The Sin of A'chan

"And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things,

lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed

things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

Joshua 6:18

Joshua chapter six is about the destruction of the city of

Jericho. Remember Joshua was told by the LORD

to march around the city once a day for six days, and then

on the seventh day to march around it seven times,

and the priests shall blow trumpets and all the men shall

shout on the seventh day when Joshua tells them to, and the walls shall come crashing down?

Well concerning Jericho the LORD warned them about taking

of accursed things, and that all the silver and gold, and vessels

of bronze and iron, are to be consecrated to the LORD.

(Joshua 6:19)

However, we read in chapter 7 that apparently someone didn't

listen to this warning. A'chan the son of Carmi of the tribe of Judah

took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned

against the children of Israel. (Joshua 7:1)

Accursed in hebrew is-

"Cherem"

1. a thing devoted, thing dedicated, ban, devotion

2. a net, thing perforated(Obviously not the meaning in this chapter)

3. have been utterly destroyed, (appointed to) utter destruction.

Now, The LORD accursed Jericho I.E appointed it to utter

destruction and everyone in it(besides Rahab "the Harlot")

and the Silver and Gold as it said in verse 6:19 were suppose to be consecrated to the LORD.

A'chan out of selfishness brought a curse upon Israel,

The LORD GOD Almighty gave a warning that A'chan ignored.

After taking Jericho, Joshua sent about three thousand men to attack the city of Ai to destroy it like Jericho. However Ai ran the three thousand men off and killed 36 of them, 36 men died because A'chan. (Joshua 7:4-5)

Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel;

and they put dust on their heads.

And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all--to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?

Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! "O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear [it], and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?"

Joshua 7:6-9

So the LORD said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?

"Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put [it] among their own stuff.

"Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, [but] turned [their] backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.

Joshua 7:10-12

You see, not only did A'chan take accursed things(things meant

for destruction) but he stole from the LORD what was suppose to

be consecrated to the LORD, remember the Silver and Gold?

In (Joshua 7:20) A'Chan admits his wrong doing

And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:

"When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."

Joshua 7:20-21

Babylonian garment accursed thing meant for destruction, silver

and gold meant to be consecrated to THE LORD. A'chan brought

a curse killing 36 men, and in the end suffered death, him and his family for what he had done(Joshua 7:24-25)

The LORD GOD is righteous and just in His actions, all Power

Knowledge and Glory be to Him. A'chan chose to ignore

Gods word, and out of selfishness sought worldly pleasure for

himself, A'chan was a man seeking his own glory not Gods

and paid the price for it in the end, just like everyone who chooses such a path will. A'chan had everything he would ever need, and God was fulfilling His promise by establishing Israel for His chosen people, giving them this land and it's cities which they did not build, a land fertile with abundance which they didn't toil to produce. That wasn't enough for A'chan apparently.

Let A'chan's selfishness be a lesson to you, are you seeking after

God's glory? or are you seeking after your own glory? Is God who you ultimately rely on? or is it blessings from Him? Is it prosperity, wealth and worldly happiness that motivates you to give God His JUST glory?

God should be your ultimate end, no matter what.

Sick, tired, and poor OR healthy, rested, and rich

all that matters is GOD, He better have priority number 1 in your life and He deserves all praise and glory no matter what has happened or is happening in your life.

Like A'chan who I'm sure would claim God was number one in his life, many claim such today. If God is only first when you are prospering, you're quite frankly lying to yourself…because what's important to you is your well being and prosperity, you put that above God everyday of the week while still claiming to give Him all honor and praise.

You know what is interesting? Ever read Joshua chapter 8?

After A'chan gets his just do, and the accursed is destroyed

as it should of been in the first place, The LORD turns from his anger (Joshua 7:26) and in chapter 8 The LORD says,

Now the LORD said to Joshua: "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.

"And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it."

Joshua 8:1-2

The LORD GOD gives the city of Ai and all it's spoils to

the Israelites. You see God Himself will provide your needs,

He wants to provide and take care of you, and He is absolutely

all we will ever need, Gods grace and mercy to begin with

is incomparable and unfathomable if we honestly think about it,

anything else in our life he provides is just more Blessing

we ultimately don't deserve.

All Glory to you Father God!

LORD GOD...ALMIGHTY ABBA

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA (Revelation 11:17) (Romans 8:15)

I praise you (Psalms 118:28)

in situations good and bad (Philippians 4:12)

I praise you

When title waves of despair come (2 Corinthians 4:8)

I praise you

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

Your sacrifice will not go in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1)

darkness corners me in (1 Samuel 2:9)

and sin builds it's mighty walls (Ephesians 6:12)

but by Your Holy Grace (1 Corinthians 15:10)

light breaks through

and these walls no longer stand. (Isaiah 53:5)

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

I praise you

in situations good and bad

I praise you

When title waves of despair come

I praise you

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

Fill me with Holy spirit fire (Acts 1:8)

-and-

make me a conduit

to transfer your river of life. (Revelation 22:1)

In your name LORD Jesus…

Yeshua, salvation Holy and white

at your feet I lay,

to only live as a sacrifice. (Romans 12:1)

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

I praise you

in situations good and bad

I praise you

When title waves of despair come

I praise you

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

You tore down these walls of sin (Ephesians 2:5)

piece by piece my flesh yearns to put them back up again. (Romans 7:18-19)

LORD GOD…ALMIGHTY ABBA

I surrender to Your will (Hebrews 13:21)

my own will be damned (Luke 22:42)

on your alter I sacrifice this flesh and doubt (Matthew 14:31)

to live as Your humble servant. (Psalms 147:6)

This world and it's selfishness (Romans 12:2)

in Your name I cast out.

We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One who is and who was and who is to come,

Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

Revelations 11:17

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,

but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,

"Abba, Father."

Romans 8:15

You [are] my God, and I will praise You;

[You are] my God, I will exalt You.

Psalms 118:28

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.

Everywhere and in all things I have learned both

to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Philippians 4:12

[We are] hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed;

[we are] perplexed, but not in despair;

2 Corinthians 4:8

We then, [as] workers together [with Him] also plead with [you]

not to receive the grace of God in vain.

2 Corinthians 6:1

He will guard the feet of His saints,

But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

"For by strength no man shall prevail.

1 Samuel 2:9

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this age,

against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].

Ephesians 6:12

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me

was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all,

yet not I, but the grace of God [which was] with me.

1 Corinthians 15:10

But He [was] wounded for our transgressions,

[He was] bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

You [are] my God, and I will praise You;

[You are] my God, I will exalt You.

Psalms 118:28

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Acts 1:8

And he showed me a pure river of water of life,

clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God

and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,

acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

You [are] my God, and I will praise You;

[You are] my God, I will exalt You.

Psalms 118:28

even when we were dead in trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

Ephesians 2:5

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells;

for to will is present with me, but [how] to perform what is good

I do not find. For the good that I will [to do], I do not do;

but the evil I will not [to do], that I practice.

Romans 7:18-19

make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you

what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ,

to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:21

And immediately Jesus stretched out [His] hand and caught him,

and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Matthew 14:31

The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Psalms 147:6

And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable

and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

James 1 (Part 1)

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various

trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces

patience.

James 1:2-3

When trails come our first instinct (our fleshly instinct) isn't

patience, it isn't "quiet steady perseverance". When trials

come our first instinct is to get annoyed to get angry

and complain that there is an inconvenience in our life.

This reaction is an action that generally speaking happens

because we realize we are not "in control". This truth of not

being in control is not something our sinful fleshly old man likes,

it is however, like I said, absolutely true that we are not in control.

It is important that we realize this fact, it is God Almighty who is in control

and trials will come but we must remain patient in our faith,

we must give our worries and trouble to God.. move forward

in our trusting that all things work out for His glory and absolute goodness.

It is not about "being in control" you must lose all

thought of being "in control" for if you don't surrender all

you are to God, if you try to "Control" where and what you will do

and how you will deal with trials that come;

patience will be nothing but a mountain you can't get around.

Patience and the ability to face trials comes only through Faith

in God and giving up the "control" that your flesh wants.

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect

and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without

reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:4-5

Ask God to do a work in you, to grant you the wisdom

to KNOW that trials and tribulations only make us stronger

in our faith. Ask Him to give you the wisdom to KNOW

that reliance on self is not noble, it is stubborn ignorance to

rely on your self to pull through, trying by your own might to

pull through trials doesn't produce a strong person of faith,

it produces a man who thinks he is strong and doesn't need

God. You radically every moment need God..the very breath

of life is a gift from God, trials and tribulations should remind

you of this and in doing such result in patience in faith.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts

is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything

from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all

his ways.

James 1:6-8

Faith and doubting don't go together at all. If you ask the Lord

for wisdom and patience to get through a trial, but deep down

you are thinking "pshh..I doubt even He can help me"

don't expect the wisdom or patience to come. It's complete

asinine to say "I have faith in Christ" and then doubt His

guidance.

Remember Peter walking on water to go to Christ?

Peter had FAITH that if it was truly Christ out there standing

in the water that Christ;

1. wouldn't put Peter in a dangerous situation

2. could cause Peter to walk on water to Him.

Peter put his trust and faith in Christ and went out onto the water

and walked! but as soon as he saw the wind kick up... what entered

his mind? DOUBT…which thus caused him to sink and Jesus to

say:

"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Matthew 14:22-31

and in Matthew 21:21 what does Jesus tell His disciples not to do?

DOUBT…

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you,

if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what

was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'be

removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.

Matthew 21:21

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in

his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

James 1:9-11

Let the lowly, the humble, the meek.. glory in being lifted up

by God

Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; But

the proud he knows from afar.

Psalms 138:6

and brothers let the rich, not just meaning "the wealthy" but those

who are strong…those who are wise, those who are proud, let them

glory in humiliation. Let them glory in being MADE humble because if they don't…if they trust in their riches and their own

power it is meaningless because it will only fade away, life after

all is short for all of us and we all will soon fade and pass away.

This goes hand and hand with Jesus Christ's parable of

not choosing the best seat at the wedding feast, and saying

at the end of the parable;

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who

humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 14:11

Blessed is the man who endures temptation;

for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life

which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 1:12

As I talked about last blog, who are those who love Him?

"Those who keep His commandments"(John 14:15) those who flee from immorality.

Those who surrender the flesh.. take their cross and follow Christ,

they don't follow the world and it's selfishness but Christ and His selflessness.

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God";

for God cannot be tempted by evil,

nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived,

it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

James 1:13-15

We are not tempted by God, we are tempted by our very own nature (by our flesh) which our very nature is to SIN. We are tempted, which in itself is not the sin, sin comes in when we let

it fester, when we start looking to our flesh and we desire

our natural ways. When we let sin have it's way it is because

deep down we are saying God isn't good enough, we want God

and we still at the same time want to live to our flesh, which

is not POSSIBLE! If you want God then you get all of Him!

and He changes your desires, He changes you! no longer should

self even be important, in fact Christ demands that you surrender

SELF! Do not be deceived there is no half truth, there is no half faith there is no half way in half way out..One foot in the world

and one foot in the grave…NO! throw your whole self in that grave

and die to self! Christ is what now lives through you.(Galatians 2:20)

Do..YOU..Love God?

Quick question for you, Do you LOVE God?

Now for those who are brothers in sisters in Christ,

I'm sure you are thinking "Sure do!", even unbelievers

might even say "Sure, why not". This might, at first glance,

seem like an easy question, HOWEVER, if this question

is so easy and if every self professing brother and sister in

Christ would answer "Yes, I sure do" without hesitation,

Then why may I ask do we not ACT like it?

Maybe we don't know what LOVE really is? Just maybe

we have a inadequate view of the meaning of LOVE?

Perhaps we have a "World View" of what love is.

Now if we want to know what true Love is, the easiest place to look

is Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says:

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's

life for his friends."

Jesus Christ took the wrath we deserved, loving what didn't deserve to be loved, forgiving what didn't deserved to be forgiven.

I think this is, as it says, a stumbling block for most…because you see a lot of us don't think we are underserving,( some of us do

and that also can create a problem of not accepting what Christ's

has done. ) A lot of people treat God as if

He has some obligation to love us, as if He had to forgive our sins.

So they miss the big picture, and they don't see how evil they are,

and they don't truly see God's LOVE because they just blow it off

like He is required to.

We tend to look at love like "What's in it for us" but that's not love at all. Love is a surrendering of SELF, of doing something

for someone else not out of requirement or to GET something in

return. I'm going to type that out again:

Love…IS…NOT doing something for someone else out of requirement! Are we not saved by THE GRACE of God?

God didn't have to create the human race…wasn't required too..

God didn't have to forgive our WICKEDNESS…wasn't required too

But God did create the human race and He did forgive our sins!

AMEN! glory be to Him alone!

Now this brings me to this overall point, Why don't

we LIVE and Act like we LOVE God? sin is conquered,

let it go MOVE FORWARD in Christ! Jesus says in John

14:15

"If you love me, keep My commandments."

Then why is it many claim to Love Christ, but yet not want to listen

to what He said? I'm not talking about works, I'm not talking about people falling in sin as it will always(while on earth) be

something we have to continually make war against, DAILY

we have to Die to our Flesh! Many say they love Christ,

but refuse to die daily! many say they love Christ and say

they have no need for His commandments or at least they act

like they don't need to be changed by Him.

The fact of the matter is, if you TRULY and honestly LOVE Christ

then you will surrender yourself. AND AGAIN Love is not doing something out of requirement, if you love Christ you wouldn't want to do anything else but FOLLOW and hang on His every word.

"For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to

silence the ignorance of foolish men- as free, yet not

using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."

1 Peter 2:15-16

This my brothers and sisters goes hand in hand! We see Gods

grace His overwhelming mercy and forgiveness and how we

are free from sin,(NOT Free to sin…Free FROM sin)

but we don't take our freedom lightly…

we know how evil we are without Christ and we know the price!

we don't use our freedom as a means to sin MORE..NO!

we see our freedom and we hold it tightly we see our forgiveness

and we see how undeserving we are of it, we see Gods power and love and we surrender as servants looking for Him to work through

US! looking to please God and follow His commands not for

our Glory…but HIS GLORY the only place Glory can be placed!

Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalms 1:1-6

I want to share something with you, ready? I'm not the best

example of a follower of Christ, each day I must remember

to die to this selfish-flesh of mine. I seek to be that shinning light,

not for my glory but Gods, and I know He needs to shine through

me, it's not me working for God and me taking credit, it's

God working through me and giving Him all glory for it.

There's no good in me, I can't create good, I can't save myself..

if I rely on me i'll only disappoint. God's love is amazing the more we realize how undeserving we are of it, His love should bring us to the point of surrender, it should bring peace and faithfulness.

Sometimes we lose sight of what's important, and we claim

we love God but our actions say otherwise…we must

be convicted of our weakness and we must give it to GOD,

because only He can bring the change needed.

What we can not do is get to a point where we think change

can not come, that the new creation that we are suppose to be

can not come. We can't say we love God and then live a life

of blatant contradiction. It's like saying you love your wife

but then you continue to sleep with someone else on the side.

Listen, I know we all struggle in certain areas of our walk,

and we fall down BUT

1. we can't stay down

2. we can't expect to change if we rely on ourselves to

do the changing.

Here's the overall point i'm getting at; We will be tempted,

but it's what we do in times of temptation that matter.

If you think that you can stay strong, if you think that you

can ever change you, then you are going to end up in a never

ending cycle of failing yourself. The only way you will ever change

is through Jesus Christ, giving up and surrendering to Him

is the only way change can come. Are all things possible with God?

Then look to Him not yourself! the only thing possible with you is

FAILURE

Be thankful that God doesn't give up on you, that you are

indeed forgiven and through HIM you can be remade new.

If we love God, then we must surrender to Him, we must

repent and ask Him to bring the change we can't bring ourselves..

the more you try to save you with your own power the more

you will fail.

This doesn't mean a life of surrendering to our sinfulness,

This is about living like we truly love God and surrendering

to Him to save us from ourselves, it's the only way we can be saved.

Don't say "Oh well, this is who I am…I'm a sinner..I cant change

who I am" that's actually true, but that should drive

you to Christ not into stagnation.

I write this to all those who read, but not just to you, but to myself…

for I know I am no better and need to place all hope for change

in Christ not myself, and I need this change of living a life of sin

to living a life of Holiness. I need to surrender who I am, surrender

this body and let the Holy spirit guide and work through me…

there is no other way.

I pray God would work in you, reveal Himself and renew you..

that when temptations come whatever it may be that you

would run from temptations to Christ and rest in His Holiness.

That He wold bring the change that needs to come,

Ezekiel 36:27 says:

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

This is what I ask for, and this is what God can and WILL do!

take our lusts our pride our selfishness our hard hearts and

change them to do YOUR will oh God! too walk in your statutes..

to love you as we claim we do! We don't need to defend

ourselves or attack others back who physically or verbally assault

us, you will vindicate us LORD, our strength lies not in our flesh

but in you God!

1 Peter 2:19-21 says;

"For this [is] commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

For what credit [is it] if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this [is] commendable before God.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Amen..