Joshua 7

Israel began riding high after their victory at Jericho. But that was all to change. They were about to have one of "those days" where everything went drastically wrong. They had been unfaithful, Achan had disobeyed God's commands to destroy all that was left of Jericho's treasures.

Achan's hidden unfaithfulness had severe consequences. God allowed Israel to lose what would have been a simple victory. The tables are turned and now Israel were the ones "melting in fear". They are now on the other side with the wicked nations. God is clear, those who are against Him will one day melt in fear before Him. The hidden unfaithfulness put Israel against God.

Israel's response is initially correct. They rush to God in prayer. But their hearts are not quite right. Joshua's prayer is not of recognition of any wrongdoing or of repentance. No, he is blaming God! We often fall into the same trap. We must recognise the issues in our own hearts that are causing damage to the church and it's mission in our world. We must recognise that our compromise, and selfishness, and shallowness is having a huge impact on the church. Our own hidden unfaithfulness will bear fruit.

God's response is very direct. He tells them exactly what is going on. Israel share the responsibility as one to God's covenant, and they had violated it. A convent requires faithfulness on both sides. God had given the people the privelige of His commitment to them. God wanted to guard them out of love for them, and to use them as His instrument of righteous judgement. The breaking of the covenant means that God is right to be angry at Israel - angry like a wife is right to be angry at a husband who breaks their marriage covenant with another woman.

In the moment when he took the treasures, Achan chose to question the words of Joshua (and God) and lied to himself that his actions will not have consequences. Those things were more valuable to him than God's commitment. Deep down he knew he was wrong since he hid what he had done.

Whenever we sin, we value other things more than God. This applies to us individually and the church as the whole, as we might value what others think about us more than upholding God's word. Our hidden unfaithfulness will harm the family of God as well as our own lives.

But God gives the people hope. There is a solution to hidden unfaithfulness. The sins would be uncovered and seen for what they are and receive the punishment they deserve. Achan was not repentant or remorseful, and so all of it was destroyed. Achan's fate is truly what our unfaithfulness deserves. Yet our hope is that someone else took that punishment. Jesus took that punishment and so we must go to Him outside the city of Jerusalem and see what our actions have done. The eyes of our heart are openend to the truth and love that is Jesus' sacrifice in our place. We can be free, not free to be unfaithful but free to fight for that relationship with God to the end. We can destroy our hidden treasures by seeing them as they are and seeing them on the cross with Jesus, destroyed forever.

Colossians 3:4-6

Think about what hidden treasure God is putting on you. Will you destroy it before it destroys you and His church? It is not too late for us. God has given us the chance to repent, and a chance at a glorious future. We will have the victory like Israel went on to have at Ai once their unfaithfulness had been dealt with.