Scripture Nugget 1.10.2017
Scripture Read – Joshua 6-10
Nugget Joshua 6:18-19, 7:1,10-13, 15, 19-20b, 25-26b
“As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object of destruction, bringing trouble upon it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD. … But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmison of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites. … The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why have you fallen upon your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings. Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies, because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Proceed to sanctify the people, and say, “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘There are devoted things among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”… And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and for having done an outrageous thing.’… Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what have you done; do not hide it from me.’ And Achan answered Joshua, ‘It is true; I am the one who sinned against the LORD God of Israel.’ … Joshua said, ‘Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD is brining trouble on you today.’ And all Israel stoned him to death; they burned them with fire, cast stones on them, and raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger.”
Devotional thought: In Chapter 8, verse 34, we read, “And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law.” God, the Creator, imposes upon His creation good order and discipline, boundaries to be honored. When creation pushes back, good order becomes chaos. God commanded the Israelites to keep away from the things devoted to destruction, one man gave in to temptation, he saw, he desired, he took and he hid that which God said to keep away from. His actions brought God’s anger on all. Is there anything in your life, that you do, you think, that you keep hidden from the Body of Christ? Do you know of something that someone else does that they think they have hidden from others? Lack of holding others accountable pushes boundaries as does the breaking of covenantal law. We must read the entire law, the blessings and curses. Both are promises from God. When God said, “Don’t touch that tree, don’t eat that fruit, and keep away from the devoted things,” He wasn’t making idle conversation, He was protecting us from ourselves. The consequences of the sin of one, has an effect on all, individual sins weaken the Body of Christ and our ability to defend against the enemy. Let’s purge the evil, let us confess, let us renew the covenant that God offers.