A few weeks ago, in the Sabbath Bible Lessons, The Light of the World (II), we just studied the sad experience of Achan.
Before the conquest of Jericho, God gave specific instructions to His people regarding the battle and the spoils. Since the victory belonged to the Lord, also the spoils should be consecrated to Him: “All the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord” (Joshua 6:19).
But Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had developed a greedy character, and when before those treasures (gold, silver, and a Babylonian garment), he was defeated by a strong temptation.
“Achan took some of the devoted things” (Joshua 7:1, RSV).
“One sin had led to another, and [Achan] appropriated the gold and silver devoted to the treasury of the Lord—he robbed God of the first fruits of the land of Canaan.
“The deadly sin that led to Achan's ruin had its root in covetousness, of all sins one of the most common and the most lightly regarded. While other offenses meet with detection and punishment, how rarely does the violation of the tenth commandment so much as call forth censure. The enormity of this sin, and its terrible results, are the lessons of Achan's history.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 496.
The basic sin of Achan was covetousness, the breaking of the tenth commandment. In revealing to Joshua the cause of the defeat of the people before the small population of Ai, God said to him: “Israel [i. e., Achan] have sinned; they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff” (Joshua 7:11, RSV).
Observe the sequential result of Achan’s covetousness:
- Transgression of God’s covenant;
- Taking of the things devoted to God’s treasury;
- Stealing;
- Lying.
The Bible says that one abyss calls to another one. In order to hide one sin, the sinner commits several other sins.
According to Inspiration, there are specific things that belong to the Lord, and we cannot touch them lest we repeat the same sin of Achan.
The Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment
It is written that “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). In other words, the whole Sabbath belongs to the Lord, and we cannot use His time for our own projects and to do our own will during the sacred hours. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11).
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, not finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words” (Isaiah 58:13).
The Tithe
“'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord.”
“'And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30, 32).
The tithe belongs to the Lord. We cannot touch it. It is holy.
Through the prophet Malachi, God puts a question to His people: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).
Our Life
We belong to the Lord by creation and by redemption. After we surrender our life to Him, we are holy, i. e. we belong to Him and we cannot to do whatever we are inclined to do.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).
Did you get the point? We are the Lord’s property with all we are and all we have.
“We are as directly forbidden to indulge covetousness as was Achan to appropriate the spoils of Jericho. God has declared it to be idolatry. We are warned, ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon’ (Matthew 6:24). ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness’ (Luke 12:15). ‘Let it not be once named among you’ (Ephesians 5:3). We have before us the fearful doom of Achan, of Judas, of Ananias and Sapphira. Back of all these we have that of Lucifer, the ‘son of the morning,’ who, coveting a higher state, forfeited forever the brightness and bliss of heaven. And yet, notwithstanding all these warnings, covetousness abounds.
“Everywhere its slimy track is seen. It creates discontent and dissension in families; it excites envy and hatred in the poor against the rich; it prompts the grinding oppression of the rich toward the poor. And this evil exists not in the world alone, but in the church. How common even here to find selfishness, avarice, overreaching, neglect of charities, and robbery of God ‘in tithes and offerings.’ Among church members ‘in good and regular standing’ there are, alas! many Achans. Many a man comes statedly to church, and sits at the table of the Lord, while among his possessions are hidden unlawful gains, the things that God has cursed. For a goodly Babylonish garment, multitudes sacrifice the approval of conscience and their hope of heaven. Multitudes barter their integrity, and their capabilities for usefulness, for a bag of silver shekels. The cries of the suffering poor are unheeded; the gospel light is hindered in its course; the scorn of worldlings is kindled by practices that give the lie to the Christian profession; and yet the covetous professor continues to heap up treasures. ‘Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me’ (Malachi 3:8), saith the Lord.”—Ibid., pp. 496, 497.
However, we still have hope: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
By God’s wonderful grace, how about getting rid of the syndrome of Achan today?