“And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.” – Joshua 7:18 

Scripture reading: Joshua 7:16-22

You need to think about the way God exposed Achan’s sin. He conducted the investigation, so to speak. And He did it in front of the whole nation. We don’t know exactly how it happened, but it sounds like they cast the lot. By casting the lot, they called on God to judge.

Think of what God is showing us here. Early in the morning, the whole congregation of Israel stood before the LORD to be judged. This is as real as it gets. This is a picture of judgement day. We tend to think of ourselves and the things we do in terms of what other people know about us or think about us. We miss the boat altogether.

The Spirit says to us here, You live before the face of God and He is your Judge. Hebrews 4 says, No creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.

Step by step, the circle grew smaller and smaller. And finally, only Achan was left. You have to wonder why he didn’t step forward and just admit what he had done. Maybe he kept hoping, kept fooling himself that he wouldn’t be found out. But even when God exposed him as the guilty one, he didn’t confess. That’s the stubborn nature we all inherited from Adam and Eve. We think that confessing our sin is suicide. In fact, it’s the only way to save our lives.

Suggestions for prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you that you live before the face of God, that you are naked and exposed to the eyes of the One to Whom you must give account, and to help you live a life of integrity.

Rev. Dick Wynia is currently the minister of the Vineyard Canadian Reformed Church in Beamsville, ON.