Give Glory to the Lord

“Now Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.’” Joshua 7:19

Early in the morning, Joshua began bringing the tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. Afterwards, he took the family of the Zerahites and brought them near man by man. Zabdi was taken along with his household man by man, until Achan was taken.

Achan knew he was about to face the consequences for his actions against the Lord (Joshua 7:1). Achan’s sin had caused Israel to be accursed (Joshua 6:18-19). They experienced an unexpected defeat at Ai, which caused death, bewilderment, and great sorrow (Joshua 7:5-6).

Achan must have felt the great weight of his sin when he was confronted and undoubtedly recalled what was commanded about the banned things that he had stolen.

​He had to have concluded that the defeat and death at Ai were because he sinned against the Lord and, as a result, Israel was accursed.

As the leader of the Israelites, Joshua was now face-to-face with the one who caused trouble to come to the Israelite camp. 

While confronting Achan, Joshua asked Achan to give glory to the Lord. This was interesting because up to now, Achan’s actions were far from giving glory to God, and it would seem that there was not much he could do to give glory to God. ​

​Consider this, when Ai was defeated, and there was loss of life, Achan said nothing.

​When Joshua, the elders, and the Israelite camp grieved their losses, Achan said nothing.

When Joshua told the Israelites to consecrate themselves and told them that the banned items were in their midst, Achan said nothing.

When Joshua said that Israel would not be able to stand before their enemies until the banned items were removed from them, again, Achan said nothing.

When Joshua told the Israelites that each tribe, family, household, and man whom the Lord chooses would be brought near concerning the banned things, Achan still said nothing.

Even the morning of, as the tribes, families, households, and men were brought near, again Achan still said nothing until he was confronted directly by Joshua. 

You may think at this point, how could Achan do anything to give glory to the Lord because he, and all that belonged to him, would face the judgment God had commanded because God considered the act disgraceful (Joshua 7:15).

Yet, as Joshua spoke to Achan, he said that Achan could give glory to God by confessing what he had done.

This is a lesson for us. Achan had done a disgraceful thing in the eyes of the Lord. His sin affected all of the Israelite camp and caused great loss.

​His sin also revealed that his heart was gripped by the forbidden silver, gold, and articles of bronze and iron that were to go into the treasury of the Lord. 

Rather than initially giving glory to God by keeping himself from the banned things so that he would not covet them, he chose to take the items and hide them (Joshua 6:18-19; 7:1).
​
From this passage, we learn that no matter what you’ve done and no matter how disgraceful, you can give glory to God by going to the Lord and confessing your sin and disobedience that hurt Him. 

We see that Achan had so many times to give glory to God before Joshua confronted him. The first was God’s initial warning to stay away from the banned items to avoid yielding to the sin of coveting, and afterwards, with each event that resulted from his sin, and as it affected others.

Like Achan, we are given initial warnings to prevent us from sinning against God, and also given opportunities to confess and repent before consequences escalate and compound. 
​
As we see in this passage, Achan’s confession does not remove the punishment for disobedience and sin, but he was able to give glory to God because he confessed his sin even though he delayed his confession and had to be confronted.

Think about how you can relate to Achan regarding a specific sin or sins in your life. 
What has or is God prompting you to confess and repent (turn to God and turn away from)?

What sin or sins have gripped you that you embrace rather than giving glory to God? 

Take the time today to confess and repent so that it does not continue to hinder your intimacy with the Lord, cause defeat in your life, and the lives of others. 

Remember, confession and repentance do not undue the consequences of sin, but the grace and mercy of God will abound in your life, and you will be in the position to give glory to God and put behind the sin that hurts and disrupts your fellowship with Him.
​
Make a decision today to always give glory to the Lord.