Joshua 7 and 8 tells about how
the children of God failed because of a sin. The capture of Jericho gave
Israelites a chance to enter Canaan. The next place was Ai, which commanded the
entrance into the valley leading into western Canaan.
As he had done in the case of
Jericho, Joshua sent spies to Ai to learn the situation. Since they were very
confident, they decided not to go in full strength against Ai. A small force
was sent up the steep ascent, but when the garrison at Ai sallied forth and
attacked them, the Israelites fled without striking a blow. In this disaster,
all of them saw the withdrawal of God’s guiding hand.
All happened because of one man’s
sin. Achan hid the wedge of gold. He alone was guilty, yet we read that Israel
has sinned. One man’s sin was counted as everyone’s. Same way, sin against one
commandment means sin against all commandments. People may gossip and talk
rubbish, they may flirt, or enjoy little bit lust, which they think won’t be
counted. Since God wants us to be perfect, a small sin will get counted
according to your walk with God. It may depend upon how your walk with God is.
If your walk is not in a good way, if you don’t have a personal relationship
with him, God won’t bother about you, as you will be equalled with others. But
when you walk closer and see his glory in your life, and you fell to sin, it
hurts him and he may count it (Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land
since he did not listen to God just one time). Same way here Israel saw the
glory of God in their life, and then one man sinned and it was taken as a nation’s
sin by God. “Israel has sinned; they have
violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of
the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with
their own possessions” – Joshua 7:11.
Once God gave the punishment, Joshua led the Israelites and got victory over
Ai. It is not about your strength and intelligence, but your walk with God that
matters you to go high in life.
One man stricken with chicken pox
can infect an entire house. Same way here the sin of one became the sin of an
entire community. Through Grace, our sins are forgiven – when we confess it
before Christ and accept him. We are forgiven not to sin anymore. David did adultery
and killed an innocent man, but he asked forgiveness to God and God forgave him
and loved him. But he had to go through problems in life, which can be counted
as the punishments. Same way, sin is sin, and a person who commits sin will
have punishment. But the punishment by taking away eternity from you can be
avoided when you confess it before Christ and accepts him as your saviour and
believe in faith that the punishment for your sins have been taken by Christ on
the cross. So now you are free, but you won’t sin anymore. You are a new person
and now you live for Christ. May the Spirit of Lord help you to live a careful
holy life, Amen.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old
has gone, the new is here” – 2
Corinthians 5:17
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