The Severity of God's Judgment on Sin and Sinners (1)
Lessons from how God dealt with Achan's transgression
How God viewed one man's sin
God's approach to sin and those who engage therein is vividly captured in the seventh chapter of Joshua in the Bible. In it, we see how God responded to the sin of one man in a nation and how He eventually dealt with the matter.
Joshua 7 begins thus:
"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." (Joshua 7:1, KJV)
What is interesting is how God ascribed one man's sin to the entire population. Indeed, the Bible says that
"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34, KJV)
Thus, indicating that sin, even by just one person, brings reproach to any group of people. Also, the Bible says,
"Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned." (Romans 5:12, GNB)
Through the sin of Adam and Eve, the whole world became sinners from birth! We must change our perspective on sin and see it as God sees it. In Galatians 5:9 and 1 Corinthians 5:6, the Bible says,
"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (KJV)
Like leaven that fills a whole lump of dough, sin corrupts entire congregations or communities! Thus, if not decisively dealt with, one person's transgression will adversely influence a congregation as a whole. And even though no one knew of Achan's sin, in the eye of God, it was as though they had all sinned! The impact of this view by God was soon to manifest in the assembly.
How God exposed and dealt with Achan's sin
The fall of Jericho was a resounding victory for Joshua and the whole of Israel. But unbeknownst to anyone and contrary to God's commandment, Achan took things that Israel was commanded to destroy after Jericho fell. Next in line was Ai, a much smaller city-state. So, Joshua and the elders put in motion their strategy for the conquest of Ai.
Joshua had very quickly forgotten that Jericho fell because God gave them the instruction for the battle. Without consulting with Him, Joshua and the elders laid out the strategy to conquer Ai. Had they sought God before embarking on the campaign against Ai, God would doubtless have told them that there was sin in the camp and that they would suffer defeat and the loss of lives unless they dealt with the transgressor. As it turned out, it was only after their defeat at and retreat from Ai that Joshua and the elders sought the face of God.
After laying on the ground until evening and throwing dust and ashes upon their heads and bodies—a mark of contrition—wondering how God could allow such a thing to happen to them, God finally spoke to Joshua. He told him that they suffered defeat at the hands of the enemy because someone in their midst had sinned by not obeying His instruction concerning the things taken in Jericho (Joshua 7:10-12)! Joshua must have been shocked to hear that someone did take what they should not have taken in Jericho, despite the instruction given!
In much the same way, many people sit through weekly sermons listening to messages that should prick their conscience and make them sober; unfortunately, they leave these fellowship meetings and act in direct contradiction to the words they had just heard. How many times have we heard or even read God's word, only to go and engage in the very thing we just heard or read not to engage in? I am ashamed to admit that I am guilty of such conduct, but thank God for His long-suffering and mercy—and we must not take them for granted!
God told Joshua that He would reveal the culprit, but first, Israel should sanctify themselves that day and appear before Him the next day. He gave Joshua a rather tortuous elimination process, first by tribe, then by clan, family, household, and finally, each individual would pass before Him. Following this process, Achan was eventually exposed. Even though he confessed his transgression, Achan, and unfortunately, his entire household, including his children and livestock, were stoned to death and burned.
Lessons from God's judgment of Achan
God's judgment upon Achan and his family was a warning to Israel. It spoke to them of the judgment of God on sin and those who engage in it. Indeed, those of us reading the Bible today must learn and understand the severity of God's Judgment upon sinners who refuse to repent and let go of sin.
So, what lessons can we learn here?
1.   Sin is a very serious matter before God and must never be trifled with.
When we see how seriously God took the issue of Achan's sin, we will do well to take heed not to engage in sinful conduct. Sin defiles the soul of man and makes him unfit to be in the presence of God, both here on earth and in the world to come.
Sin is contagious and must never be allowed to take a foothold in your life. Satan uses sin as his agency to keep a man in captivity and under oppression, so it is a very serious matter with God. Can you imagine how serious the issue of sin is, so much so that God ascribed the sin of one man to the entire nation? Just as the Bible says,
"sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34, KJV)
We would do well to take a more serious approach to deal with sin in our lives so that we don't run foul of God's judgment. We should remember that God told Abraham,
"I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1, NKJV)
2.   No matter where sin is, it will be found out and exposed by God.
We may give up searching for a needle in the haystack, but God will point to the exact spot where the 'needle' is in the haystack. The point is, no matter how we may try to mask sin from men, we cannot hide it from God (Psalm 139:7-12).
Your pastor may not know that you are living in sin, neither your business partners nor colleagues at work nor, indeed, other believers in Christ. Even your spouse may not know that you are living a double life, yet, God knows. He sees, and He will find you out!
Achan hid his sin from everyone else, but he could not hide it from God! What happened to Achan is a warning to all of us; hence, whenever the Holy Spirit points to sin in our lives, we must immediately confess it before the Lord. Don't say, "When I get home, I'll repent!" You may not make it home before its consequence takes effect.
3.   There is a consequence for sin.
Whenever we sin, there is a consequence. We may not immediately see the result of our sin, but it will surely come to pass. In Achan's case, it was his death and, sadly, the death of his entire family. Â When David sinned against God in ordering a census without God instructing it, he did not realise that it would result in so many people's death (2 Samuel 24:1-17). The pleasures of sin last only for a very short while, in comparison to the consequences thereof. The Bible says,
Stolen bread tastes sweet, but soon your mouth is full of gravel. (Proverbs 20:17, MSG)
For all the pleasure that a man may enjoy from sinful living, the consequence has far-reaching implications, so avoid sin as much as possible! One major consequence of sin is an eternity in hell; therefore, do everything to deal with sin through repentance and self-denial before it is too late (Hebrews 11:24-26).
4.   Sin will ultimately be discovered and uncovered.
There can be no hiding place for the sinner. He may hypocritically hide, but he will be found out eventually. The Bible says that a person's sin will find him out (Numbers 32:23). One crucial thing about sin is that it hates exposure because once exposed, it dies (Psalm 32:1-5).
For instance, gossip—a sinful act—thrives through secrecy. The moment you confront the talebearer in the presence of the person who is the gossip's subject, the talebearing dies! But when we keep repeating what has been told to us without investigating the truth and confronting the talebearer, we invariably allow such falsehood to fester and spread. Similarly, when covered, sin festers and spreads in an individual's life and even in a congregation. Whenever we help to cover-up a person's transgression, we are enabling them and infecting the entire assembly or community!
The discovery of Achan's sin served as a lesson to all who would venture to disobey God that they would likewise be found out and exposed! For us, we must never give in to the deception that God will not or cannot find out our sins! God knows about our sins, even before we commit them; hence, He warns us long before we even contemplate it!
5.   Sanctification prepares us to meet with God by ridding us of sin.
The Israelites of old had to sanctify themselves before engaging in any holy requirements or before appearing before God, lest He breaks forth upon them because of their sins. Sanctification has to do with purging oneself of sin and preparing for divine service! For the Christian, sanctification is not an option; it is mandatory.
Sanctification is both instantaneous and continuous. It is instantaneous because the moment you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit instantly sanctifies you, and from then on, you must be continually sanctified by Him, through the agency of the word of God. Through sanctification, sin is identified and eliminated.
By way of illustration, in a place where everyone is wearing a white robe, it is easy to identify spots and stains on anyone's robe. When we become born again, we are clothed with the robe of righteousness, having been instantly sanctified by the Holy Spirit. As we continue to live daily, we encounter conditions where we unknowingly, most times, stain our robes with sin, and so our daily sanctification as we study God's word enables us to stay sanctified so that we are rid of sin.
Among the Israelites of old, they had to abstain from fleshly desires during sanctification and repent and confess any sins unto the Lord through the priests. For Christians, sanctification enables us to keep away from fleshly lusts and repent once we fall into sin, usually unintentionally. So, what happened to Achan? How did the process that should have helped him to repent and come clean before meeting with God fail? Why did he not repent and confess during the sanctification process? Like many of us today, how is it that the sanctification process that ought to keep us cleansed at all times fails?
To be continued
By the grace of God, we would answer these and other questions as we look at more lessons we can learn from Achan's sin and God's judgment on him and, sadly, his family when we continue in a continuation article. May the grace of the Lord be with you.