Achan in my Life

Joshua 7

I have long loved the verse Hosea 2:14-15 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor, a door of hope." I never knew where the term 'Valley of Achor' came from or really what it meant on any real level. All I did know was the footnote in my bible that said "*Achor means 'trouble'". I just liked the sound of God taking my troubles and using them to give me hope, a la Romans 8:28-29. Last week in my bible study time, I found myself randomly (and I mean randomly) in Joshua 7. I grew up on the stories of Joshua, but disappointingly admit that I have never read the book entirely for myself. So, without having read the first 6 chapters, starting in on chapter 7 was a little odd, but certainly not by chance. (As I would discover as I chewed on the morsel the Lord gave me from this portion of His word that day after I finished my reading.)

Joshua 7 is subtitled 'Achan's Sin'. I had no idea who Achan was or what his sin was- no frame of reference whatsoever. But whoever he was, or whatever he did, must have been pretty important to earn a subtitle in the scriptures. I'm just sayin'.

I encourage you to read the chapter for yourself, but I will offer you a Cliff's Notes version just to speed things up and put us all on the same page. The Israelites had just conquered Jericho and were ordered by God to destroy everything in the city before continuing in the promised land. They did as they were told and then proceeded to send some scouts into the land to begin acquiring it. What they all expected to be like shooting fish in a barrel, ended up with their scouts being slaughtered. Begging God for answers on why they were experiencing such difficulty, he replied with a really simple "You didn't do what I told you. I told you to destroy everything from Jericho, but someone among you kept some it for themselves." Fast forward a few verses and dun, dun, dun!! -- whodunit? You guessed it: Achan. Achan's sin was that he did as God instructed (destroy all that was in Jericho) but ,and this is a colossal but, he kept just a teeny tiny bit of it hidden for himself. He mostly did exactly as God said, but not completely did he obey.

Now, because of Achan's sin, trouble upon trouble was heaped on those around him. And ultimately, Achan was stoned and buried in the Wilderness. Because of Achan and his sin (of keeping just a little smidgen for himself, when God demanded everything), the place where he is buried is called the "Valley of Achor" or, the Valley of Trouble.

I could not help but feel my own eyes filled with conviction as I looked at my own heart. How many times has the Lord instructed me to give Him my all and I respond with "Absolutely, God." All the while thinking to myself 'Except for this one tiny bit I'll hold on to, secretly.' And how many times have I walked through and remained in 'Valleys of Trouble' because I didn't just do as he asked and hand it all over.

Now, for me, Hosea 2:15 takes on entirely new meaning. The encouragement in this for me, is that, so often the Valley of Achor is a result of my own doing*. So, how much more merciful, and more beautiful that the Lord still chooses to use these Valleys as an opportunity to give me hope. Out of my own sin, my own failures, he offers hope. And he'll offer it to you, too.

(*Please be noted that this is not always the case- I believe it is scripturally accurate that the Lord allows us to walk through hurts and pains that are not a result of our own doing, but just mysteries that are for his glory. That is to say, as a reminder, that we can never be 'good' enough to avoid hurt and 'earn' blessing. I just thought it was important to make a note of that theological principle.)


Thank you, Thank you Lord, that you redeem what I ruin with my foolishness. How silly to think that I can keep things in secret from you and get away with it! Thank you Lord, that your mercies never run out on me and you always stand ready to forgive me and offer me hope. Please teach me to see where I am holding out on you and refusing to give you everything. And when my eyes are open to my withholding, Lord, give me the strength and desire to let go and hand it over joyfully.


Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) " The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."