The Book of Joshua - The Final Word
Sin is consistent. It rarely busts down the door of your life, yelling, “I’m here to ruin everything!” It starts small, quiet, fun, and something you can manage, but then it consumes, destroys, and ruins your life.
However, there is good news when it comes to sin.
God refuses to let sin have the final word.
Sin and Our Thoughts
We don’t think about sin all that much. We think of it as the “big” stuff – adultery, stealing, lying, or sexual immorality. It’s stuff that “other people” do, so when it comes to our own lives, we soften the language.
We’ve lost sight of what sin actually is. Sin isn’t just a list of destructive behaviors or broken rules. It’s deeper than that.
Sin is what happens when we choose our way over God’s way.
It’s when we put ourselves at the center instead of God. It’s the decisions, attitudes, and actions that break the good and right relationships God designed us for – with Him, others, and even within ourselves.
But God doesn’t leave us there. He doesn’t abandon us when we wander off because the goal is never just to fix our behavior; it’s to restore our relationship.
Joshua 7
1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So, the men went up and spied out the city of Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
It doesn’t give exact reasons why Achan took the devoted things, but there’s a spiritual arrogance or apathy that can happen when God and His work in our lives become common. We believe that because God worked for us and on our behalf once, He will always do so, which means we can do whatever we want.
Sin and Our Expectations
We want God to follow through on His blessings, but we hope He won’t hold us accountable for the standards and consequences of our actions. Achan sees God as a victory machine – He gives us what we want, but we don’t have to follow His instructions. And we can fall into this same mentality if we aren’t careful.
Joshua 7
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
Essentially, Joshua falls facedown and says, “God, why did you bring us here? Are you going to destroy us? If only we stayed put, now we’re going to get wiped out; what, oh, what will you do?
This is a bit dramatic.
Joshua 7
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?
Joshua is confused and wallowing a bit, but God says, “Get up. What are you doing?”
Joshua 7
11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.14 “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”
The Bible was written for us, not to us, and God still has something for us today. Chapter 7 is intense. It’s covenantal, communal, and set in the context of a holy war, where God instructs His people to take possession of the land. They disobey Him, and their sin has a direct effect on their victory. That’s what this passage is.
This passage is not a game plan for personal spiritual warfare. What we can’t do is look at this passage and say, “The reason for all the bad things in your life is because you’ve taken some devoted things and hidden them, and because of that, God is angry at you. Confess all the areas of your life where you’ve done that. God will then stop being angry at you, and you’ll have victory again.”
That thinking doesn’t work for 2 reasons.
What is God trying to communicate to the Church of 2025 with a passage like this?
What’s still true of God today is that God is Holy, and sin still matters.
God is Holy. He is set apart. He is other. He is pure and righteous. That’s not just a comforting thought, it’s a theological anchor. And because of that – He cannot tolerate sin. But not in the way we might imagine.
It’s not because God is petty, irritable, or overly strict. God cannot tolerate sin because of what sin does. Sin breaks relationship. The reason this is tricky for us is we have a low view of our sin and a high view of God’s grace, but there has to be balance. We have to view our sin and God’s grace accurately.
Sin and the impact
We’ll never see grace as amazing until we see sin as devastating.
Until we see sin for what it is – that is, destroys, corrupts, and breaks our relationship with God – we won’t see the depths that God went to save us. So, God gives Joshua a metric and a process.
Joshua 7
16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen.18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
Because of Achan’s sin, an entire nation suffers. So, what does this mean for us? Does it mean that our sin always affects those around us? Yes – sin always impacts someone. Sin has a seductive nature to it. It over-promises and under-delivers. It claims to be personal and harmless, but it’s the opposite.
Our sin still costs us something. Because of Jesus’s death on the Cross, the condemnation for our sin that we deserved was taken on Him. However, we need to remember that there’s a difference between condemnation and consequences.
In Jesus, we are free from the condemnation of sin but not the consequences of sin.
Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages, or the punishment for sin, is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Jesus on the Cross took that death on Himself. So, in an eternal, spiritual sense, we are free from the condemnation that sin brings us. But here on earth, we still struggle with sin. Does that mean if we sin now, we’re condemned? No – but there are consequences to ignoring good advice.
As a parent, have you ever asked your child if they brushed their teeth, and they lied right to your face? You even tell them the consequence for lying would be no dessert after dinner, and they still respond with an Oscar-worthy “Yes!” Now, you forgive them, but you don’t hand them a brownie after dinner, either.
Love and forgiveness are real, but so are consequences.
It’s the same with us and God. In Jesus, we’re fully forgiven. Sin may be forgiven, but it still impacts our hearts, habits, relationships, and communities. What we can’t do is see the consequences of sin in our lives and assume that God is condemning us. There are natural ramifications to sin in our lives because sin always impacts someone.
Joshua 7
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[f] ever since.
So, the people take Achan out to the Valley of Achor. Sin is brought to this place, and it’s judged. Once the punishment is paid, God turns from His anger. The people are doing their own thing and rejecting God, fracturing the relationship. God is saying, “I still need to deal with this but in a redemptive way.”
He says, “I will transform the place of trouble into a place of hope.”
And what is the place He’s speaking about, where sin was punished, becoming a place of hope?
The Cross.
This is a picture of the Gospel. Hosea pointed to a moment where sin would be judged and punished, yes, but more than that – redeemed.
And just like we said at the beginning, where God refuses to let sin have the final word, the Cross does have the final word. It symbolizes that God is holy, sin matters, and God, in His holiness and love, took the punishment for sin so that the Cross has the final word.
The Cross isn’t just a place where sin was paid for, but where hope was given.
Hope through the Cross means we restore relationally to God, forgiveness is possible, and reconciliation in our relationships isn’t just a nice idea – it’s part of the Gospel.
Hope empowers us to turn from sin because sin’s been defeated. It sends us into the world empowered, where sin is taken seriously, and grace flows freely.
Let the Cross have the final word.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and Season 2 of our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
However, there is good news when it comes to sin.
God refuses to let sin have the final word.
Sin and Our Thoughts
We don’t think about sin all that much. We think of it as the “big” stuff – adultery, stealing, lying, or sexual immorality. It’s stuff that “other people” do, so when it comes to our own lives, we soften the language.
We’ve lost sight of what sin actually is. Sin isn’t just a list of destructive behaviors or broken rules. It’s deeper than that.
Sin is what happens when we choose our way over God’s way.
It’s when we put ourselves at the center instead of God. It’s the decisions, attitudes, and actions that break the good and right relationships God designed us for – with Him, others, and even within ourselves.
But God doesn’t leave us there. He doesn’t abandon us when we wander off because the goal is never just to fix our behavior; it’s to restore our relationship.
Joshua 7
1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So, the men went up and spied out the city of Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
It doesn’t give exact reasons why Achan took the devoted things, but there’s a spiritual arrogance or apathy that can happen when God and His work in our lives become common. We believe that because God worked for us and on our behalf once, He will always do so, which means we can do whatever we want.
Sin and Our Expectations
We want God to follow through on His blessings, but we hope He won’t hold us accountable for the standards and consequences of our actions. Achan sees God as a victory machine – He gives us what we want, but we don’t have to follow His instructions. And we can fall into this same mentality if we aren’t careful.
Joshua 7
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
Essentially, Joshua falls facedown and says, “God, why did you bring us here? Are you going to destroy us? If only we stayed put, now we’re going to get wiped out; what, oh, what will you do?
This is a bit dramatic.
Joshua 7
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?
Joshua is confused and wallowing a bit, but God says, “Get up. What are you doing?”
Joshua 7
11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.14 “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”
The Bible was written for us, not to us, and God still has something for us today. Chapter 7 is intense. It’s covenantal, communal, and set in the context of a holy war, where God instructs His people to take possession of the land. They disobey Him, and their sin has a direct effect on their victory. That’s what this passage is.
This passage is not a game plan for personal spiritual warfare. What we can’t do is look at this passage and say, “The reason for all the bad things in your life is because you’ve taken some devoted things and hidden them, and because of that, God is angry at you. Confess all the areas of your life where you’ve done that. God will then stop being angry at you, and you’ll have victory again.”
That thinking doesn’t work for 2 reasons.
- The Bible isn’t a prescription.
- If we believe the good news that God refuses to let sin have the final word, then thinking, “God condemns us in judgement when we mess up and is angry at us” misses the heart of God.
What is God trying to communicate to the Church of 2025 with a passage like this?
What’s still true of God today is that God is Holy, and sin still matters.
God is Holy. He is set apart. He is other. He is pure and righteous. That’s not just a comforting thought, it’s a theological anchor. And because of that – He cannot tolerate sin. But not in the way we might imagine.
It’s not because God is petty, irritable, or overly strict. God cannot tolerate sin because of what sin does. Sin breaks relationship. The reason this is tricky for us is we have a low view of our sin and a high view of God’s grace, but there has to be balance. We have to view our sin and God’s grace accurately.
Sin and the impact
We’ll never see grace as amazing until we see sin as devastating.
Until we see sin for what it is – that is, destroys, corrupts, and breaks our relationship with God – we won’t see the depths that God went to save us. So, God gives Joshua a metric and a process.
Joshua 7
16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen.18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
Because of Achan’s sin, an entire nation suffers. So, what does this mean for us? Does it mean that our sin always affects those around us? Yes – sin always impacts someone. Sin has a seductive nature to it. It over-promises and under-delivers. It claims to be personal and harmless, but it’s the opposite.
- Sin impacts your relationship with people close to you
- Sin may impact people you’ll never meet
- Sin impacts our relationship with ourselves
- Sin impacts our relationship with God
Our sin still costs us something. Because of Jesus’s death on the Cross, the condemnation for our sin that we deserved was taken on Him. However, we need to remember that there’s a difference between condemnation and consequences.
In Jesus, we are free from the condemnation of sin but not the consequences of sin.
Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages, or the punishment for sin, is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Jesus on the Cross took that death on Himself. So, in an eternal, spiritual sense, we are free from the condemnation that sin brings us. But here on earth, we still struggle with sin. Does that mean if we sin now, we’re condemned? No – but there are consequences to ignoring good advice.
As a parent, have you ever asked your child if they brushed their teeth, and they lied right to your face? You even tell them the consequence for lying would be no dessert after dinner, and they still respond with an Oscar-worthy “Yes!” Now, you forgive them, but you don’t hand them a brownie after dinner, either.
Love and forgiveness are real, but so are consequences.
It’s the same with us and God. In Jesus, we’re fully forgiven. Sin may be forgiven, but it still impacts our hearts, habits, relationships, and communities. What we can’t do is see the consequences of sin in our lives and assume that God is condemning us. There are natural ramifications to sin in our lives because sin always impacts someone.
Joshua 7
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[f] ever since.
So, the people take Achan out to the Valley of Achor. Sin is brought to this place, and it’s judged. Once the punishment is paid, God turns from His anger. The people are doing their own thing and rejecting God, fracturing the relationship. God is saying, “I still need to deal with this but in a redemptive way.”
He says, “I will transform the place of trouble into a place of hope.”
And what is the place He’s speaking about, where sin was punished, becoming a place of hope?
The Cross.
This is a picture of the Gospel. Hosea pointed to a moment where sin would be judged and punished, yes, but more than that – redeemed.
And just like we said at the beginning, where God refuses to let sin have the final word, the Cross does have the final word. It symbolizes that God is holy, sin matters, and God, in His holiness and love, took the punishment for sin so that the Cross has the final word.
The Cross isn’t just a place where sin was paid for, but where hope was given.
Hope through the Cross means we restore relationally to God, forgiveness is possible, and reconciliation in our relationships isn’t just a nice idea – it’s part of the Gospel.
Hope empowers us to turn from sin because sin’s been defeated. It sends us into the world empowered, where sin is taken seriously, and grace flows freely.
Let the Cross have the final word.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and Season 2 of our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
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