After the victory at Jericho, Israel faced a nasty defeat by the hand of the Amorites. Joshua went before the Lord to understand their failure. God revealed to Joshua a certain man had taken something and hidden it within the camp (Joshua 7:6–12). At the Lord’s bidding, Joshua brought Israel together to unveil this wicked deed. God whittled down the people by tribe, selected Judah, a specific clan, and then called Achan out specifically in their midst. Achan noted:
When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it (Joshua 7:21, KJV).
No matter how we’re blessed by God, there will always be a voice telling us we don’t have enough—that there’s something out in the world that will bring more satisfaction and comfort than the Lord can in our lives. This is a voice from hell. The devil will give us “half-truths,” revealing the good part but not what’s to come in the future. We must remember there is nothing in the world that will ever compare to what God can do for us.
We make bad trades in brief moments—something in the world instead of a blessing from God. Bad trades will not happen to us if we take the time to evaluate and think! Achan gave up the very promise and blessing from God for something temporary. He gave up houses he didn’t build, land he didn’t till, and wells he didn’t dig for a garment, silver, and gold.
Humans have a tendency to base our values, morals, and decisions in the context of our immediate surroundings. We cannot focus on what we don’t have instead of what we do or we will trade, and make decisions, the wrong way.
Achan wasn’t a habitual criminal, but in a moment, he got distracted and was persuaded something in the world was better. We cannot love the world (I John 2:15) or ourselves (II Timothy 3:2). God has called us out and away from the things in this life (the flesh) and to love Him (II Corinthians 6:17).
If we’re going to live the right way and make the right trades in life, we must live conservatively. We cannot trade our life in God for anything else; we must lay aside the weight of the world and live for God with everything within us (Hebrews 12:1). Making the right decision is something we must do today and not assume we will have time in the future to “fix” our mistakes (James 4:14).
When we refuse to lay hold on the treasures in heaven, but instead seek after this world, we will face destruction. Achan, his family, their possessions, and the stolen goods were taken to the Valley of Achor (Joshua 7:24). There, Achan, his family, and everything else was destroyed by fire. If we’re disobedient and don’t desire the things of God, we too will face eternal destruction by fire. Today, we must seek after God and not the world if we are going to inherit something more valuable—eternal life with Jesus.
