Bible Men: Joshua: Achan and the Fatal Sin of Covetousness

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. Jos 7:21 

The Tragedy of Taking Sin Lightly

The story of Achan is tragic.

Either it will leave a man angry after reading it or it will throw him at the feet of God panting. Anger because from a purely human point of view one feels the punishment meted on Achan and his family was extreme.

But sin is equally extreme. Whether small or big sin is deadly.

And besides, God had carefully laid down all the rules and conditions which were to be met before their taking over of Jericho. “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD… And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it” (Jos 6:17-18).   

But Achan, undoubtedly because of seeing so much gold and silver before his eyes, forgot everything about curses as his taste buds went on rampage. “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” (Jos 7:1). 

The temptation was big. But equally the consequences were huge. “And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones” (Jos 7:25). 

It is easy to blame God for his lack of mercy. It’s not so easy to examine our own hearts.   

The Bible calls covetousness the sin of idolatry. “The strong desire to have that which belongs to another.” It is greed and it is a grievous scriptural offence.

It is Unbelief

Pastor Jon Piper has done a wonderful piece on covetousness in his book Future Grace.

At the bottom of it, he argues, covetousness is a sin of unbelief. It is seeking our satisfaction in something else other than God.

“Covetousness is a heart divided between two gods” he writes. So it is rightly called idolatry. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5).

Covetousness, according to Piper, is the opposite of faith. It’s the loss of contentment in Christ where we start to crave other things.

Covetousness chokes out spiritual life in a person as it gives birth to many sins. It is the seed which fell on thorny soil. “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mar 4:19). 

In the battle with covetousness Paul advises believers to run. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things.” What things? “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1Ti 6:10). 

So Paul urges young Timothy to flee “and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1Ti 6:11). 

And in the end, says Piper, covetousness destroys the soul. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1Ti 6:9). 

Remember Judas and Balaam. They went out and met their darkness.

But instead of following these things Paul offers something better. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1Ti 6:6-8).  

Choose the Eternal over Temporal Things

God has given us everything but set a limit on a very few things. Eden was lost because of one tree out of a thousand.

Achan had just set foot in Promised Land but he never lived to enjoy it because of a few scraps of silver and gold which were forbidden.

So too it is easy to miss our chief goal of attaining eternal life because we are too busy pursuing the present. But we are here to be transformed rather than to conform to this world.

Covetousness breeds the half-hearted heart and which in turn is the mother of a halfhearted happiness.

From The Valley of Achor to a Door of Hope

Achan must have struggled with his temptation. He must have sweated blood just before he succumbed to his ruin.

Temptations don’t just happen. They are borne of character. But they are always preceded by a warning. We have all been there. The heart burned with a note not to do it but we did it nevertheless. And that was our ruin.  

The valley of Achor is the place where Achan met his death. It’s a horrible place with horrible memories. Yet “a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15) can still emerge from such a place!

Is it such a valley you are in right now my friend? But now a better hope is here in Christ!

God killed his own Son so that all who would believe in him would not die but live. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).  

All things: death or life, riches or poverty. For better for worse. For what can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus?

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb 7:25  

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb 8:12  

There’s nothing impossible with God. Please remember that!

  

Bible Men: Joshua: Enjoying God

Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it. Jos 1:15

Joy and Guilt

In the field of joy it’s hard to please everybody. It is even harder to please fellow Christians.

To one group God is holy and should be enjoyed holily. To the other God cannot be enjoyed as if one was in mourning. Joy should radiate not only from the face but from the whole body. Every muscle, every pore and arm should redound to the glory of God. So hands shoot in the air, voices ring, and the sanctuary shakes.

But the other group frowns. God is not manic. God is orderly and not chaotic. Worship is solemn. But the second group counters that there is no spirit in that form of worship. And “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there’s liberty,” they affirm.   

But Christians still disagree over many things. Dancing especially has never been comfortable with the church. It was never comfortable with David’s wife Michal either. She thought it was disgusting and not right for a king to dance like common people. But David enjoyed it. And God censored Michal and not David.

So what exactly is enjoying God and what is appropriate? And if it is wrong before the eyes of men is it wrong before the eyes of God also?

Faith and Works

There was a time I equated holiness with being serious minded at all times also. Being too happy made me uneasy.

I thought it displeased God. I was a works minded believer. And so I was sad. And so I was angry also. I hated everybody who didn’t look serious!

Did Martin Luther not feel something like that before he became reformed? “The just shall live by faith” so I discovered the gem in God’s word too, and it set me free!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 8:1  

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1Jn 4:18  

That change was revolutionary. In one fell swoop my eyes were opened and now I could see – “and your joy no man taketh from you”!

The fact of hell can easily instill morbid fear especially in the introverted types, so that the line between godly fear and demonic one becomes very thin indeed.

Satan can use the threat of hell to terrorize the heart of a weak believer, plunging one into a life of perpetual sorrow and joyless rigidity. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God” (1Jn 3:20-21).  

And if you can believe that too without a single doubt dear Christian then you are much closer to heaven than you think!

Pastor John Piper argues, in his Desiring God, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, that true joy is not removed from self-interest. He scoffs at the idea of disinterested joy. You’ll admire his boldness! “This is a serious book about being happy in God” he opines. “It’s about happiness because that is what our Creator commands.”

C.S. Lewis thinks the world is weary of serious enjoyment. “God finds our desires not too strong but too weak.” He contends that we settle for far less in life than we are really worth. Are you enjoying him yourself? If not pray to God to rekindle that joy. “Search me,” cried the psalmist. And a bruised reed God will not break.

The Bible and Contradiction

The knowledge of the word of God is very crucial for one to be truly happy in God. The Bible has many apparent contradictions and without acknowledging that is to fall into one perpetual extreme or another. Jesus is the prince of peace, but Jesus also came not to bring peace but a sword.

And the Preacher would have us all go to the house of mourning rather than the house of mirth. James is even more forthright: “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” 

So which way for true enjoyment? Is God not equal? God forbid!

The Bible is a double edged sword. Just as in life it cuts both ways. What you feel tonight may not be what you’ll feel in the morning. Our enjoyment is contextual. We rejoice but we rejoice tremblingly as the psalmist cautions. There’s a joy of the world and there’s a joy of the Spirit. May God grant us the love for the latter!

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. 1Co 2:6-7.  

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1Co 2:13.  

Let scripture interpret scripture. Else the temptation will always be there for man to exceed his God in spirituality, or to sway to the other extreme and act profanely. 

It bothered the Pharisees once for example that Jesus ate and drank with sinners. But Jesus who knew the heart of every person regarded them with bemusement on one hand and on another he lambasted them for their hypocrisy.

Refusal to be happy is a sign of ingratitude. It is a disdain at God’s works. And when one is possessed of a thankless heart even the grasshopper becomes a burden.

So we enjoy God in worship. We enjoy him in our hobbies and families. We enjoy him in our professions. The extrovert will enjoy him in his dance and feast. But the introvert enjoys his God best in silence. All are God’s people and there’s neither Jew nor Greek. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1Co 10:31).  

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He started it and he’s going to complete it. May we now return to the land of our possession and enjoy it!