Thursday, April 21, 2011

No Fear of God Part III

“God, who is enthroned from of old,
   who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
   because they have no fear of God”.       Psalm 55:19
Even after many people died in a battle because of Achan’s sin; he still thought his hidden sins were more important!
When confronted by Joshua, Achan described how great the garments were and how he had his treasures lined up in his tent floor.  You could tell from the euphoric tone in his voice that he was not sorry.
The million people watching and listening could tell his heart was hard and he was still a thief.  He could have asked forgiveness but his heart was far removed from God and he had no fear of God.
Finally, Achan told of his sins and no longer did anyone have sympathy for the man who kept hiding.
The punishment was to show that God did have compassion for Achan and He gave him several opportunities to repent but once God reaches the point of wrath He will allow the consequences of sin to be executed.
Achan had contaminated his entire family and his decision to continue to hide his sins brought destruction upon his family.
Have you ever wondered where Achan’s wife, children, family members and friends were during all this?   They knew he had stolen these items, he was a thief, he was dishonest, he was a liar and they allowed him to continue in his hidden sins.  It appears they still loved Achan and loved the sin just like he did.  They loved him deeper into his sins and he became proud of himself.  He loved the thrill of fooling others and getting away with it.  But God is not fooled and He sees everything, even the things we try to hide.
It would have been interesting to have known more about Achan’s family.   It makes you wonder if his wife could have had enough influence to urge him to repent.  Could his children or friends insist that he confess his sins and repent before it was too late?
Is it possible they had become ‘accustom’ to his lifestyle and did not want to change?
Is it possible his family had decided to allow Achan to continue in returning to his ‘vomit’ whereby they built their pig pen around the ‘dog and his vomit’ and called it home?
It reminds me of an old song that had a line that said, “…..don’t rock the boat, baby,…..don’t tip the boat over….”
It is too easy to stay in the pig pen and justify our decisions and actions.  
Change would mean sacrifices.  Change would require faith.  Change would require action.    Ouch……change is too painful!   
Compromise and complacency is easier.
Achan was stoned and burned along with his family and possessions.   God directed this punishment only after it was proved that Achan had no desire to stop being a thief.
God hopes the sinner will come and confess his sins before its too late, but if not, He will punish for sin.
There are many Achans.   They try to hide their sins of lust, pride, envy, selfishness, control, jealousy, hatred, unforgiveness, anger, manipulation, laziness, theft, addictions, greed, lies, idolatry…………..
God’s Word says, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life…..”  (Romans 6:23)
Achan did not want to get rid of his sins.  He kept them hidden.  The final punishment was death.  
Sadly, that is the final consequence for all who would rather sin than live God’s way of love.
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness…..”  Joshua 24:14 (a) NIV

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