Awesome Hands – part 164

“He that believeth shall not make haste”

Part 2

January 26, 2020

While the walls of Jericho was a great victory for Israel and was delivered by the hands of the Lord, the next defeat at Ai is a great reminder to us that the Lord is not forgetful in His promises.

In our previous study, we saw that the people were warned not to take of the accursed thing which in turn makes the camp of Israel a curse.

Though chapter 7 does not have hand mentioned anywhere in it, it is a continuation of the previous chapter 6 in telling of the result of Israel disobeying the Lord.

It is right after being told that the Lord would give the city of Jericho to Israel that they are warned against the thing they would inevitably do in the city.

Jos 6:16  And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
Jos 6:17  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.
Jos 6:18  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.
Jos 6:19  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.
Jos 7:1  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.

Chapter 7 starts off with the children of Israel disobeying the Lord. If you’re like me, and I know you are because we are apart of the same body of Christ, then you may see the it was Achan, not the whole of Israel that took of the accursed thing. Yet, the anger of the Lord is kindled against the children of Israel.

What then can we take away from this lesson?

Well, the word “Achan” means trouble or troubler.

H5912

‛âkân

aw-kawn’

From an unused root meaning to trouble; troublesome; Akan, an Israelite: – Achan. Compare H5917.

Total KJV occurrences: 6 

H5912

‛âkân

BDB Definition:

Achan = “troubler”

1) a Judaite who violated God’s specific ban on taking any loot from the captured city of Jericho and was stoned to death along with his family for this violation

Part of Speech: noun proper masculine

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from an unused root meaning to trouble

So, trouble has committed a great sin against the Lord and the anger of the Lord is kindled against Israel, but why the whole of Israel?

The answer of course lies in other parts of scripture which helps us learn about the mind of the Lord.

Our first set of clues can be found in Deuteronomy 21.

Deu 21:1  If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:
Deu 21:2  Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
Deu 21:3  And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
Deu 21:4  And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:
Deu 21:5  And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
Deu 21:6  And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
Deu 21:7  And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
Deu 21:8  Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
Deu 21:9  So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.

It may not pop out to you right away how this is connected, but this story in Deuteronomy 21 shows tells us that there is a murder that happens that no one saw. However, what is seen is the RESULT of the sin, the dead person found slain in the field.

When this sin is found out, it is to be dealt with appropriately. In this case the elders are called together and a heifer is to be slain as a sacrifice to the Lord to say that the hands of Israel are washed of the innocent blood of the slain person in the field.

Though the killer is not known, the result of the sin is known. So, in this case if the elders and the people do not take action to show everyone that is slaying and murder is NOT acceptable in society, then they are guilty of the murder themselves.

Let’s look at another example of this in the New Testament.

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The body of Christ is the same as the children of Israel were in the Old Testament. The groups of people were seen as one unit.

Therefore, Paul is admonishing the Corinthians that they are leavened. He is telling them that they are NOT with Christ because a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and Christ is unleavened bread. Christ is Truth and Truth is not leavened.

So, connecting this concept to the children of Israel and the city of Jericho, Achan indeed had committed a great sin against the Lord, and the children of Israel must do something about it.

However, the children of Israel did not yet know that something had happened to kindle the anger of the Lord, but then comes verse 2 😊.

Jos 7:2  And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
Jos 7:3  And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
Jos 7:4  So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
Jos 7:5  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.
Jos 7:6  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

Notice, by the estimation of the men sent by Jericho to view the country of Ai, the people of Ai were “but few”. This gave them confidence that only 3000 men needed to be sent.

It was by divine inspiration that the Lord caused these men to tell Joshua to “make not all the people to labour” because the Lord knew there was going to be a defeat on the part of Israel.

There were only 36 men slain, and you can easily see that 3 x 10 + 6 = 36. This is the process of the flesh in all of mankind.

We get puffed up because our flesh gets confident in itself. Yet, there is unknown sin dwelling in our members just as Achan was dwelling in the camp of Israel.

We certainly should be confident in the Lord, but we never want to misplace that confidence by placing it in the flesh. That is a losing battle every time.

The men sent by Joshua certainly were confident, and why wouldn’t they be? “They” had just defeated Jericho. However, it wasn’t they that did it, but it was ALL of the LORD!

The first verse in Joshua 7 tells us that a “covert coverup” was committed in Israel, except it doesn’t say that in English.

Jos 7:1  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  But the childrenH1121 of IsraelH3478 committedH4603 a trespassH4604 in the accursed thing:H2764 for Achan,H5912 the sonH1121 of Carmi,H3756 the sonH1121 of Zabdi,H2067 the sonH1121 of Zerah,H2226 of the tribeH4294 of Judah,H3063 tookH3947 ofH4480 the accursed thing:H2764 and the angerH639 of the LORDH3068 was kindledH2734 against the childrenH1121 of Israel.H3478

H4603

mâ‛al

maw-al’

A primitive root; properly to cover up; used only figuratively to act covertly, that is, treacherously: – transgress, (commit, do a) tresspass (-ing).

Total KJV occurrences: 36

After having these men lose to Ai, Joshua knew something was up.

Jos 7:7  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
Jos 7:8  O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
Jos 7:9  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

In Joshua’s defense, he is doing what he knows he should be doing, and in doing so he did not sin against the Lord.

He is going to the Lord to inquire about this defeat that makes it appear that Israel is weak and by extension the Lord is weak in the eyes of the enemies of the Lord.

The Lord calls Joshua out and calls him to ACTION.

Jos 7:10  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Jos 7:11  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.
Jos 7:12  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.
Jos 7:13  Up, sanctify the people, and say, 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.
Jos 7:14  In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
Jos 7:15  And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

Do you think the Lord is serious about the accursed thing being in the camp of Israel? I believe these verses shows emphatically that the Lord is deathly serious.

The Lord tells Joshua that Israel has sinned, but we in our carnal understanding see that only Achan sinned.

From the perspective of the Lord, we are one with Him and He is one with us. When we sin against Him, He purges from His body that part which is DISEASED.

This is how He expects the church of the Living God to be as well. When there is sin made know to the body, it must be made known and dealt with.

Obviously, there is judgment which must take place in order to confirm the disease, the sin, just like bringing examples of leprosy to the priests to show that there was a growth “in the house”.

Lev 13:3  And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Lev 13:51  And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.
Lev 13:52  He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

Lev 14:54  This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,
Lev 14:55  And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
Lev 14:56  And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
Lev 14:57  To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

The Lord tells us to be serious when it comes to the accursed thing, sin, leaven, unclean things and leprosy because in type and shadow they all represent the same thing. This things must all be put to the fire whether physically or spiritually.

The ultimate lesson from this story in Joshua is one that many a church has failed to do. We, as the body of Christ, must purge from ourselves, the sin that is judged sin, when the time comes to do so.

Once judgement has taken place, action is required. Here is how Joshua acts this out for us in example.

Jos 7:16  So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
Jos 7:17  And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
Jos 7:18  And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
Jos 7:19  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.
Jos 7:20  And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
Jos 7:21  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.
Jos 7:22  So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
Jos 7:23  And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
Jos 7:24  And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
Jos 7:25  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 7:26  And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

It may seem harsh from our earthly perspective that the Lord had Israel deal with Achan and his whole family in the way that we just read, but the Lord wants us to know how serious He is about His judgment of sin and the accursed thing.

As the title of this study goes, the Lord would not have believers be hasty, but when a sin is revealed it must be put to the fire immediately so that the entire church of the living God remains whole with the Lord.

Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.