The Sin of Achan

“²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” 1 Sam 15:22-23.

The history of the past is littered with people that refused to obey the clear word of God. From the garden of Eden, where our first parents failed on the command not to touch the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, to succeeding generations, many stories have been recorded of people that simply refused to obey the voice of God.

And great has been the suffering of humanity as a result of disobedience. Man has endeavored to be wiser than his creator and in the process has alienated himself from his God.

One of the greatest battle recorded in the Bible is the battle of Jericho. The Angle of the Lord (Jesus Christ) met with Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15), and gave him instructions on how he was to conduct the conquest of the city. We know that this was Christ because he commanded Joshua to remove his shoes for the place was holy. And Joshua worshipped him.

Among the instructions given to Joshua was the command that the city of Jericho was accursed and the silver and gold from the city would be consecrated to the Lord.

“¹⁷ And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.” Joshua 6:17-19.

God’s instructions were very clear that the Israelites were to destroy the city completely except save Rahab who had protected the spies sent earlier to check out the city.

Joshua gave these instructions to the people and God worked a great miracle. After the blowing of the trumpets on the seventh day, the people gave a shout and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. The Israelites went in and destroyed the city as commanded.

But something went wrong in this otherwise very victorious battle. One of the soldiers did not follow God’s command.

“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.

The next battle was with the neighboring city of Ai. A much smaller city which would have been worn by three thousand men but instead “they fled before the men of Ai.⁵ And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” Verse 4,5.

Because of the disobedience of one man, Israel that had gained a great victory of the fortified city of Jericho lost the battle with a very small city, the city of Ai.

Joshua cried before the Lord for such a shameful defeat. But God said to Joshua:

“Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? ¹¹ Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

¹³ Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” Verse 10-13.

As long as the Israelites were in disobedience, they could not stand before their enemies. God could not fight with them while they lived in disobedience.

Many times we are faced with the decisions to follow God’s instruction or that which appears convenient. We then choose to disobey God and justify it with the benefits of the disobedience.

The sin of our first parents was justified with the benefits of such an action”

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Gen 3:6.

Cain a farmer thought that it would convenient for him to worship God with the fruit of his labor. Rather than following the clear command of God to bring a lamb, he thought it convenient and reasonable to offer that which he had. The result was a rejection of his sacrifice, which led to anger and the first murder recorded in the bible.

How often do we worship God in our own ways, disregarding the clear command of God? Due to pride, vanity, the promise of gain or temporal benefits to be accrued, man often disobeys the voice of God and chooses their own ways rather than the path God has set forth in His word.

Uzziah, king of Judah came to the throne at the age of 16. The Bible records that he did that which was right in the sight of God. And God helped him to build a strong nation. Sadly the same familiar ending is recorded against him: “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” 2 Chronicles 26:16.

Uzziah disregarded the commandment of God that only priests were allowed to burn incense in the temple. His pride resulting from his becoming powerful and wealthy led him to the sin of presumption. God punished him with leprosy for the rest of his life. What a sad ending to a promising king! Pride and vanity, brought down so low, a successful career.

After such a great victory of Jericho, Achan was led to presumption to think that God is man that can change.

The Lord would warn us to obey His word which does not change.

Says the Psalmist:

“¹⁶ But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? ¹⁷ Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.

¹⁸ When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. ¹⁹ Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

²⁰ Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

²¹ These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

²² Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. ²³ Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.” Psalms 50:16-22.

 When we disobey God and do those things that He has forbidden, we often think that God is like us, and would do change His word. That he would relax his laws. But the Lord does not change, and his commands are unchangeable. “⁶ For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Mal 3:6.

It is because of the Lord’s unchanging word that death came to the human race after our first parents sinned in the garden of Eden. It is because of the unchanging word of God and the His love for man, that He sent His only begotten Son, to die for man, and pay the penalty of sin.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

When we disobey God, there are consequences. When we knowingly continue a path of rebellion and disobedience, we cannot stand the enemy. Balaam knew this very well, and that is why he advised king Balaam to entice the Israelites to sin.

As long as we are in obedience to God’s requirements, we will be safe. But if we take lightly that which God has directed, we shall fall in the battle of the enemy.

“¹⁹ And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. ²⁰ And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: ²¹ 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.”

There goes the familiar story that begun with our first parents in Eden. For every path to disobedience is decorated with good reasons to justify the actions. Achan caused the defeat of the Israelite army by his actions of disobedience. His family took part in this disobedience because they knew of the things Achan had brought since they were hidden in their tent.

My dear friends we need to take God at His word. His commands have not changed. The God of the Israelites who would not condone sin is the same God today. Even though like the people during Noah’s day, modern man thinks there is no God, we have a responsibility as God’s chosen generation to live an upright life of obedience to God’s instructions.

Let us have the prayer of David “¹² Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalms 19:12-14.

We must avoid at all costs presumptuous sins. Sins that we knowingly commit and think that God will overlook. This was the sin of Achan. It was the sin of Eve. It was the sin of Cain, Uzziah, Saul, and many other patriarchs of old.

Let us faithfully ran the race. We shall have our faults and weaknesses, ups and downs. These God has promised to help us to overcome.

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

² Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

³ When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

⁴ For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.

⁵ I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

⁶ For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.”Psalms 32:1-6.

If we fall, let us come quickly to God’s altar and confess our sins. And he will freel pardon. But if we hid our iniquity, and continue living in disobedience, then we shall not stand against the enemy. For God will not be with us. However much we praise him and do His work, as long as we are in disobedience, He wil not regard our work.

Let us pray for strength to have the fear of God in our hearts. May we honor him by following his word. May we not be found to have taken lightly the commandments of God. Rather may we meditate upon his word daily and seek the power of His Holy Spirit which God has promised to give liberally to all those who ask, to give us victory over sin.

This is my prayer to you today.

Have a blessed week.

Sammy Buruchara

Nairobi Central SDA Church