SOME THINGS CAN’T BE HIDDEN – PART 3

JOSHUA 7:16-26

III. v. 16-26 ISRAEL EXPERIENCED A TERRIBLE SENTENCE
A.  v. 16-21. The Sinner Is Confronted – The process that God used to point out Achan. God knew who was guilty, why didn’t He just tell Joshua who they were looking for? In my opinion, He was giving Achan time to repent and to confess his sins. Achan squandered many opportunities to confess and repent. Be that as it may, the finger of God was getting closer and closer and finally landed on Achan.
This lesson needs to be heeded! God already knows your sins and His finger is getting closer and closer to your life. One day soon, He will point out those things in your life that need to be revealed! It is only a matter of time until the finger of God lands on your life and you are exposed in your sins! It will not and cannot be hidden forever! One day, your sin will find you out – Num. 32:23; Luke 12:3. You may try, but you cannot hide your sin, Eccl. 12:14; Jer. 16:17; Heb. 4:13! v. 19-21 – Now that Achan’s sin has been revealed, it has to be dealt with. Notice the two aspects of this section.
1.  v. 19 There Is Compassion – When Joshua speaks to Achan, he speaks with compassion in his heart. He knows that Achan is condemned, but Joshua still cares for this man who brought so much trouble to Israel.
In this passage, Joshua is a picture of the Lord. While God hates sin with His entire being, He still loves the sinner. Even though man is the enemy of God, God still commands men to repent and to come to Him for salvation and for forgiveness. If you have sin in your life today, you need to remember that God is a loving and gracious God Who exhibits His greatness by cleansing sinners. You need to come to Him before it is too late!
 2.  v. 20-21 There Is Confession – In these two verses, Achan finally confesses his sin. Achan showed no signs of remorse or repentance. He only confessed his sins after he got caught in them. At this point, it would have been impossible to hide them any longer anyway.
Achan is like some others in the Bible who confessed their sins, but not in real repentance – Pharaoh, Balaam, Judas. Some confessed their sins and were forgiven. Ill. David – He was confronted with his sins, he confessed afterward, and he was forgiven, 2 Sam. 12. So did Nineveh, Jonah 3. What’s the difference? David and Nineveh were sincere in their repentance. They were sorry for their sins. Achan was only sorry that he got caught! This is not God’s method for handling sin! God’s way is for people to be open and honest about their sins and for them to confess those sins to the Lord, Pro. 28:13. God’s way is for His people to throw the covers off their sins and tell Him the truth that He already knows. He can bless a person who handles it in the Biblical way.
However, the person who tries to hide his sins will never prosper but will face God in judgment. You see, you will confess your sins one way or another. You can confess to them where the confession will make a difference, or you will do it when you face the Lord in judgment. Either way, you will confess your sins – Phil. 2:11 Note the progression in Achan’s sin, v. 21. “I saw…I coveted…I took.” This is the same pattern that sin always follows. It was this way in the Garden of Eden, Gen. 3:1-6. It was this way when David sinned with Bathsheba, 2 Sam. 11:1-4. It is and will be this way in nearly any instance of sin you can name.
Notice the progression that the Bible mentions – James 1:13-15. You see it; it appeals to your flesh; you want it and you take it. Sin is always the same! Ill. Our reaction to sin should be just like that of Joseph, Gen. 39:12. We are commanded to flee youthful lusts, 2 Tim. 2:22.
 Another problem with Achan is found in v. 21. Achan calls the things he took “spoils”. This word refers to “the booty” that a conquering army can claim after a victory. These things were not spoils. God said in Josh. 6:18-19 that these things belonged to Him. They were not to be gifts for Israel; they were to be placed in the treasury of the Lord’s house. God calls the items in Jericho “the accursed thing,” Josh. 6:18-19. This phrase refers to that which is “devoted or dedicated.” In other words, all the items left in Jericho after the defeat of the city were to be dedicated to the Lord. They were to be His and His alone. In essence, Achan was guilty of stealing from the Lord. He claimed the “first fruits” and Achan tried to steal it. Are you guilty of stealing from the Lord? Mal. 3:8.Achan had his stolen treasure buried in his tent but he could not use any of it! To use it would have exposed his sin to everyone. In other words, Achan sinned and died for nothing! The items he stole were no good to him at all!
 Here’s the truly sad part of this story. Achan lost his life and condemned his family to death because he took things that were dedicated to the Lord for his own use. Imagine how he must have justified his choice to take those things. He might have said, “We did without so long in that desert. I deserve a little prosperity. No one will miss this little amount. After all, there is so much spoil. I’ll just take a few things to help my family.” Those few items cost Achan everything!
Had Achan been patient for just a few more days, he could have satisfied his needs and his greed’s, Josh. 8:2. This is where we all get into trouble. We want what we want, and we want it now. We never stop to think that God might have something far better for us if we would just patiently wait for His timing. This just reminds us of what sin really is. Sin is a man seeking to fulfill a legitimate need in an illegitimate manner.