Daily Devotion for May 5, 2006

Living in Community

But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. Joshua 7:1

 

The passage for today is Joshua 7:1-26. In this passage we see that Israel has just gained a great victory at Jericho, but sin has entered their midst. Achan had taken some of the spoils of war, which he had found at Jericho. His sin was not just a personal sin, but it affected the entire community of Israel. His disobedience resulted in the death of 36 warriors who had been sent forth to defeat their next foe at Ai.

 

 It appears that a sense of arrogance had overcome the people after the victory at Jericho. What God had miraculously given to them was taken for granted, and it resulted in the greed of Achan, and the arrogance of the advance scouts who felt that a relatively small force of 3,000 men could easily subdue Ai.

 

 The passage indicates that the warriors turned and ran after suffering a loss of only 36 men, or just over 1% of the army. This loss was very minor in terms of acceptable military casualties, yet the army fled in terror, and upon their return, spread the terror to the entire camp. The people quickly lost heart, and began to question God and Joshua. Joshua recognized the need to protect the purity of God’s people, knowing that a little leaven spoils the whole loaf.

 

 He sought out Achan in front of the entire assembly. When he asked Achan to confess, Joshua made sure that Achan acknowledged his sin, repented publicly, and restored the rule of righteousness that God demanded of them. The entire assembly of the people participated in cleansing the sin from their midst, burning the contraband, and killing Achan.

 

 Joshua understood the need to have the people think as a community – that one person’s sin affects all. His prompt action and his obedience to God in carrying it out paved the way for restoration and victory for the nation.

 

Prayer
Father, help us to remember that our actions affect not only us, but the testimony of your people. Keep us safe in your commands, and help us to remember our dependence upon you for every action we undertake. Amen.

 

 

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Tim Hetzner - President - Lutheran Church Charities
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