In the book of Joshua, concerning the people of Israel, we learned how, “Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that rises up and builds this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country”, and in chapter seven and verse one of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing” where we read,
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
The verse reads, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing:” Joshua or the writer said, “but the children of Israel” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “committed a trespass” or “acted unfaithfully, treacherously and covertly against God” “in the accursed thing” which means “within the utterly destroyed and doomed object”: “for Achan” or “because, since and on account that Achan whose name means troubler and was a Judaite who violated God's specific ban on taking any loot from the captured city of Jericho and was stoned to death along with his family for this violation”, “the son of Carmi” which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Carmi whose name means my vineyard and was the fourth son of Reuben and progenitor of the Carmites”, “the son of Zabdi” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Zabdi whose name means endowment and was son of Zerah and grandson of Judah; grandfather of Achan”, “the son of Zerah” or Zarah which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Zerah whose name means rising”, “of the tribe of Judah” or “belonging to the company or clan known as Judah whose name means praised”, “took of the accursed thing” which means “lay hold of, fetched, seized and acquired the utterly destroyed and doomed object”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Achan” lay hold of the “the utterly destroyed and doomed object” which was forbidden by God through Joshua to seize.
The verse continues, “and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and the anger” which means “and the wrath that wrinkles the nostrils, nose and countenance” “of the LORD” or “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “was kindled against the children” which means “existed as hot, furious, burning and incensed in opposition to the offspring and progeny” “of Israel” or “belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. Joshua or the writer shared how the “wrath” of Jehovah God was furious in opposition to the people of Israel because of “Achan” laying hold of the “accursed thing”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how it did not take very long for the people of Israel to violate God’s directive through Joshua not to lay hold of anything in the city of Jericho because it was cursed. “Achan” disobeyed God’s command, and all of Israel was to suffer for it. We shall discover more about this story in our next verses, but for now, let us consider how important it is for us to simply obey God. Adam and Eve were given the command not to eat of the fruit of a tree in the garden, and they violated that command. (See Genesis 3:6) The idea was that trouble and pain are associated with partaking of that to which God says “no”. When we do not keep God’s commands, we sin, and “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. (See Romans 3:23) The “wages of sin is death” (See Romans 6:23a), “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (See Romand 6:23b) Because God knows we have sinned, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead three days later so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, we will be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we do not partake of the “accursed thing” while we live in a manner that is pleasing to Him.
Next time we learn how, “Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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