Achan’s Sin

In Joshua chapter 7 we learn about Achan, more specifically, what he did. To sum up quickly, while a part of a group of soldiers, Achan found some stuff he liked laying around Jericho. He probably though, “Hey, this stuff is going to burn anyway, why don’t I just take it?” Truthfully, it was pretty good stuff, too; a robe, some gold, you know – stuff that nobody would miss cause the owners of it would soon be dead.

So Achan takes this stuff. To make a long story short, his greed caused 38 men to be killed in the next battle at Ai, a battle they should have EASILY won. The Lord (and most of Israel, for that matter) was not happy. So they stoned him to death and burned all the stuff.

Why?

Achan’s true sin, I’d wager, was not taking the “stuff”, but desiring the stuff more than he desired and trusted God. See, God had given pretty explicit instructions about what to take, what not to take, etc., so that Israel would HAVE to remain reliant upon Him. Achan figured he could have both.

If I’m honest, I commit Achan’s sin every single day of my life. I buy stuff I don’t need, I covet things that will never satisfy, and I put my trust in what I can keep. My focus on God and His provision is pretty much always an afterthought.

Don’t we all do that? And it’s subversive, isn’t it? Before we know it we have gathered things because we think we need them, believing somehow that they will satisfy us. They never do. They never will.

I’m reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 12: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

What would our lives look like if we took that literally (which, by the way, is EXACTLY how Jesus meant that one to be taken)? How much differently would think about what we buy, and more importantly, where we put our trust?

My prayer today, for me and those close to me, is to trust Jesus more – with our “stuff”, with our money, with what we will eat and drink, with what we will wear, with our very lives.

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