Stealing Steals God’s Best from You

Joshua 7:1-26

Those who have more than one child who play together are well aware of the fights that result. They snatch toys. They hold on to toys - refuse to share, to annoy the other. And each of them knows that what the other is doing is wrong. But they still do it. There’s an inbuilt understanding of sin and law - they know they’re stealing. Same with other sins. In Genesis 4, Lamech, a descendent of Cain, was a polygamist and murderer. Yes! He boasted how he killed another man simply for hitting him. And he knew the judgment against such a crime. If such law was written in the hearts of man, why did God have to write the law on stone tables with his finger? Galatians 3:19 says the law was given to show people their sinfulness; that they may know it’s not just wrong, but that they have done wrong against God. In Joshua 7:21, we read that Achan confessed his sins. “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.”

This evening, we examine the 8th commandment - thou shalt not steal - by looking at the sin of Achan. We see how he sinned by thought and deed, and how his sin affected him, his family, and his people. We’ll do this in 3 points. Firstly, he took what was rightfully God’s; secondly, he robbed others of life and security; and thirdly, he robbed himself of blessing.

Firstly, he took what was rightfully God’s. In this passage, we learn that Israel attacked Ai. It was very different to Jericho which was a much larger city and fortified. Ai only required 3000 men to conquer it. This is what the advanced party told Joshua when he sent them to survey the city. They said in verse 3, we don’t all need to go - just two to three thousand men. Why? Because Ai’s not a big city - they’re but a few. And so verse 4 says 3000 were sent, but were pushed back. Apparently the onslaught was so fierce they fled, but not before the men of Ai killed 36 Israelites. Verse 5 says that as a result, “the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” Verse 6 tells us that Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothes and mourned before the Ark all day until night, with dust on their heads. The defeat was so shameful that Israel became afraid. The defeat was so shameful that Joshua knew God was displeased. God says verse 11 what we already know from verse 1. Israel had sinned. They transgressed the covenant - they broke the law - one of the 10 commandments. Which one? The eighth! “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.” It was because they took of the accursed thing and because of that, God said in verse 12 he wouldn’t be with them until the accursed thing is destroyed. Now, the rest of the chapter describes the elimination process until it gets to Achan. But verse 1 had already informed the reader that Achan took the accursed thing.

What is this accursed thing? In Joshua 6:17-19 when Israel called to conquer Jericho, there were strict conditions by God - “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. 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. 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.” In other words, the whole city is accursed - all its contents were to be destroyed, as unto the Lord. The silver, gold, brass, and iron were to be set apart for God’s use. The only thing that would not be accursed was Rahab and her family. But we learn in Joshua 7:1 and 21 that Achan stole from God what had been dedicated to God - what was his. Achan said, “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.” The beautiful robe from Babylon should’ve been destroyed, and the silver and gold should’ve been put into the tabernacle treasury. Whatever it was, these things didn’t belong to Achan, but to God.

They were cherem - accursed. Cherem or Haram in Arabic, is the opposite of Halal. Other translations have it as the devoted things or the things set apart either for destruction or use by God. Whatever is cherem is either devoted or set apart to God for the purpose of destruction or worship. It’s either an abomination to him, or some for special consecration to him. Interestingly, the Arabic word harem as in the part of the palace for housing women, comes from cherem or haram. It’s devoted for special use.

This is why God reacted with great wrath. Achan had stolen from him what was dedicated for God’s rightful use - whether destruction or consecration. We see that God threatened not to be with his people because there was sin in the camp. But furthermore, we see the penalty. Verses 24-24 tell us that after Achan confessed to stealing and keeping the items by hiding them, he, his sons and daughters, and all his possessions - livestock and tent - along with the stolen accursed items, were all stoned and burned with fire. We learn in Q110 that God forbids outright theft. And what Achan was also guilty of here was greed - which is forbidden by God. Verse 21 tells us that Achan coveted these items. Now, 200 shekels of silver and 50 shekel weight of a gold bar were not small measures. The metric equivalent is 2.5 kg of silver and 1/2 kg of gold. The Singapore dollar equivalent today is $2,000 for the silver and $45,000 for the gold. Where do you find this kind of gold and silver unless you went looking for it? And how did Achan know what a fine Babylonian garment was? Remember, the Egyptians and Babylonians engaged in much trade. Achan was a slave in Egypt under 20. He may have seen these things, if he was a household servant. He knew the value. And what he didn’t have in the past, he coveted, and took what he could now. Even though he was in the Promised Land, where God would give them the finest, he wouldn’t obey God, but took what belonged to God because he coveted. Achan was taken out of Egypt, but the Egypt in him remained. Is it any surprise that his parents’ generation all wanted to return to Egypt in the day of provocation?

Secondly, he robbed others of life and security. Question 110 speaks about not defrauding our neighbor in anyway. But we see what happened to the 36 men and also his sons and daughters. It should’ve been an easy victory over Ai. It was a smaller city compared to Jericho. But the 3000 men were repelled back and of them, 36 men were killed. When Israel mourned, it was made known to Joshua that someone had taken the accursed thing. So Joshua was to prepare the people for the next day. In verse 13, God told Joshua what to say to the people - “Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: 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.” Verses 14-15 even describe what would be done. The tribes would be brought before the Lord, so it could be narrowed down to the family, then the family would be narrowed down to the household, and then the household be narrowed down to the man. Achan knew all of this. But he said nothing. How could he remain silent? For the same reason that many of us remain silent. We fear consequences. We hope it’ll go away. The catechism says, “I must promote my neighbor’s good wherever I can and may, deal with him as I would like others to deal with me.” But he didn’t. And that which he had done in secret came out in public. That night was a fearful night for the nation of Israel. How much sanctification would the people have had to do? Why had he not come clean? Because of his sin, the courage, the security of the people melted away like water.

When it was known it was Achan, Joshua confronted him in verse 19 - “My son, I pray thee, 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.” This was merciful. He addressed him as “son.” And what did Achan do? Yes, in the end he confessed. But he had kept silent until then, until he couldn’t help but confess. In verse 21, he admitted that he saw, he coveted, he took, and he hid. There were no excuses. But his repentance seems less sincere because he was discovered - even though he had opportunity to repent earlier. Yes, we could easily say this of David’s when his adultery was discovered. But David’s was sincere. But was Achan’s? Whichever it was, the crime still had temporal consequences. For David, the sword did not depart from his family. For Achan, it was immediate execution - he and family were stoned and burned. What we learn is this - repentance still brings temporal consequences. Why? 36 people had died. This sin had affected the whole nation. And this sin resulted in his whole family being killed off. Why? There are two reasons - participative and covenantal. Achan’s sons and daughters were also killed alongside him. And while the text doesn’t tell us, it may be likely the family knew about it and participated. He hid the gold and silver in his tent. He dug a hole. So much gold and silver could not have been hidden easily. But also, the sin of the father affected the family. It’s covenantal. Adam’s posterity was affected by his sin. Ham’s sin affected Canaan. Achan was redeemed from Egypt with the death of the Egyptian first born - because of the sin of Pharaoh and the people. Achan’s taking the loot was the same heart issue of Korah - not trusting in God to provide, but taking things into their own hands to gain possession. Steal instead of believe. God’s command was for them to conquer the land and he’d provide cities that they didn’t build.

And that leads us to the third point. He robbed himself of blessing. Jericho was the first city to be conquered. It was a first fruit that belonged to God. It was the least they could do. God had made it so plain to all of Israel that Jericho was his. But all other cities would be theirs. Yea, the whole land would be theirs. If Achan had only waited, he would’ve perhaps had even a more beautiful Babylonian garment, and more gold, and more silver, and many other things. But he couldn’t wait. So to own such things in and of themselves was certainly not sinful. All of Canaan was theirs, by promise. Question 111 says that we must work faithfully. It’s not by theft that we gain, but by work. Now, it’s true that Israel had to work for the land by conquering it. But the one who did the conquering was God. If they did it in their own strength, they wouldn’t have gained. Ai taught them this. They tried to conquer by their own strength, when God was not with them. But because of sin, they lost. It’s the same for us - we are to work, but we don’t work for survival. This is what the Gentiles do. We seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and he will supply all that we need. Yes, we work to please God who gives to us - who blesses us. This is the same with Adam and Eve before the fall. God sustained them with every tree in the garden save one, so that they could work. They were to tend the garden, name the animals, subdue all things; but God was the one who watered the garden with a mist from the ground, God was the one who sent the animals to Adam - God sustained them so they could work. And when they worked, he would sustain them. It’s only after the fall that man would labor amidst thorns and with great sweat and effort. If Israel were to work by conquering the land, God would’ve provided them with cities they didn’t build, vineyards they didn’t plant, and orchards they didn’t grow. Dearly beloved, this is what we must realize. God sustains us so we can work. We work to glorify God and he sustains us. When we steal - go against God, cheat on taxes, pay our employees unfair wages, etc - we don’t get the best from God. But we are often deceived.

Adam and Eve had a garden full of fruit trees - it was theirs for the picking and eating. But the tree that was cherem, the tree that was set apart, unavailable to them - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - that was the tree that they wanted. Why? It’s because they felt it could give them happiness that the other trees could not. This was the deception of the Devil. Satan had deceived Eve that if she took of the tree, her eyes would open knowing good and evil like God - she’d become like God. That’s why the thing that was forbidden to her, became the thing that she clung onto to provide her with what she wanted. But they robbed themselves of true blessing. If they had only waited, resisted temptation, eaten of the tree of life, they’d have true blessing - they’d be like God and live forever in holiness. They’d even know evil through their non-participation of it. God knows what evil is because he is infinitely good. But Adam and Eve knew evil through their participation of it. And through their eating of the fruit, they became like God - he’s permanently fixed in his goodness, and they’d be permanently fixed in their sin. And while he knows evil by separating from it; they’d know evil by participating in it.

On the day Achan stole from God, he stole from himself. He stole the blessing of the Promised Land from himself. He stole his life. He stole the life of others, who should’ve easily overcome Ai, and along with that, their inheritance of the Promised Land. He stole life and a rich future from his children. He robbed Israel of security that she should’ve had. And for what? Fashion. Fine metals. Being clothed in Jimmy Choos is nothing compared to feet shod with the gospel of peace; being draped with Armani is nothing compared to having the breastplate and white robe of righteousness. Heaven’s street is paved with gold - it’s dirt there. And we come to Christ to buy salvation without money - he gives it freely to the poor in spirit who ask him for it. So dearly beloved, what are some ways to apply this commandment from this text?

Many of us have more than we need - yes, even in expensive Singapore and with the GST hike and inflation. We have spare cash. We can take holidays. We can eat out. We can pay our utilities. But in what way may we have stolen? Have we stolen from God? In our offerings? Perhaps some of us can resolve to give more cheerfully and maturely to the work of the Lord. Perhaps some of us have not used the resources God has given us to labor for good gain. Some of us have not worked hard enough - we’ve mistaken laziness for contentment. Or perhaps we ask ourselves, in what way have we spent our money or worked that has robbed us of enjoying true spiritual blessings? What do I mean by this? Achan took what was God’s and missed out on the riches of the Promised Land. There are many sinful things on which we can spend our money. There are things which are perilous for our souls. Are you spending on sinful vices? What you’re pouring your money into, is heaping on you God’s wrath. For believers, God chastises. We better repent before the Lord. We’re missing out his best for us. Lives are destroyed because of drugs. Marriages because of vice. But even legitimate things may rob you of spiritual blessings. The rich fool had lots of wealth - nothing wrong with it - but he was not rich toward God. We’re all rich in Singapore. But some are high net worth. It’s all fine and good if we don’t love money. But 1 Timothy 6:10 says that “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.” In recent news, we’ve read of the rich who’ve fallen because of greed. Some of them were believers. They lost the opportunity to pursue godliness, as 1 Timothy 6:18-19 say - to do good, to be rich in good works, to give, to lay up a good foundation. And this affects those around us. In our entertainment, leisure, even legitimate pursuits like homes, education, career; we’ve robbed God of our affections and others of godliness. May we know that stealing steals God’s best from us.