This morning we are going to talk about Ai. No, not Allen Iverson nor even the other A.I.—Andre Igudala. This Ai we are going to look at is the ancient city of Ai located just a few miles from Jericho.

The historic setting is the gaining of the Promised Land by the ancient Hebrew children of the Living God. They had crossed the Jordan River and had taken the heavily fortified city of Jericho. Please note that while these ancient peoples experienced many miracles by God on their behalf, God did not hand the Promised Land to them on a silver platter. In order to claim this promise of God they faced many obstacles and many battles.

The first battle was the battle at Jericho. God told them to march around the city 7 days. They were obedient and did as God commanded. On the 7th day they gave a loud shout and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. Over the years to come God’s people would face an enemy that would seek to drive them from God’s promise and destroy them as God’s people. The greatest enemy they faced however was the enemy within—themselves and their own propensity to sin.

To pick up the story, the Israelites had just destroyed one of the most fortified cities in Canaan. Obviously God, and not they, had done this great act. The people had been obedient. In the mopping up process God had given them specific instructions (6:18), “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring disaster upon it.” What were the devoted things? Joshua had declared that all the spoils that were in the city of Jericho were devoted to God and belonged to Him alone.

In Joshua 7 we see the enemy from within at work. We don’t know why really. Maybe it was sheer selfishness. Perhaps the victory went to Achan’s head. Maybe he thought that there was so much no one would miss the little bit he took for himself. The truth is that Achan, of the tribe of Judah, disobeyed the direct command and took some of the devoted things. No one knew. How could anyone know, really?

In the meantime Joshua sent some men to the city of Ai who came back with the report that Ai was a small city of few men. Surely, 2,000-3,000 men could easily take the city of Ai. To their surprise the few men in Ai routed the Hebrew soldiers and killed 36. Joshua was stunned, crushed and incredulous. He cried out to God, “What are you doing? Did you bring us from Egypt to have us be destroyed in your Promised Land? What’s up with all this, Lord?”

Hear God’s answer to Joshua in Joshua 7:10-12, “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.’”

We see very clearly and distinctly here that God does not and will not tolerate sin among His people. God certainly is gracious, and slow to anger. I believe that God puts up with a lot of garbage from His people, and He is very patient with the nonsense in our lives. But when it comes to overt sin and disobedience, God will not tolerate that sin. When Isaiah was in the temple (Isaiah 6) he beheld God’s glory and holiness. Isaiah’s response to that experience was this, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips.” In the presence of God our sin is obvious.

There are 2 things we notice about sin in this story of Ai and Achan. Sin is both pervasive and costly. In Joshua 7:1 we read, “But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things.” Did I read that right? It says, “the Israelites acted unfaithfully.” Doesn’t the Bible say that it was one man, Achan, who disobeyed and sinned? Somewhere we have lost a basic understanding of sin. In fact whatever became of sin in our human experience? The nature of sin is quite insidious because it has a way of spoiling the whole. Like cyanide, one drop is deadly. God holds the whole nation of Israel responsible for the sin of one man. Doesn’t one bad apple spoil the barrel? Doesn’t one flu bug affect the entire body? God holds us accountable for what others do. Now to be quite honest, I don’t like that one bit and I don’t think that is fair. Why should I pay the price as a result of someone else’s stupidity, selfishness, sin? Because that is the nature of sin. Sin affects the whole, not just the perpetrator.

We all know about victimless crimes, don’t we? These are once deemed crimes between consenting adults. Males all across the country are re-discovering the definition of the word ‘consenting,’ and right they should be! There is this pervasive attitude that certain sins don’t hurt anyone else so why are they wrong? It is precisely this point because sin does affect everyone else and like it or not we are all victims of so-called victimless crimes. “And God held all of Israel accountable for Achan’s sin.”

There is also a cost to sin. The ancient Israeli army easily handled the fortified city of Jericho. Surely only a few thousand men were needed to take Ai. But 36 men lost their lives because of Achan’s sin. 36 sets of children lost fathers and 36 mothers and fathers lost sons. 36 wives wailed in grief and sorrow that their husbands died because of Achan’s sin. We may not like it and we may complain till the cows come home, but that’s the way sin is. Innocent people very often pay the price for someone else’s sin. You can easily fill in the examples: Children of abusive parents, the 6 year old killed in a drive by shooting, the family of 5 driving to Disney World killed by a drunk driver, the missionary killed in a skirmish between rebels and government troops, followers of Jesus killed because of some offensive cartoons, the spouse or child of an alcoholic or drug addict physically, emotionally, and spiritually scarred for life. There is the young Christian who gives up on Jesus because of gossip and backbiting in the local church, or because of an adulterous affair by church leaders.

Sin carries with it an awful price tag. The Bible says very clearly and plainly, “You reap what you sow.” Achan was ultimately found out and he paid the ultimate price for his sin—death. We need to realize and know that the ultimate price of sin is death—spiritual death, eternal death, hell. No one can get away with sin because eventually our sins will find us out. There is a price to pay for sin here and now as well as there and then.

So Joshua and the people of Israel dealt with that sin and the Bible says in vs 26, “Then the Lord turned from His fierce anger.” The story doesn’t end there for there is a vital and important message for us in Joshua 8. God told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid, do not be discouraged.” As you read this next segment in the life of the Hebrew children, we discover something of how God works. God will not be defeated by sin. Joshua used the result of sin, the defeat of the men at Ai, as a means for their victory. The plans of God may be thwarted by our sin, but our sin and disobedience will never defeat God because He will take our sin and use it to bring glory to His name. That is why Paul could write, “We know that in all things God works together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Now let me quickly add a disclaimer here. That does not mean that we should go on sinning so that God will use that sin for His glory! Sin would then actually become a good thing! Sin is still sin and God will not tolerate sin in any shape or form. Sin still has its price. Sin still carries its scars and sin will always, always destroy. But God who is greater than the power of sin and Satan will use that to perfect us and to build us as His people to a place of spiritual maturity.

Sin is pervasive. It is everywhere and lurks in the heart and mind of every living, breathing human being. Sin is also costly. There is a very steep price to pay for sin. The Bible tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) The sign in front of CCU Missionary Baptist Church says, “It is not likely that the wages of sin will decrease.” Besides eternal consequences of sin, there are also present results of our sin everyday. The best word to describe it is ‘brokenness.’

As we walk through this life we face many battles both within and without. We have our struggles and our pain. Like Achan we’ve violated our covenant with God. Like Achan we’ve mishandled the sacred and the devoted things of God. Like the ancient Hebrews we have been caught between Jericho and Ai and have paid the price for our sin.

In this experience of God’s people God clearly and plainly teaches us that He will not tolerate sin and will deal with sin decisively and clearly. But praise God He is not finished with us yet. There is hope because He calls us to confess our sin. He calls us to then repent of sin. He calls us like Isaiah to a new vision of God who is holy and who has the power to redeem and make new. God hasn’t brought us this far to leave us, nor forsake us, but to perfect us in His image.

Sin is that great battle within, but God’s Word tells us that through God’s grace the power of sin is broken, and we can be “more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us.” (Romans 8)

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.