There's Sin in the Camp

“Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7:13)

God had just led the Israelites in a great victory over the city of Jericho. You remember the story…they were instructed to march around the city for 7 days, and then on the 7th day, they were to march around it 7 times…and when they did they, they gave a great shout and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. What an amazing victory this was! But when the Israelites then came against the next city of Ai…to their great surprise, they were horribly defeated in that battle, for the Lord was not with them to give them victory over the enemy. And as described in the above verse, the Lord revealed to Joshua why.

Often as we look around, we wonder why there is so little victory in the church today, why so little power. We long for revival; we yearn for the zeal of the early church and question why the power of God is not manifest in our midst as it was back then. Some even try to explain it away saying that God doesn’t perform miracles or that miracles stopped with the last of the apostles. We pray for the sick, and when they are not healed, we wonder why. We see evil all around us and feel totally helpless to do anything about it. We sit by and watch as the world and the ungodly gain more and more ground. Is God not as strong as He used to be? Is He not able to provide the same victory He once did?

Speaking of the Israelites Paul said, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” (I Corinthians 10:6) Let’s look at the example of the children of Israel in Joshua chapters 6 & 7 to see a clearer picture.

They were given the strictest orders: in their defeat over Jericho, with the exception of Rahab and all those who were with her they were to…DESTROY EVERYTHING! The only things they were to keep were the silver, gold, bronze and iron, which they were to deposit into the treasury of the Lord. But we find that one of the men had acted in disobedience and greed, and he had kept some of the treasure for himself, and hid it among his own things.

Let’s look at four truths in this story that will help us when we are tempted into sin:

1. God hates sin - (Proverbs 6:16-19) “These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” God’s wrath is kindled against sin, for it is the very thing that keeps men and women from the beautiful relationship He created us to enjoy with Him. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden the price of sin has been death… both physical and spiritual death. And it is no different for us today. God still hates sin, and one day, Jesus will return to judge sin and the Holy Word of God will be that standard which determines the sentence.
2. There is no victory in our lives when hidden sin is present – (Joshua 7:12a) “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction.” Have you taken a look at the first century Church and how stern those folks were when it came to dealing with sin in the Church or in individual lives? Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t advocate going around pointing fingers and accusing others for their fault. The best place to start when it comes to eliminating sin is with ourselves. If there is no victory in your life, the best place to start is to allow the Holy Spirit to shine His spotlight on your own heart to find any dark places that still remain there? God cannot and will not compromise with sin. If there’s that little “accursed thing” in your life, isn’t it time to forsake that thing and walk free in the power of the Lord our God. It is assured, you will never win full victory over the enemy until you lay all the things of the world and the old life down at the cross and leave them there and allow God to be all that He wants to be in your life. Even those little gray areas of sin will give Satan a foothold into your life, and you will never be free until you get them cleaned up.
3. The presence of the Lord cannot dwell where there is sin – (Joshua 7:12b) “Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” There will come a time when you will realize that you cannot walk any closer to God until you have set aside the “accursed things” from your life. God will not pour His power, His love, His anointing into unclean vessels, and He can do no mighty works through your life to touch others with known sin remaining in your life. If you are living in sin, there IS a separation between you and God and you cannot receive His power and His anointing until it is dealt with and gone. (Isaiah 59:1-2) “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God.” Yes…they were all paid for at Calvary, but your relationship and your ministry will not be right until you repent of it and get it out of your life!
4. Every hidden sin will be exposed – (Joshua 7:10,11) “So the Lord said to Joshua: ‘Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.” There was defilement among God’s people, and God wasn’t going to have it! They would lose every battle until it was gone! Be assured that God will, in some way, bring to light everything that is done in darkness, and He will destroy the works of wickedness in our midst. If we choose not to forsake the hidden sins, He will put us to shame. He asks us to humble ourselves, repent of our sins and turn away from them…but if we will not, He will humiliate us. We see many examples of this in the Bible.

We must be assured, there is no compromise with God. He is seeking a people who will forsake everything in order to walk with Him. He desires a holy people, walking in righteousness and integrity. He will not tolerate “fence-straddlers” or “lukewarmness”. We may harden our hearts and continue in the wickedness of sin…we may even fool all those around us, but the Word of God warns us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) We are admonished in II Corinthians 6:17, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” We are to be different from the world. We need to act different, talk different, and yes, even look different. We are a CHOSEN people! We are to represent the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. How can we do that when we act, talk and look just like the world? If you have hidden sin in your life, may I encourage you to put it aside, walk away from it. You cannot get any closer to God with that sin still in your life. The Holy Spirit will give you power to overcome it, but He cannot bless you as long as you continue to live with known sin in your life. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27)

I have found that the best way to deal with sin is to admit that God is right, and I am wrong (repentance) and ask Him to forgive me and to give me power to release that sinful behavior from my life. If we can learn to keep a short account with God, we will find that we will experience more victory in our lives, and our communion with our Father will be much sweeter. He will delight in pouring His blessings into our lives, if we will be obedient to Him.