April 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
232
rors of conscience, what a holy horror possesses him. Can you think of anything more dramatic? Yes, there is one thing far more dramatic,— the scene when every sinner, one by one, shall stand before the Great White Throne; every saint, one by one, at the judgment seat of Christ, to be tried by fire, and rewarded in accord with their faithfulness and loyalty to Jesus Christ. God is omnipotent and omniscient. Achan is convicted and confesses his sin. One sin may seem insignificant, but not so with God. Saul, the king, sinned, but God brought it to light. Iniquity cannot be passed over. God sets up a warning stone. Sin is hateful. Israel must have the illustration before it. Achan and his family are taken and stoned. God’s law is vindicated and Israel is relieved. Death is the doom of Achan and it is the doom of every man and woman who is not sheltered under the blood of Jesus Christ. This is a representative judgment, as the taking of Jericho was a pattern conflict. There was no es cape for Achan. There ■ is no escape for every sinner. Christ has borne our sin, has taken our place and paid the penalty. What a salvation! If you want to know why things are going wrong, look for sin. (4) THE DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY AND DEDICATION OF THE ALTAR, “Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord,” 8:30. Joshua was despondent over the defeat at Ai, but he listened to the voice of God, “Arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given it into thy hand.” Thank God for this message. So many times we are prone to yield to our failures and lose heart. God is always saying, “Arise, go up!” “Forgetting the things which are behind.” Do not be occupied with your sins, your failures, your losses; be occupied with Him. The Christian life is a battle, a warfare. Satan never sleeps and He cannot take us out of God’s hands (John 10:28, 29) but he will hinder and harass and spoil our lives if we do not confess, forsake and “arise and go up,” “put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) and “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6 : 1 2 ) . Depending upon God, believing His Word, Joshua laid his plans and by God-given strategy caught the enemy in an ambush and overcame them. Defeat, when warring in the energy of the flesh, became victory when warring in the Spirit. “The Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thine hand” (8 :1 8 ). The inhabitants of Ai were utterly de- storyed, the city was burned and became a heap. “Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal.” Upon the stones was written a copy of the law of Moses and Joshua read it to the people. Not a word was omitted. Joshua was a believer in the inerrant, infallible Word of God. These Old Testament stories are full of the realities of life and picture to us what is being enacted daily in the lives of believers. Let us profit by their mistakes. Let us gird ourselves. Let us hold fast His unfailing Word. Let us go on to victory. Topics for Study (1 ) What two commands were issued by God concern ing the sacking of Jericho? (2) What prompted Achan’s sin? (3 ) What are the three great temptations to the flesh? (4) Why did God deny Israel the privilege of taking for themselves any of the spoil? (5) Why was Achan’s sin attributed to Israel by God? (6) Why did Joshua lose faith in the promise God had made in Joshua 1:9? (7) What is God’s recipe for a discouraged saint? (Joshua 7:10, 11).
could stock a farm!
He could enjoy the comforts of
prosperity! His neighbors would look up to him! It did not take these thoughts long to find lodgment in his brain. There was but little prospect of detection, — the confusion of the crowd; the possibility that others might be doing likewise; there was such abundance that the treasury would be full anyhow, and this was only a small part! So he took it -and then he hid it and then he prepared to lie about it. This is the old, old story of sin. Eve followed the same course. She saw the apple; she coveted it; she took it; she lied about it. “Lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin.” The time for victory had passed. What was Achan’s mistake? He should have closed his eyes when they first rested upon the garment. When his hea.rt craved it he should have struggled against the desire. When he picked it up he should have cast it away. He sinned against God and he sinned against Israel. God had been so wondrously good, how could Achan-violate such an express command? Victory had been assured upon the basis of obedience. Achan violated his conscience. His sin involved all Israel. They were one body, as is the church, and the church is no stronger nor better than its weakest member, and the reproach of one member affects the whole body. Achan’s sin brought defeat to Israel and suffering and death to his own people. (3) THE DISCOVERY AND DOOM OP THE SINNER, “Be sure your sin will find you out” Num. 32:23. There were no signs in heaven, no earthquake, nothing to disturb Achan, except his fear— the fear which possesses every violator of the law. “The way of the transgressor is hard.” He had buried the treasure in the ground under his tent. It was safe. But God saw it and God’s purpose was to bring the sin into the light at the right time. , Israel had gone to battle against Ai. Flushed with vic tory over Jericho, Joshua had sent men to Ai to discover what effect that victory had produced. The men returned with a story of the insignificance of Ai, “A few men will do— about three thousand” but the three thousand fled before the men of Ai. Joshua rent his clothes and found fault with God. How natural is the story! Forty years of miracles be hind them, Jordan’s miracle, Jericho’s miracle, and now a lament that seems childish from the leader to whom God had given such a marvellous promise: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon that have I given unto you.” What is the matter? Nothing but the old story,— going up without prayer, without consulting God, “Israel hath sinned.” Only Achan had sinned, but Achan is a part of Israel (1 Cor. 5:1-7; 12:14-26). What a spectacle! “An accursed thing in the midst of thee.” Only one sinner! How humiliating! Victory fol lowed by defeat and that caused by the act of one covetous man. How soon we forget God and His power. We take things into our own hands and become proud and arrogant and God brings defeat and humbles us before the world. God orders search made for the sinner. There are three million people and one is a thief. God will put His hand upon him. There is great grief in Israel. A solemn con clave, tribe by tribe, family by family, until the hand is laid upon Achan. The test is impartial, deliberate, solemn. Achan sees from the beginning that he is to be found out. What ter
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