In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray you, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what you have done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-one of the book of Joshua, we learn how “Achan” told what happened, “when I saw among the spoils”, where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “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;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “when I saw among the spoils” which means “at the time and moment I, Achan, noticed, discerned, distinguished and observed in the midst and middle of the prey, plunder and booty” “a Babylonish garment” or “an article of clothing from Shinar which later became known as Babylonia or Chaldea”, “and two hundred shekels of silver” which means “and two hundred weights of silver metal”, “and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight” or “and a tongue-shaped ingot of gold metal of fifty weights”, “then I coveted them” which means “at that time I, Achan, desired, took pleasure and delighted in the garment, silver and gold”, “and took them” or “and seized, captured and lay hold of them, the garment, silver and gold”. “Achan” confessed to Joshua that he observed, desired and seized the article of clothing from Babylon, the two hundred measures of silver metal and the tongue-shaped gold.
The verse continues, “and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” Joshua or the writer added Achan’s words, “and behold” which means “and lo, look and consider”, “they are hid in the earth” or “they, the garment, silver and gold, are concealed and made secret within the land or ground” “in the midst of my tent” which means “within the middle or midst pertaining to my temporary dwelling”, “and the silver under it” or “and the silver metal is beneath the garment and gold”. “Achan” told Joshua the items he seized were located in the ground in the middle of his temporary dwelling place and the silver metal was beneath them.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “Achan” was forthright in declaring that he took the garment, silver and gold. He “saw” them, desired them and seized them even though he knew what he was doing was wrong. This same thing happed with Adam and Eve in the garden (See Genesis 3:6), and it happened all throughout the Bible. John the apostle wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (See 1 John 2:16), and even Jesus was tempted in this manner. (See Luke 4:1-13) God knows we have sin in our lives, and that sin leads to death. (See Romans 3:23; 6:23) For this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to follow that truth so sinful activities, even if they look delightful, do not cause us to violate His ways.
Next time we learn how “Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent”, 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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