Price - Sunday June 22, 2014
But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel. Joshua 7:1
After wandering in the desert for forty years, the Israelites started to conquer the Promised Land. The first city to fall was Jericho. Before the Israelites charged into the city, they were given specific instructions; some related to what to do with the property inside. One of the clearest instructions was that all of the gold and silver should go into the "treasury of the Lord." But after conquering Jericho, things didn't go well. The Israelites were defeated in their next battle. Joshua found this incredibly discouraging and fell face down before the Ark of the Lord. But God said to him, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned..."
Then the sin of a man named Achan was exposed. He sinned by keeping, for himself 50 shekels of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a cloak. At first I thought, "Achan, you fool! It was clearly commanded; don't keep the gold and silver!" Now a shekel was about 2/5 of an ounce. Today, silver is about $20 per ounce and gold is about $1,220 per ounce. Using higher math and unit conversions, the total amount Achan stole was about $26,000. Well, then I thought, "That is a lot of money!"
I disobey God's clear instruction for a lot less than that! I sin for free, most of the time! Achan seemed to think that $26,000 was something worth sinning over, and it cost him his life. What's your price?
Submitted by:
Josh Whitney
The Rock Church
Salt Lake City, Utah
One-Year Reading Plan:
2 Kings 3:1-4:17
Acts 14:8-28
Psalms 140:1-13
Proverbs 17:22
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