“And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done… I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth…” (KJV, Jos. 7:19-21).
“And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee”
Father, I thank you for the opportunity to be in prayer with You. I recognize that I do not deserve such an amazing gift and privilege. I come before You humbled at the fact that You would delight in hearing me approach Your throne.
I pray that You would burden my heart for prayer. I see in Your Word that prayer was a common occurrence with many of Your followers. However, I see in my own heart a temptation to forgo prayer. I see in my own heart a temptation to believe that prayer is not needed.
Joshua was a man of prayer, and I pray that you would help me to be like Joshua. Help me to be courageous and prayerful in the midst of the challenging situations that I face.
“glory to the Lord God of Israel”
I also see that Joshua had a concern for the glory of God. I see in my own life that there are times when Your glory is on my mind. However, I also see many times in which my own glory is my chief aim in life. Please rid me of the tendency to live for myself and for my own glory. I pray that You would teach me to lay my life down as Christ did.
Your Word tells me that it will profit me none if I gain the whole world but at the same time lose my soul. I see in the life of Joshua and Achan that Joshua was more concerned over the glory of God than he was even over the life of Achan. This is a startling truth that makes me see how far I am from being who You have called me to be.
Teach me to value Your glory above all else. Teach me to see as You do and to embrace the reason as to why I was created: for Your glory.
“and make confession unto him”
Father, I recognize each day that I fall short of Your commandments. I thank You that as a Christian, I am no longer under Your law. However, this does not mean that I am incapable of committing sin or breaking Your law. Instead, it means that You do not hold my sins against me in a judicial sense. I still see the need to uphold Your law in my life. I see the great need that I have to be conformed to the image of Christ. I also see that my spirit is very willing, but my flesh grows weak.
Please forgive me for my sins this day. Restore the intimacy that I had with You when I was walking with You in obedience. You are a faithful God Who has told me that You will forgive me and cleanse me from my unrighteousness. Thank You for Your promises toward me.
“and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me”
I also see that Your Word tells me that there will be times in which I must also confess my sins “one to another.” I see that Joshua desired for Achan to come before You and confess his sin. However, Joshua also desired for Achan to confess his sin to him, as well.
I pray that You would search my heart and show me, Lord, if there is a anything within me that needs to be confessed. Purge me from sin this day, and lead me in the way of everlasting. I pray that You would clear my conscience and teach me what it means to walk with You on a deeper level.
“And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done”
I see in Achan a man who confessed his sin. Only You, Lord, can know for sure what happened to Achan after he died. It is possible that Achan turned to You in humble confession and was spared for all eternity, although at the same time it was required that he be punished here on earth.
I recognize that simply because I am spared from the wrath of God for all eternity, this does not mean that there will not be consequences for my actions. Your Word tells me that You have instituted the government as a source of justice in the land and that if I stray, I will undergo civil punishment. You have also told me that You will discipline me if I do not correct myself on my own, for I am Your child.
I pray that You would help me to be convicted over my need to confess sin as Achan was. Teach me to walk with You in greater levels of faithfulness.
“I coveted them”
I see here where Achan went wrong. The first point in which Achan went wrong is that he coveted the spoil. This means that Achan allowed sinful thoughts into his mind that eventually led him astray. I pray that You would teach me how to have a disciplined mind. Teach me to honor You internally, not simply in front of others.
Your Word tells me that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. This means that I am to be a place of worship and that I am called to honor You within, not just externally. I see that the Pharisees were condemned for their merely outward religious activities. Their hearts were far from Christ, but at the same time, they had many people fooled.
Your Word tells me that I will experience transformation in my life to the same extent that my thinking changes. Teach me to think like You think, Lord. Teach me to think thoughts according to Your Word.
“and took them”
Achan’s sin started in his mind, but it moved to his will. Achan should have fought the battle in his mind before it got to the point of his taking what he should have never taken. You told the people of Israel to devote to destruction everything in the battle. However, Achan kept for himself some of that which should have been devoted to destruction.
I pray that You would help me to see the spiritual significance of Achan’s sin. I pray that I would devote to destruction everything that is characteristic of the old self. I pray that I would never hold onto sin, but that I would mortify the deeds of the flesh.
You are a truly forgiving God Who has been very patient with me. I thank You for Your patience and Your love. Empower me this day by your Holy Spirit to walk with You and honor You in my actions.
“and, behold, they are hid in the earth…”
Father, help me to recognize the reality that I cannot hide from Your presence or flee from Your Spirit. You are a God Who is in all places at all times, Who knows all things and sees all things. Achan believed that He could hide what he had stolen in the ground, out of the sight of man. Please let me not fall into the trap that Achan fell into.
I see a great need in my heart to know You and Your character. If Achan would have known You as he ought to have known You, he would have seen the ridiculousness of hiding his sin. I pray that You would help me to walk with integrity and that I would be the same person at all times.
Thank You for helping me along the way. Please continue to guide me in the direction that I ought to go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.