Sin and Transgression

​“Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.” Joshua 7:11

After Joshua grieved the defeat at Ai, the Lord commanded Joshua to “rise up” and told him about Israel’s sin and transgression because they had taken some of the things under the ban and put them with their own belongings. By doing so, they had stolen and deceived. 

In particular, Achan had committed the act of sin by taking the accursed items. You may wonder why Achan’s sin affected the entire camp of Israel.
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This was not a surprise, because in Joshua 6:18-19, the Lord commanded the Israelites to abstain from these items because the items (silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron) were all consecrated to the Lord and were for the treasury of the Lord. Everyone knew that if the items were taken, they were to be accursed, as well as the camp of Israel, and trouble would come to the camp.

When Achan sinned against the Lord, he caused trouble for the entire camp, and they were accursed.

The most important and disheartening statement the Lord made to Joshua was that Israel had sinned and transgressed His covenant. 

This should cause us to think of when we sin.

When we think of sin, we often associate it against a person. While that is true, we must not stop there. When we sin, we see that God says we have sinned and transgressed His covenant. 
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Sin is to miss the mark, and to transgress is to disregard.  So, we not only sin against each other, but we first and foremost sin against the Lord and disregard His commands.

We read how this grieves and angers the Lord. In this passage, the Lord made a specific remark about His covenant, and we can relate that to the covenant that was made with Israel through Moses. 

This is why the Israelites were defeated at Ai, and why they could not stand before their enemies. The Israelites violated the covenant and were no longer victorious because they did not have the Lord with them in battles, which would have made them victorious.
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We know this passage refers to a specific event and time for the Israelites; however, we can learn from their sin, the sin of Achan, and transgression as well.

Reflect on your life today. Think of recent and past events when you faced defeat. Was it because you sinned against the Lord, disregarded His direction, His Scriptures, and you subsequently violated His word? Did you notice that you no longer had peace, or things just didn’t seem right or not like they used to be?

​From this passage, we can begin to see sin and transgression for what they really are: a disregard for what the Lord has said in His Word for what you should do or not do, and recognize that your actions follow and also reflect what you believe about God.

You can go before the Lord, and turn from your sin and disregard for Him, by embracing Him and His word. Begin by confessing, turning from, and forsaking the very thoughts, attitudes, and actions that led to your disobedience.