Confession

Joshua 7:16-20  -  Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken.  The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.  Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."  Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done:

 

God had given them specific orders…to destroy everything inside the walls of Jericho.  They were to leave nothing intact…save the bronze….iron … silver and gold that they were told to put in the Lord’s sacred treasury. But someone…a man named Achan…had disobeyed.  He had seen a beautiful robe…and Satan planted a seed of desire in his heart…and he took not just the robe…but some silver...and gold…and hid it under his tent. 

 

It placed an unseen curse upon the army…and they lost their next battle…a seemingly easy one...that they had only brought a few thousand men to fight.  They lost many men in the battle...and the seed of greed Satan planted in Achan turned to fear every heart of the Israelites. Joshua was so confused at the loss that he fell prostrate to the ground and cried out to God for answers.  And God came quickly to Joshua…and told him of the disobedience that existed in the camp.  He outlined through his anger…a public way to screen the whole camp…tribe by tribe….clan by clan...family by family…so the disobedience could be exposed…and the sin dealt with…so the curse could be removed.

 

Joshua called for his confession…which Achan gave quickly…and the sin…and the family that had committed it...was quickly dealt with.  They were all stoned…and all their belongings burned and destroyed…removing any trace of the sin that had cursed the camp.  God even allowed Joshua to mark the spot with large rocks…and name the valley where it had happened the Valley of Achor…to remind the people of the high price of sin.

 

Makes me so very glad that God allowed me to live in a time when his son has already paid the price of all my sins.  Jesus’ death and resurrection allow me to live in a world of less harsh rules…where my sin doesn’t end in such a violent death.  My confessions of sin simply bring God’s forgiveness and mercy…and allow me the great honor of releasing the guilt I felt from my sin to him…and letting him use it to empower me to change into a new creature.

 

Satan tries to trick us into keeping our sins hidden in our hearts…so it can fester and lock us in our past.  But God wants us to be more like Achan…and confess our sins freely … so he can empower us to move past the pain and hurt the sin may have caused. Confession frees us from Satan’s lies with the truth….eases the pain from our actions…empowers us to release the blame we place on ourselves …and allows us to receive the saving grace and cleansing of Christ’s redeeming blood on our life.

 

Father...thank you for the son you sent that saves me from the sure death I deserve from my sins.  Help me to always ask you…every day…to expose any sins that I still harbor in my heart. Let me confess them freely and quickly…so you can help me to purge all these sins from my life …and begin to heal me from the hurt and pain they may have caused to myself or others.  Amen.