The Consequences of Sin

He thought it would be a nice treasure. Maybe a special gift for his wife. A retirement investment. Small enough that he could carry it himself. But valuable enough that it was worth it.

He knew it was wrong, but as long as no one else found out about it, he should be okay. Besides, he was certain that others were doing the same thing.

It was a beautiful robe and some silver and gold. It would come in handy when the war was over and he needed to provide for his family. He'd be able to build a nice house and get rid of the tent that they had been living in.

Achan had likely justified his actions in a similar way when he took those items from the city of Jericho. He kept it secret and didn't think that it would be a problem.

But sin won't stay secret. Sin will cause problems. And the sin of Achan drew in much greater problems than he ever imagined.

The first consequence was the defeat of Israel at Ai. The people had been guaranteed victory by God. He was going to fight for them. He was going to drive the enemies out. And they had just seen that happen to the city of Jericho.

But they lost. 36 men lost their lives. The army returned to the camp humiliated. Joshua and the elders began to question God's leading. It was a miserable day for the entire nation.

God uniquely revealed the sin that was in the camp. Perhaps He was giving Achan time to come forward and repent.

When it was revealed that Achan was the guilty party, everything that he owned and his entire family was destroyed. Stoned, burned and buried under a pile of rocks.

That was not how Achan had planned it. He thought he was getting ahead in life. But his sinful choices cost him, and others around him.

His family was affected by his sin. The families of the 36 soldiers were affected by his sin. Joshua and the Elders were affected by his sin. The entire nation was affected by his sin.

All for a brief moment of pleasure.

We don't think of the consequences of our sin when we are in the throes of temptation. We think of the pleasure. We think of the cover-up.

But we don't think of the consequences until it's too late.

Sin will take you further than you want to go and cost you more than you want to pay.

Resist temptation. Repent and turn from sin. God is gracious and loving.