Report of M09: Terry Virgo - The Folly of Achan
- This has been one of the most glorious weeks we have ever had!
Joshua 7 — The Sin of Achan
The previous chapter couldn’t have ended with more excitement as Jericho falls and God is with Joshua. “His fame went throughout all the land”
- But within a few verses, Joshua is completely smashed. What happened to “No man shall be able to stand before you”?
- “They will destroy us all!”
- Two perspectives:
- What is happening to the Israelites
- God chose Abraham as a new start, like a new Adam
- Much of the language is like Eden, a land where my presence will be.
- One cluster of grapes it takes two men to carry
- This is God’s next phase of creation—cities already there ready for them
- But there is also a “don’t touch” prohibition. The things “under the ban”
- what is happening to the Canaanites
- The other aspect is that God is coming in with judgement on the nation
- deeply corrupted in their religion
- Joshua’s army is in one sense like Noah’s flood, or the fire of Sodom & Gomorrah
- So it was important that they must have not fellowship with the darkness
An independent assessment results in a secret agenda
- The way it is written is like a time-bomb. We are let into the secret in verse 7.
- It is right in the depth of his heart v.21 “I saw”
- Be careful what you look at. That is how Eve started!
- Jesus used some brutal language: “If your right eye offends you, pluck it out!”
- David was the man after God’s own heart. From the rooftop he saw a beautiful woman...
- How come some of us go back to the place we know we can look
- How can we be so stupid, how can we dare to do that when just a glance ruined this man
- Don’t volunteer to see, when seeing is so dangerous
- He coveted. It all happened very quickly, but it is a clear process.
- He fantasised about it and the craving dominated
- He went from sight to something far more dangerous
- He allowed his imagination to captivate him
- We often focus on sexual sin, but the Bible says a lot about wealth
- James talks about the process of lust being conceived and bringing forth death
- He took, physically disobeying the clear instructions from God
- Eve was told “Don’t touch” and went against God
- David physical took what he should not
- He hid. It is forbidden, so of course it has to be hidden
- There is no joy in secret sin
- Adam and Eve hid in the garden
- David tried to hid his sin
- Sin is a wrecker, a killer. Achan couldn’t enjoy what he had.
- This whole battle of Ai turns on a double-hearted person.
- Are we safe with you
How could this disaster have been avoided?
- Joshua was very quick to rush to self-sufficiency
- Achan completely forgot his identity and his calling
- He failed to recall his purpose and identity in the land
- This is not an individual thing—he is part of an army
- He was not ruthlessly committed to God’s assessment of the situation
- The Bible says God is angry with sin. Do you ever feel angry?
- What about us? —Similarly with us:
1. We are not just individuals, but part of a body
- Our culture is all about personal fulfilment
- We die to self and get baptized into an army, a people
- It is true that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”, but the way he achieves this is through community
- Beware of the “Christianity” that is all about the individual and not about the church
- So you need to make sure that you are in a living body
- Quote from commentary by Bruce Longernecker on Paul’s about our culture’s focus on the individual and our rights.
- Jesus died to save a people —the corporate awareness must fill us and thrill us
2. Our identity as light and not darkness
- You who formerly were darkness are light
- The GNB says “in the light” but Paul says we are light
- NT sanctification is “This is true, now live it out!”
- Jesus has done this for us. He has made us righteous as a gift—so now live it out
- It is not the legalism that Paul attacks in Colossi ans—Don’t touch etc. This has no power
- Magnificent section on Lloyd-Jones’ commentary on Ephesians 5 about how we should “preach to ourselves” about who we are
- Paul says “your body is not your own... how can you have fellowship with darkness”
- Achan, why do you do that—you are supposed to be my light
3. The story ends with ruthless execution
- This language of “putting to death” is brought right over to our NT with Ananias & Sapphira
- Be ruthless because if we are not we are in danger of losing out
- This is not just for the young—people in their middle years can be as bad.
- If you have been raised with Christ, set your minds on things above
- And then Paul said put to death —now you are a new man
- because of these things the wrath of God is coming —that is the Achan story!
- So take action, take responsibility
- Rom 8 says that if we, by the Spirit, put to death the things of the flesh...
- Done by the Spirit
- Engagement with the Spirit
- Enjoy the Holy Spirit and develop a relationship with him
- Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit
- Much easier to put to death other things when you are enjoying the Spirit
- Be filled with the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit
- The “eschatology” of the Spirit
- He is the promise of the age to come, the downpayment
- It is a foretaste, heaven coming down now.
- We are having a taste of the eternal glory. The day is at hand—light is breaking in
- Achan you fool—light is beginning to break out—walk as children of the light
- What are you doing playing around when the eternal glory is coming
- Make ruthless decisions to make yourself accountable
- Tragic situation with an elder who was my friend for many years and went off with another woman
- He started by “seeing” and ended by losing everything, his wife, his job
- Be ruthless. “I am not going that way” —they killed Achan
The next chapter starts:
- Take these “people of war”
- arise and go and take Ai
- They went and had a great victory!
- I urge you to be ruthless, and remember you are in an army
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