Joshua 7 - God hates hidden sin

Setting – Israel is defeated at Ai because Achan took and hide some of the spoil from Jericho.

Content – Israel sends three thousand men to fight at Ai and they were defeated and thirty-six men dead. Joshua implored the Lord why this happened. God told Joshua that Israel transgressed His covenant and took some of the stuff under the ban. After the lots feel upon Achan, he confessed that he took stuff under the ban. God instructed that Achan, his family and everything he own to be burned. Israel stoned Achan and his family and burned them at Achor. They piled stones over them. God anger was turned away from Israel.

Application – God doesn’t accept hidden sin. We see how God wants his covenant to be upheld. New Testament Christians need to repent of our hidden sins, turning away from them and not to return to them. We know that we all have relentless sins that plague us, but we are to actively refuse to allow it to exist. We can’t hold on to the sin.
God is a holy God and we can’t use His grace and mercy as a shield to hide our sin behind. We must respect His holiness and hate the sin that separates us from communing with Him.

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