verse 25 that they took him out of the camp into the valley of Acre, and Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned him with fire. As a result, we're told in verse 26 that the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger, and the place was called the Valley of Achor on to this day. Achan was buried in Achor. Both words mean trouble. Achan, who had been a source of trouble to Israel, was led to rest in a place that would commemorate his sinfulness forever. Never underestimate the damage that sin can do in our own lives, in our families, in our societies, in our churches. Sin divides, it damages, it disrupts, it ultimately destroys. If we want the Lord's blessing, and I know that we do, then we should not trifle with sin, we should avoid it, run from it, and not get caught up in it, but if we do, confess it quickly, turn from it, lest the anger of the Lord fall upon us. Sad, sad lesson here in the book of Joshua chapter seven, when we learn from the life and the example of AI. I remember as a young boy being told that there's two ways we can learn. We can learn by our mistakes, and we can, a wise man learns by his mistakes. But a really wise man will learn from somebody else's. May we learn from the mistakes of Aitken, and may we learn to avoid sin and avoid the judgment of God. and rest rather in his promises and in his blessings. Let's bow and pray. Our gracious God, we pray again for thy presence with us, that even now as the voice of man grows silent, as the service comes to its end, may the voice of thy Holy Spirit continue to speak on. And where there is sin hidden in our lives, hidden from the gaze of others, we pray that thy Holy Spirit will come and reveal it to us, and expose it to our own hearts so that we may turn from it, confessing it unto the Lord, and in this day of grace finding mercy from the Savior. May we not wait until such a day when we stand before a holy God, for all things to be exposed, and to suffer then the just consequences for our rebellion against him. Do bless thy word, now we pray, to each and every one that hears it. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.