Jericho

INTRODUCTION
After the glorious victory fall of Jericho, Israelites must be over proud, and with great rejoicing celebration. They must be felt, a grasshopper can take down the giant wall, there is nothing they can’t be taking down, surely they faith has raised.

Joshua sent 2 spies, they came back saying: “Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there.” Hence Joshua sent three thousand people, but they lost the war, and 36 people have killed. This failure mission, make Joshua terribly sad! With the elders of Israel, they bow down before God and asking: “why”?

The answer to Joshua was very straight forward, there is sin in the camp! Achan took the devoted things! What it mean by “devoted things”, according to the Bible, some of the booty must be destroy and the remaining will be sanctify and safe keep in God’s treasure house. Devoted things mean: that thing belongs to God. Joshua 6:18-19 “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury."
The act of Achan taken the Devoted things, which involving, “Stolen”, “lied” and this sum up the consequences of “violate (break) God’s covenant”. God’s covenant with Israelites is, He will be their Holy God and the people will be His holy nation.

In our today Individualism society, all of us might think that, self sinning is individual action, does not relate with the Church! But Biblically, Paul has taught us in Romans 12:4-5 “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”


Achan’s unfaithful act remind us:
DEVOTED THINGS
We need to examine ourselves, did we take things that is belong to God?
Malachi 3:8-11 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
Mark 12:17 "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

FINANCIAL TEMPTATION
Because of personal financial, some people cheating company, gambling, embezzlement, using future money (credit card), end up debt to bank or load shark, and without help, they end their life. In today world people are looking forward to materialism, personal computer, television, mobile phone, car, luxury house, some youth end up stealing, some girl end up prostitution.
1 Timothy 6: 9-11 remind us: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

CONCLUSION
Romans 5:19 “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”