Be Strong

It was a very serious trouble, and it's a pretty horrible punishment.

But don't forget that 36 other families mourned their loved one as a consequence of Aiken's failure.

I'm about to talk about anger, and I think I'm wondering if you just turn to one another for two minutes.

So really quickly, not a lot of detail.

Just turn to one other person and share a time when somebody was seriously angry with you and what that felt like.

Move quickly to what it felt like.

Okay.

A few things come to mind for me, some of them funny and some of them not so funny at all.

The unfunny one is getting a hiding from my dad at the same time as he's trying to express regret for having to give a decent son a hiding.

That didn't feel nice at all.

I remember when I was 13 or 14 years old, we lived at Collaroy Platter over on the northern beaches,

and I was allowed with my friends to go canoeing down on Narrabeen Lake.

A couple of my friends had canoes, surf skis, and they had little wheels and trailers to take them down on.

So they towed them down the hill into the lake, and off we went, and we were three hours late.

And parents were out looking for us, and it was in the days when there were no mobile phones.

And probably very oblivious to the time, but I knew we were in trouble,

because as we were coming back up the hill to Collaroy Platter, halfway up a very steep hill,

towing these things behind us, one of my friend's mums came down the hill very slowly in her car,

with her head out the window, and I can tell you she had a really ugly look on her face.

And she was shouting at my friends, saying,

you're going to get the father of a hiding when you get home.

And then she looked at me and she said, and your parents are so filthy angry with you.

And so I had to walk the next probably kilometre home full of fear and dread,

anticipating the wrath of my parents and what that would mean.

What could I do to turn their wrath away?

I think I tried tears.

I'm not sure if it worked on the day or not, but that's what I did.

I've also stood in a very serious place, floor of Sydney, not Sydney Synod, but another diocese.

And I said some things, sort of in innocence, that the bishop really didn't like.

And he left his chair and he took the floor.

And I said them with Steve's old box.

The man who discipled Steve nurtured him when he came to Christ.

The two of us were ministers and we both spoke on this matter.

And the bishop was so incensed, he left his chair, he took the floor of the Synod.

And I said my bit.

And before I could even sit down, he was on the other side of the Synod hall,

snorting, raging, saying that they were the most unfair men and most unfair things

that he had ever heard on the floor of Synod.

So I felt like I'd better stand there and take it.

So I just stood there and eyeballed him rather than sit down.

And when he'd finished tearing us apart, one of my friends who was sitting behind me starts going,

da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

As funny as it is now, it was a horrible moment.

And going away afterwards, processing somebody's anger

and knowing what it's done to you and what's going on inside you.

But it's not just me.

All of us have had serious...

I imagine all of us have experienced serious anger from other people and what it does to us.

And I guess how we deal with it.

So it might be a parent or a teacher screaming at you in anger.

Or a boss who's ripping you to shreds and humiliating you for the work that you've done or haven't done.

Or it could even be within your family when things get really tough between a husband and wife even.

And things get said in an uncontrolled and deeply hurtful way.

In all those things, there's a question of, what do you do with that?

You may well be the offender.

You may well have caused the anger that's come to you.

You may not have caused it, but you might have caused the anger that's come to you.

And so, how do you deal with it?

What do you do?

How do you turn that anger away?

Joshua 6 finished with a really stunning victory.

It's where we were last week.

I'd love you to have your Bibles open, Joshua 7.

This morning when I preached this, I quoted the text quite a bit more.

And then when I got into the Chinese services, I found it was helpful not to quote it quite as much because it takes too long.

So I'm going to try a little bit differently tonight.

I might not quote as much as I normally do, but I'd like you to be reading and following with me.

Joshua 6 finished with God's stunning victory.

He brought down the walls of Jericho.

He handed the city to Israel.

Rahab was saved.

Joshua 6 was just a good news story.

It was just good all the way through.

And this most stunning victory.

And so when you get into Joshua 7 and you hit the very first verse, you find that God is hot with anger.

And you wonder, why on earth?

And it says something like this.

The Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things.

Achan, the son of Kami, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took some of them.

So the Lord's anger burned against Israel.

And that's like, whoa, where did that come from?

God's anger burns.

He's furious with his people.

It's really surprising.

And at this stage in the story, even Joshua doesn't know anything's wrong.

Now, God had warned them in chapter 6 and Joshua had warned them in chapter 6 about how to treat the spoils of war from Jericho.

You're not to keep them.

Everything, people, animals, precious metals, everything is to be devoted to the Lord.

That means living things killed and burned.

And all the precious stuff in terms of metal and jewels and stuff into the treasury, the Lord's treasury.

And I said last week, Jericho was God's judgment on the Amorite inhabitants of the land.

And it was also his victory on behalf of his people.

And what you get is this picture of to the victor go the spoils, winner take all.

And in this case, in this victory, all glory to God who won this victory.

So he gets the lot, everything.

And then you hit this Joshua 7, 1, and it's like this enormous hiccup, but worse than a hiccup.

And it's also an explanation because before we read the whole of this chapter, we're being told in verse 1 what the problem is.

One man, Achan, acted unfaithfully with regard to the devoted things.

One man does something wrong.

God is angry with the whole nation.

Achan's sin is secret, it's hidden, but it impacts the entire community.

So he set the ground.

Verse 1 tells the story behind what is about to be seen as we go through chapter 7.

So moving into verse 2, they've won their first victory.

They're now ready for the second.

They suss out the city of Ai.

They take a force of 3,000 men, quite a few less than before.

And they are routed by the men of Ai who kill 36 Israelites.

And 36 families lose their men, and they are in mourning that night.

And Joshua and the leaders are devastated.

And Joshua is flat on his face before God.

He's grieved, and he says, why did you allow this to happen to us?

They'll surround us.

They'll wipe out our name.

And if they wipe out our name, what's going to happen to yours?

He's perplexed.

He's confused.

He trusts God, but he can't see or understand what God is doing,

and he's really fearful of what's going to happen.

And now they take this enormous confidence as a nation.

They know what God has been doing for them,

and now they take this enormous hit.

And they really don't know where they stand with God.

And in this moment, it is like relationship with God

is just too hot to handle.

Who are you, God, that you would do this to us?

Humanly speaking, it seems unfair.

It's like keeping the whole class in,

waiting for someone to own up when money got pinched

from the teacher's handbag.

Only one person offends,

but a whole lot of people are affected by the offence.

Something similar happens in Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

The early church has been growing by thousands

since the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.

Acts 4 finishes with the wonderful description of believers

being of one heart and mind and sharing their possessions

and quite extraordinary acts of giving.

So Barnabas, who will be heard a lot of later,

but Barnabas, named by the apostles as the son of encouragement,

sells a field and brings the proceeds in to bless the whole community

and they're providing for one another's basic needs.

This is a wonderful new experience of being the people of God.

And then one verse later,

you come to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

They fake their Christianity.

They fake their generosity.

And God strikes them dead.

And it says,

Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

In some ways, the consequence for the church,

for all of God's people,

was quite healthy.

Because even though they hadn't done anything wrong,

they did receive,

they did experience a terrible reminder that God is God.

He doesn't play favourites.

He calls the shots.

We don't.

And the sin of one couple

had an impact on the entire community.

Joshua was on his face before God.

And God answers Joshua pretty abruptly.

Stand up.

What are you doing down on your face?

Israel sinned.

They violated my covenant,

which I commanded them to keep.

They've taken some of the devoted things.

They've stolen.

They've lied.

They've put them with their own possessions.

That's why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies.

They turn their back and run

because they've been made liable to destruction.

Oh.

But have some sympathy for Joshua

because this is the first time he's even told by God

that something's wrong and what it is.

God brings what is hidden into the light

so that it can be dealt with.

There's sin in the camp.

He uses the plural to say

the whole nation is being held accountable

for what has happened.

They have sinned.

They have taken devoted things.

They have stolen.

They have lied.

Can you imagine being back in school

and somebody pinches stuff

and we've got the thing in front of the teacher

and she's trying to find out who's stolen from a handbag

and the principal comes in

and he says the whole class has stolen,

the whole class has lied,

the whole class has taken some of the stuff

from the teacher's handbag.

You'd be...

But the effect of all this is

that they have been made liable to destruction

and they are only as strong as their weakest link

and their weakest link is Achan

and he has brought repercussions for the whole body

and so there is crisis for the whole nation.

Now let me tell you,

when I read some of the commentaries

about this passage in preparation,

they do all sorts of contrary things.

One of the things they say is,

oh well this time Joshua didn't pray to God properly

with the leaders,

they're a bit too self-consistent,

they only took out 3,000 men,

they should have taken a lot more,

they didn't seek his...

So the commentator would be saying to me tonight

that I should be preaching a message to you

about being more reliant on God

and relying on his empowering

and have made sure I prayed enough before I did it.

I don't think that's what it's about.

And one of the other commentators very helpfully said,

but you could actually look at this another way

and say something huge has gone on

amongst the people of God

and by his grace only 36 people died.

He could have been a lot more severe on the nation.

So take your pick

and I'd say choose neither.

But God doesn't just explain the problem,

he tells Joshua the solution.

And the solution is terrible.

Sin needs to be removed from among them

and the offender must be destroyed.

God meant what he said in chapter 6

when he said keep away, verse 18,

keep away from the devoted things

so that you will not bring about your own destruction

by taking any of them.

And that's what happens the next day.

The whole nation presents themselves before God.

We're not told how the selection occurs.

Did they draw a lot?

Who knows?

But Judah's chosen from the tribes,

the Zerahites from the clans,

the Zimri from the families.

They're narrowing it down

and finally Achan from the men of Zimri.

And Joshua just looks him in the eye and says,

fess up, give glory to God,

tell the truth and he does.

Full confession.

Verse 20,

it's true, I've sinned against the Lord,

the God of Israel.

This is what I've done.

When I saw in the plunder

a beautiful robe from Babylonia,

200 shekels of silver,

a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels,

I coveted them.

I coveted them and I took them.

And they are hidden in the ground inside my tent

with the silver underneath.

Those 36 men who died last night

died because of me.

I coveted them.

I took these things.

And Joshua sends people to check it out.

And then they take him

and they take his family

and they take his animals

and they stone them to death

and they burn their corpses in the dust.

And Joshua doesn't argue with God.

He takes him at his word.

He does what he commands.

It's shocking.

It's particularly hard for us,

I think,

because Achan does a good thing

when he's confronted.

He confesses.

He owns his behaviour.

And then he dies.

And there's no national soul searching

over applying the death penalty.

They do what God tells them to do.

And it must have struck fear

into the hearts of everyone in Israel.

God is to be honoured.

He is the Lord God Almighty

and when he says something,

he means it.

And clearly that may raise

all sorts of moral issues for us,

like how is it fair to kill Achan's family

for what his dad, their dad, did?

And I come to a passage like this

and in the end,

I don't think I can answer a question like that,

even though I've raised it,

except that everything that happens here

happens at the absolute command

of the Lord.

And this is his word

and these are his orders.

But the consequences

are wonderfully dramatic.

Verse 26,

very last verse,

the Lord turned from his fierce anger.

The Lord turned from his fierce anger.

The chapter began with God burning with anger

and it finishes with him

turning from that same anger.

Relationship is restored

and peace is re-established.

And I think if I stop my message here,

we would be left with a picture

of a holy God

who will not tolerate

one single offence

against his words and commands.

Achan and his family died for his sin.

The severity of God

would leave us in a relationship

of absolute fear.

We would spend our lives living in fear.

We would,

it's almost like we would be waiting

for God to pounce

and blot me out

with every single failure and offence.

I could not feel secure

in this world

and in this life.

And we would end up

in a relationship

where we fear,

of fear,

where we link,

we're always linking

our behaviour

to our performance,

to our acceptance of God

and we can never,

ever,

ever,

ever be good enough for him.

But he's made a better way.

He's made a better way.

This is a story

about the deserved anger

of God being satisfied

and turned away.

Atonement is made

for this offence

against God.

God was angry.

He was ready to be divorced

from his people.

He had one foot out the door,

bags packed,

and his people

responded to his word

and Achan died for his sin

and God turned from his anger.

The divorce was off,

relationship was restored

and his anger

was atoned for.

Friends,

God is rightly offended

by sin.

He takes it personally.

We ignore him,

we run our own lives,

we make our own decisions,

we behave as though

he doesn't exist.

Don't think that doesn't matter

to him,

it does.

We place ourselves

under his justifiable anger,

we put ourselves

in a very precarious predicament.

We don't think it,

but in God's economy,

we deserve death.

From God's point of view,

that's our default condition

for our rebellion

against him.

And yet some of us,

and me included,

are just as greedy

as Achan.

We'll put a bit aside

for a rainy day,

we'll stumble.

He stumbled on some cool loot

that fell off the back

of a truck

and thought nobody

had noticed,

easy money.

There wasn't a living soul

left in Jericho

who needed it anymore.

He didn't think

that he would be seen

and yet God knew

his offence

was against God

and not against

the people of Jericho.

And Achan,

gave his life

for his offence.

And God's anger

wasn't satisfied

until the offence

had been paid for.

Our offences

are against God.

Something needs

to happen

to turn his deserved

anger and attention

away from us.

Romans 3

speaks about our sin

and Jesus

when it says

God presented him

as a sacrifice

of atonement

through faith

in his blood.

And he did this

to demonstrate

his justice

because in his forbearance

he had left

the sins committed

beforehand unpunished.

And he did it

to demonstrate

his justice

at the present time

so as to be just

and the one

who justifies

those who have

faith in Jesus.

God presented

Jesus as an atonement

through faith

in his blood.

When you come

to the person

of Jesus Christ

you find that

God takes

personal action

to turn his

deserved anger

from us.

God has acted

to turn away

his anger.

We couldn't do it

but God did.

And this is huge

and it means

I can stand here

tonight

and I can say it

to me

but I can say it

to you

that if your

heart tonight

accuses you

of anything

or if there's

another person

who holds

an offence

against you

or perhaps

there's things

in your life

that really

only God

knows about

I want you

to hear

that God

has acted

in Christ

to forgive

them

and he is

able to

in Christ

to turn

away

from any

anger

he might have

towards you

because of them.

Achan didn't

do anything

much worse

than things

that we do

all the time

and then he did

he confessed

his sin

when he was

confronted

by God

and he died

he had to

face the music

and pay the

penalty

for his own

sin

and his life

in a way

became the

answer to

his own

sin

he was

the atonement

that his

sin

required

his death

turned

God

away

from his

burning

anger

and I

think it's

fantastic

that I can

stand here

tonight

and I can

tell you

it's something

that's lived

out in my

own life

sometimes

when I

go into

a hole

and I've

gone into

behaviours

that I

deeply

regret

or I

don't

want to

be part

of my

life

and I

want to

be at

peace

with God

again

I do

not get

back

into

relationship

with him

by beating

myself

up

even though

I sometimes

do beat

myself up

I cannot

self-atone

but we

come before

a holy

God and

we confess

our sins

because he

has already

made it

safe for us

to do

that

our confession

doesn't

save us

Christ himself

has stood

in our

place

and died

for our

sins

to make

us

safe

he saves

us

and so

God

himself

takes

the most

drastic

action

to make

it safe

for us

to come

near him

he makes

atonement

for his

own anger

he acts

to turn

his deserved

anger away

and do you

know why

it's really

simple

it's because

he loves

us

and you

see that

in 1

1 John 2 · chapter mention

John

chapter 2

he is the

atoning

sacrifice

for our

sins

and not

only for

ours

but also

for the

sins

of the

whole

world

and in

1

1 John 4 · chapter mention

John

chapter 4

Lord

this is

love

not that

we love

God

but that

he loved

us

and sent

his son

as an

atoning

sacrifice

for our

sins

what an

extraordinary

God

who loves

us

who allows

us to

live

who has

turned

his deserved

anger

his fury

he has

taken it

upon himself

and he has

turned it

away from

us

I've

said all

day

when you

go from

here

to

night

I hope

that you

go with a

really big

smile on

your face

and a

really big

smile on

your heart

because of

how great

Christ's love

for us

is

and I

also hope

that you

go from

here knowing

it's a

very healthy

thing

to fear

and to

respect

Christ

for who

he really

is

Amen