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??The walls of Jericho had fallen flat! The soldiers of Israel did immediately what Joshua had instructed. With swords flashing, they ran straight into the city and destroyed everything.
??Do you remember the only people they saved alive？That's right, Rahab and her family. Do you remember what four things the soldiers were to bring out of the city for the Lord？The gold, silver, brass, and iron. What were they to take for themselves？ Nothing! Every soldier had heard Joshua give God's commandment："Jericho is accursed. If you take anything from that city for yourself, you will also be accursed."
??Yes, every soldier had heard that severe instruction, including a soldier named Achan.
??But when Achan began to go into the homes in Jericho and see all those nice things, oh, how could he burn up all those nice clothes! He looked at a beautiful, expensive Babylonian robe. No one would ever know, he thought to himself, so he rolled it up and hid it under his clothes. So much gold and silver in the nicer homes! Oh, he would be sure to give MOST of it to the Lord. But who would ever find out if he kept some of it for himself! Achan quickly found a way to hide a lot of silver and a big wedge of gold for himself. All of this was done so quickly, no one noticed. Or did they？??Soon Jericho was destroyed to nothing but a burning heap. The soldiers of Israel returned to camp. Achan hurried to his tent. He quickly dug a hole in the dirt floor of his tent and buried all his treasures. Now, they were safely hidden from every eye!
??Were they really hidden？No, for the Bible says in Proverbs 15：3 ？The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Achan knew the Lord's commandment. He also knew a lot about the Lord. But Achan still chose to sin. Do you think He's going to get into trouble？If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior from sin, remember：Sin ALWAYS causes trouble for you! Even as God's child, you are constantly tempted to sin. Remember those 3 enemies we talked about from our last lesson？They were 1) the world people or things that draw us away from God, 2)the flesh our own desires to do wrong, and 3)the devil God's enemy who is working to get us to sin. As God's child you daily face these 3 enemies. Because Jesus lives in you, you have the power to win over those enemies! Ask yourself, "What would Jesus do？" and then ask Jesus for His help to win over that sin! If you give in, you will find out the sad truth that sin ALWAYS causes trouble for you! There is no sin hidden from the eyes of the Lord, and He warns us that it will bring trouble. Achan's sin was not hidden from the Lord, and just as God had warned, Achan was in serious trouble!
??Did Achan's family know about this secret sin？We don't know, but for sure, no one was telling. Joshua and the rest of the army were excitedly looking ahead to the NEXT battle. Joshua 7：2 says, "And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai and spoke to them, Go up and view the country." The men were back with a pleasing report："Oh, it's just a small city. We won't even need but about 2 or 3, 000 soldiers. This is going to be easy!" So Joshua sent 3, 000 men. But things did NOT go as they expected! Joshua soon received the shocking news that his army was terrified, and his soldiers were being chased like scared rabbits by the men of Ai. Thirty-six Israeli soldiers had been killed!
??What was happening!! When Joshua and the elders of Israel received this report, they tore their clothes and fell on their faces to the earth before the ark of the LORD. They were so shocked and confused, they remained on their faces before the LORD til evening.
??What had caused all this trouble？Wasn't God supposed to be helping them？After all God did at Jericho, why did He suddenly leave them so powerless？Joshua prayed as if he were blaming God："O Lord God, why did you bring us across the Jordan River？Was it to let these Amorites destroy us？" what can I say when Israel turns their backs before their enemies! All the people of this land are going to hear about this, and then they will destroy us, and then what about Your great name？" Joshua knew everyone in Canaan was trembling for fear of the God of Israel until now. But after this little town Ai had beaten Israel so easily, the people of Canaan would change their mind about God's power.
??Joshua did not understand what had happened, but our all-knowing God understood!
??"Joshua, " God said, "Get up, why are you lying on your face？The reason Israel could not stand before their enemies is because they have sinned. I commanded them not to take of the accursed things of Jericho, but my commandment has been broken. They have not only taken accursed things, but hidden them. That is why you had no power against your enemies." God was angry and said, "I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy those who are accursed because they took of the accursed things."
??Does God get angry, boys and girls？Yes, many times the Bible speaks of the wrath or anger of the Lord. The God Who created you and all things is holy, perfectly pure and sinless. And God is the Judge of all the earth Who says sin must be punished. How？By being separated from God forever. So who is going to escape punishment, when EVERYONE has sinned？Romans 3：23 says ？All have sinned."
??I am so glad to remind you of another wonderful thing about God. He LOVES you!
??Because of His great love for you, God sent Someone to take our punishment for sin. Romans 5：8 says, "But God commended (or proved) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." You could put your name where it says ？us." Christ Jesus, God's perfect Son, died on the cross for your sin, was buried, came alive the 3rd day, and now is in Heaven. Although everyone has sinned, God's Word says those who believe in Jesus will escape the everlasting punishment for sin." John 3 ：36 says, ？" he that believes not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath (or anger) of God abides (stays) on him." Yes, boys and girls, God does get angry about sin.
??The sin of taking the accursed thing had caused 36 Israeli soldiers to lose their lives that day at Ai. But God told Joshua what to do about that sin. And early the next morning, Commander Joshua set about following God's instructions. He called all 12 tribes of Israel together. Tribe by tribe they passed before him. We don't know exactly how God showed Joshua, but it was made known that the sin was in the tribe of Judah.
??Then they narrowed down to which family it was then which household then which man. A very shamefaced soldier named Achan now stood before Joshua and all of Israel.
??He had been found out! Joshua said, "My son, please, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and confess to him. Tell me what you have done, and don't hide anything from me." Achan knew his sin had found him out. He confessed："Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel. I saw, I coveted, I took a beautiful robe, silver, and gold. They are right now buried in the ground in the middle of my tent." Joshua immediately sent men to look. As everyone stood there waiting for the evidence, can you imagine how Achan must have felt'surely he could sense that terrible trouble lay ahead. Achan knew his sin was about to cause terrible trouble for him.
??The men returned to Joshua with the stolen items, and they were laid out so all Israel could see. Joshua then carried out the Lord's instructions. This is so dreadful, I wish we didn't have to tell it, but boys and girls, we must tell the whole truth from God's Word.
??Achan, his entire family, and everything he had, including the accursed things, were brought to a valley. Let's read again God's warning to Israel before this awful thing happened：Joshua 6：18 ？" keep yourselves from the accursed thing, to keep yourselves from being accursed, and so that you do not make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it." Achan had not listened and he had caused a curse and trouble on Israel. 36 innocent men had lost their lives because of his sin.
??Joshua spoke his last words to Achan："Why have you troubled us？The Lord will trouble you this day." Then Achan and his family were stoned to death. Just as God had instructed that Jericho be burned with fire, so Achan, his family, and all that he had were burned with fire.
??The people piled a great heap of stones over them as a reminder of this terrible event. They called the place, The valley of Achor, meaning the valley of Trouble.
??Then God spoke encouraging words to Joshua："don't be afraid! Take all your soldiers and go up now! I have given Ai into your hands!" Sure enough, as Israel obeyed the Lord, the people of Ai were completely destroyed. This time God told them to keep for themselves anything they wanted out of the city of Ai.
??Just think, Achan could have had silver, gold, and beautiful robes and more if he had obeyed the Lord. Sin robs us of so many good things the LORD wants to give us. Remember, sin always causes trouble for you!
