ESOCS Devotional 17 July 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing; for Achan the son of carmi … took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.” Joshua 7:1
TEXT: JOSHUA 7:1-15 (KJV)
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man.
15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
In every congregation there is bound to exist the mixed multitude, just as you will always have the Judas among the twelve (12), it therefore behooves on the leadership and ministers to carefully and regularly identify these elements in order to forestall the looming calamity their actions and operation may portend for everyone in the camp. wrecked
Our text reveals a promising young man who became a tool in the hand of the devil to bring shame and reproach to the children of Israel, of more concern is the fact that Achan is from the tribe of Judah. Parents, Leaders and Ministers must be conscious of the generation we are raising after us so that they don’t become a disaster to our lineage. We have seen several children traceable to great ministers who have wrecked havoc not just to the church, but the society at large.
Achan, what informed your actions? Where was your ear when the instructions were handed in? “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it” Joshua 6:18. The attitude of being selective in the instructions to obey is not the best for the system. We must view every commandment from God as serious and worth obeying.
It is also worthy of note that the immediate consequences of his action fell on the entire children of Israel even when nobody was aware of his action including the leaders. It is not possible for Achan to be in the crowd and the camp is calm. His presence brought curse and trouble in the camp. We must therefore as leaders, ministers and parents all wake up as we will be shocked with what our members do in the secret that is putting the system under pressure, despite our prayers. May God reveal every Achan around our life and destiny in the Name of Jesus.
Did you notice that God transferred his sin to the children of Israel and put the anger on them for what one man did? This is a warning to all children, members and leaders. The next time you want to commit atrocity, just know that it may be recorded against your family and the congregation you belong. There are so many accursed things we bring in to the camp of God today. Look at these:
- Never make yourself a willing tool for the devil to destroy the church and her members.
- Never bring in any accursed thing to church in the name of paying tithe or supporting church growth.
- Father, we bless you for the exposition; forgive us of every accursed thing we have unknowingly brought into your house and grant us the grace to repent. Oh Lord, fish out all the strange Achans in our midst and send them out of the camp in Jesus Name.
FURTHER READING: Daniel 8:1-14; Luke 6:1-11; Acts 18:1-2
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ESOCS Devotional 17 July 2023
