Achan's Secret

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It’s my secret, Achan said to himself. No one needs to know. And he carefully scraped a hole in the floor of his tent and hid them there - two hundred shekels of silver, a wedge of gold, and a fine imported garment.
You see, Achan had worn the same clothes for forty years. Maybe, if he had been a child when the journey began, he had exchanged clothes and sandals with other growing children until he was a man, but nothing was newer than forty years old.
Are you thinking, Poor, tattered old clothes?
No, they weren’t tattered or worn out! Achan did not stop to think about how wonderful his clothes really were. God had kept them fresh, without fading or need for mending, through all those years of dusty desert travel. There was nothing like those clothes in the whole world, neither then nor now. So why steal and hide a supposedly better garment when what God had provided was still just like new? And more importantly, God had said “No” about taking anything of the riches of Jericho.
Achan was part of the army which had won a great victory at Jericho. The next city, which was Ai, was just a small city and would be an easy victory. No problem.
But there WAS a problem! God knew about that stuff hidden in Achan’s tent, and God let Israel’s army turn back defeated from the little city of Ai. Joshua, their leader, took this problem at once to the God of Israel. God’s answer was, “Israel [has] sinned”!
We aren’t told how long it was between the hiding and the discovery. Perhaps in our lives it may be a long time, but the discovery of hidden sin is sure to come. Achan had an opportunity to confess his hidden sin before God, but he didn’t confess until he was pointed out as the guilty one.
Do you know that you have an opportunity right now to confess to God that you are a sinner? There is forgiveness for you, because it was for peoples’ sins that Jesus suffered and died on Calvary. He knows everything you have done. Tell Him now that you are a sinner and need your sins forgiven. Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. God has promised that you will be eternally saved from the punishment for your sins. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)).
Achan confessed when he was faced with his guilt and told them where to find the things in his tent. Punishment was total. He, his family and all his belongings were destroyed, and a great heap of stones was piled over the whole guilty group.
God tells you and me that “every tongue [shall] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:1111And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:11)). If you wait until you stand before God as your judge to make this confession, then your punishment will be total. But if you will confess from your heart today that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you will find that Jesus bore your total punishment on the cross, and forgiveness for you is free. When your life here on earth is over, you will be welcomed to your home in heaven where Jesus is right now.