JOSHUA 7:13-26
Several steps were involved in this account that are a guide with regard to the handling of sin and
the cure of it in the believer’s life. First of all, the stolen goods were brought out from hiding. Sin,
whatever its nature, has to be brought into the open. The person who attempts to hide his sin
cannot prosper.
In the second place, they brought Achan to Joshua, who in this case stands in the position of
Christ. Our Lord is both the Saviour from sin and the Judge of sin. In the third place, this sin of
Achan’s was laid before the Lord, for all sin is directed against Him. If in the process of our sin
we have affected others, then they, too, should hear our confession. Public sin should be publicly
confessed.
It was only after this that Achan and his family were taken and stoned to death, then their bodies
and possessions were burned. It is clear from this that the family was party to the father’s sin, not
innocent victims of it.
God’s way of curing sin among believers in our day is given in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The
word “confess” means to “bring out into the open.” We lay our sins out before the Lord and agree
with Him concerning them. So we lay our sin out before the Lord completely and judge it. Thus
the word “confess” also means “I agree with the Lord in this matter.”
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7).
Theodore Epp
www.backtothebible.in
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