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Achan’s Sin and Punishment (4)

And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel (Josh. 7:15).

I have already answered the reader’s two questions: What was the accursed thing which Achan stole? And was not Achan’s punishment for his sin too severe? However, there are also various practical issues involved in this whole question which have relevance for us today, and which ought also be discussed here.

The first matter is corporate responsibility. This biblical doctrine touches on our lives in many ways, for corporate responsibility brings the guilt of others, within the corporate unity in which we live, to us. The sin of a father is visited upon the children, as the second commandment points out, because of corporate responsibility. The sins of a nation bring guilt on all the citizens of that nation, and, indeed, as we all know, we all suffer for these sins even if we are opposed to them. The sin of divorce and remarriage destroys the home, and the whole nation suffers because the home is the foundation of the State. The murder of unborn infants is a sin of the nation that brings grief and judgment to all of us because we are all guilty.

The same is true of the church. We may be in a church which approves of false doctrine while we condone our presence in that church by pushing the responsibility on others and by assuring ourselves that we do not agree with such false doctrine. But, if we remain in that church, our responsibility for the sin is visited upon us when our children and our children’s children depart yet further from the gospel.

The only way in which we can escape from the corporate guilt of the "corporations" to which we belong is through heartfelt confession of sin. That involves several elements. We must, as Daniel did (Dan. 9), confess these sins before God as sins of our own. But this is not enough. We must make our objections known and protest against the evil of the corporation to which we belong and the guilt of which we bear. We must protest against abortion, divorce and remarriage, and immorality within the State. We must protest against drunkenness when it is a sin of our parents. We must protest against false doctrine when it appears in the church or denomination of which we are a member. We must, in other words, do what we can to eradicate the sin. In this way, God forgives us for these corporate sins, as He does for our guilt and sin in Adam. Then the atoning power of the cross is our possession, and we are free from those sins.

The second practical point has to do with the fact that the word translated "accursed" in Joshua 6 and 7 also means "devoted." I explained what that meant for Israel. I want now to emphasize several points especially relevant to us in our present day.

1) When Adam fell, the guilt and punishment of his sin came not only on the whole human race, but also on the creation: "cursed is the ground for they sake" (Gen. 3:17). The entire human race and the entire creation is accursed and doomed to destruction—as Jericho was. The sin of the human race, as it affects the creation, is the sin of using God’s world to establish a kingdom of Satan and to seek one’s own pleasure rather than the glory of God.

2) God has redeemed "the world" through Christ. That world is the whole number of the elect who believe in Christ and the whole cosmos as well (John 3:16; Col. 1:20). At the end of the age, God will make a new heaven and a new earth and bring His people to the glory of eternal life.

3) God’s people are now in this present creation—along with the wicked. This creation is doomed to destruction (II Pet. 3:10-13). Only when it is destroyed will God form a new heaven and a new earth, but out of the ashes of this present creation. He will do this because the creation is His, and He will not abandon it. Our God has a great purpose with it, which He accomplishes in Christ.

4) The creation which is now accursed is used by the wicked for their own purposes. Thus, they are accursed along with the creation—as Achan was with the goods of Jericho. They will, therefore, perish with this present world.

5) But the elect are redeemed along with the redemption of the new creation, both of which are redeemed through the work of Christ.

6) Thus the things of this creation are not, in themselves, evil. This is Paul’s teaching: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer" (I Tim. 4:4-5). The creation itself is God’s work; whether it is cursed or sanctified is determined by the use to which it is put by man. The wicked use it to curse God and are themselves cursed with the curse upon the creation.

7) How then are the people of God to use this world? Paul gives us direction. It is to be received by God’s people with thanksgiving and sanctified by God’s Word and prayer (I Tim. 4:4-5). That means that it must be devoted to God in our use of it in all our life. "Sanctified" means "consecrated," and "consecrated" means "devoted." To receive it with thanksgiving is to acknowledge God as the Giver and use it to His glory. How do we use it to His glory? We do that when we do not seek the things of the world for their own sakes and for our carnal pleasure, but we seek God’s glory with these earthly things when we use them all to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

We have much in the story of Achan to ponder, and we have much reason to humble ourselves before God seeking His forgiveness.

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Additional Info

  • Volume: 9
  • Issue: 15
Hanko, Herman

Prof. Herman Hanko (Wife: Wilma)

Ordained: October 1955

Pastorates: Hope, Walker, MI - 1955; Doon, IA - 1963; Professor to the Protestant Reformed Seminary - 1965

Emeritus: 2001

Website: www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Prof._Herman_Hanko

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