Joshua 7 – July 13th
Joshua 7 serves as an excellent reminder of the dangers of covetousness. In chapter 6, God promised victory over Jericho; He delivered. One of the conditions, though, was that the Israelites not take spoils of war for themselves (6:17-19). Chapter 7 begins: “But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban” (7:1). A man named Achan had taken spoils of war for himself. God was angry with Israel, and that anger manifested itself in a stunning military loss. Ai, the city Israel attempted to conquer, was much smaller than Jericho. Yet, Israel loses this battle because of their unfaithfulness. No one had any clue what Achan had done until their failed endeavor at Ai. Even then, Joshua’s first reaction is to doubt God: “Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring us this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? (7:7). This is so typical of humanity—we blame God for every trial and refuse to thank Him for the many blessings we experience. In verse 11, God reveals that the cause of their failure was not His lack of faithfulness, but their sin (specifically, Achan’s sin).
The sin of Achan is one that we do not discuss enough in our own lives—the sin of coveting. Achan himself says, “I coveted them and took them,” in regards to the spoils of war that he stole. So what is coveting? There is actually no language difference in Hebrew between desire and covet. Through context, we learn that coveting something essentially means to desire it more than what is appropriate. That level of appropriateness is in comparison to desiring God. Basically, if you desire something more than you desire God, you are guilty of both covetousness and idolatry. Piper explains, “Not coveting means not desiring anything in a way that diminishes God as your supreme treasure.” Dr. Daniel Heimbach says that coveting is to “earnestly desire something with evil motivation… [or] longing after something that would require a moral violation to obtain.” Because God is theultimate source of morality, these definitions complement one another. Civil law only holds us accountable for our actions (you will not go to jail for coveting your neighbors speedboat, but stealing it is another story), but God will hold us accountable for our internal desires as well.
Joshua offers the solution to Achan: “My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done” (7:19). Ironically, this is the solution to all sins, not only covetousness. Though we do not know the condition of Achan’s heart, it appears that he is repentant of his sin in verse 20. Yet, the earthly punishment still remains. To close the chapter, he and his family are stoned to death. This is a daunting reminder of the seriousness of sin.
The opposite of Achan’s actions can be found in the apostle Paul, who said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:7-8). When God is our supreme treasure, we are not characterized by seeking satisfaction in other things. He is our satisfaction. I submit to you two day two practical suggestions. One, “keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17). Two, be like the Psalmist, who said, “I have stored up your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). A more lengthy treatment of this topic would be beneficial, but take those two suggestions and determine to apply them to your life this week!