Joshua 7:20-21
And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

….

The story of Israel’s defeat at Ai is one that every believer should know.

Achan’s greed cost three dozen Israeli warriors their lives.

Instead of devoting portions of Jericho’s booty to the Lord’s treasury (6:18-19), he “coveted and took them,” then hid them from the eyes of Israel . . . but not from the eyes of God.

So because of Achan, 36 fathers, brothers, and/or sons were massacred at Ai, bringing tears and confusion upon Joshua and the nation (7:6-9).   All this after an historic victory at Jericho.

Oh, how the contrast must have devastated the people!

So in exchange for 36 unnecessary funerals, Achan and his family received the death penalty, then were burned with all their possessions.

….

It’s just ridiculous, isn’t it? This man was promised protection and prosperity from the Lord, but he traded the Lord’s promises for silver, gold and a stinking cloak.

The treasures he stole were likely a small percentage of the recovered booty, but that did not matter to the King, whose simple commands were violated.

….

The Moral to this story:

If we treasure “secret sins,” let us consider that we may not be the only ones affected by them.

Luke 7:19
calling two of his disciples to him, [John] sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

….

John’s question reveals that there are dark dungeons that threaten to undermine the faith of even the most faithful saints.

But Jesus’ answer would reveal that doubts are never strong enough to unseat God from His throne.

What a comfort to know that God is God, even when the darkness conceals Him.

Micah 7:18
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
… and passing over transgression
… for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
… because he delights in steadfast love.

…

Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are. … … Philip Yancey

…

Just in case we pilgrims have not yet gotten it, here’s yet another picture of the “Old Testament God.”

Unlike us, He delights in steadfast love, rather than revenge.

Yes, He will have vengeance upon His enemies, but He is more famous for His unreasonable kindness upon His sin-stained friends.

Deuteronomy 7:17-19
If you say in your heart, “These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?” you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

….

Faith is the gazing of a soul upon a saving God. ….…. A. W. Tozer

….

Atheists will tell us that our faith is blind, but it is not.

Our faith is rooted in history.

When fears rise up in our hearts, our faith reminds us that our Father delivered Israel from Egypt, Daniel from the lions, and the Son of Man from the tomb.

And He will deliver us and bring us safely home into His eternal care.

Genesis 7:16
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

…..

Skeptics challenge the story of Noah’s ark, because they doubt that such a vessel could have protected him and his family from a cataclysmic disaster.

They’re probably right . . . but that does not undermine the story.

…..

The ark did not ultimately save Noah and his crew; God did.

The one thing Noah could not do once the door was shut was seal the door. So the text tells us that the Lord “shut him in.”

Peter confirms to us that it was not merely Noah’s boat that saved Noah, but that the Lord “preserved Noah” in it (2 Peter 2:5).

Building the ark was an act of faith.

Saving Noah and his family from God was an act of God.

Mark 7:15
There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.

…

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line of good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart? …

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

…

To rephrase the Savior’s words, one’s environment is not what makes him sin, which is why the scribes’ and Pharisees’ traditions deceived, rather than sanctified them.

What is outside of us can stir up and entice that which is on the inside, but it cannot cause us to sin.

The responsibility for tasting the world’s enticements is squarely upon our shoulders.

Who are you blaming for your sin?

…

Ecclesiastes 7:14:
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

….

If we get nothing else out of this verse, let us pay heed to the fact that good days and bad days are never accidental in God’s sovereign plan, nor are they necessarily reciprocal, for we are always falling short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23).

Just because we’re having a good day does not necessarily mean we’ve been good folks. And sometimes bad days come when we’ve been on our best behavior.

So rather than spend too much time wondering what we’ve done to “deserve” what God has given, let us rejoice in the good days and meditate in the bad ones, remembering that God knows what we’re going through, as well as what’s in store for us tomorrow.

He simply calls us to trust.

Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

…

You have chosen the roughest road, but it leads straight to the hilltops. …… John Bunyan

….

How can Jesus say, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,” (Mt. 11:30), yet also claim that the path to eternal life is “hard”?

The Christ-follower’s path is a paradox of great joy and eternal hope, mixed with great pain and temporal sorrow.

This is why most choose the wide gate and easy path . . . their hearts have not been converted to fathom the worthwhile trade-off:

a hard path now, for an eternity of peace;

an enduring spirit today, for an eternal rest tomorrow.

….

Centuries ago, John Bunyan penned a vivid picture of this paradox in, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

It should be required reading for every Christ-follower.

….

Recommended for families with small children: The Family Pilgrim’s Progress (read a chapter a night at the dinner table)

Recommended for teenagers and adults: The New Pilgrim’s Progress, with notes by Warren Wiersbe

Matthew 7:12
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

……

What is the crux of the “Golden Rule”?

Answer: Consideration of others.

……

Therefore, how do I know if I am fulfilling the Law and the Prophets?

1) Am I putting others’ interests before my own? (Philipp. 2:1-5)

2) Do I energize others or drain them? Do they enjoy being in my presence, because I am a life-giver, or do they avoid me, because I’m a life-leech?

……

Being considerate, life-giving people opens the door for us to proclaim a crucial, life-giving gospel.

Psalm 7:11
God is a righteous judge,
… and a God who feels indignation every day.

…

If we despise the justice of God, we are not Christians. If we hate the wrath of God, it is because we hate God Himself. …… R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

…

Some people will read this verse and celebrate God’s justice.

Others write it off as divine misinformation.

…

The former group is spoken of in verse 10:
…… My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

The latter group, in verse 12:
…… If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow . . .

…

Sandwiched between is a statement of God’s continuous anger over sin.

This anger does not make Him wrong.

It makes Him God.

…

Do you adore God for not only His love of the saints, but also for His hatred of sin?