God Uses Sin For His Purpose
On the heels of the terrible loss and horrible episode of Achan's sin, Israel is told once more by the Lord not to be afraid and to move forward.
Joshua 8:1–2 (ESV) And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
Notice that God instructs Joshua to lay an ambush behind the city. The Lord is revealing He is a master strategist here. He knows that Ai just defeated the Israelites quite handily and so now the plan is to use their overconfidence from that event to take them out once and for all.
How incredible to think of this - God can use even our failures and sin to accomplish His purposes in our lives.
Now, this is not an admonition to sin. Achan's sin cost him his life and the nation victory pressing pause on their advancement into the Promised Land. Sin will always cost you something. Joshua's army was down a fighting man, the nation was set back and even Joshua's own confidence shaken. It could be that Joshua needed God to intervene strategically here because that confidence jolt God gave him in Joshua 1 was now running on empty.
Nevertheless, God would take what the enemy meant for evil, what sin meant for evil, and use it for His good. This is the theme of the Bible. God uses the evil meant for Joseph and uses it for the good of Joseph, his brothers and the world through grain supply. God uses the bear and lion that came against David's flocks to train him for confidently battling Goliath. God uses the exile of Israel to raise up a new generation ready to fear the Lord and commit to things their fathers forsook. God uses the animosity, hatred, injustice, and illegality of Jesus trial and subsequent execution to accomplish our redemption.
It is this very connection Hosea makes centuries later when he refers to the valley of Achor where they executed Achan:
Hosea 2:15 (ESV) And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Though the valley of Achor saw the death of one man for his sin, God would take that same type of moment and turn it into an opportunity for a sinful nation to be saved through the death of an innocent man - Jesus Christ. Jesus would proclaim Himself the "door". The one through whom all who enter find life.
If you ever feel that God cannot take the mess you've made and turn it around for something good, you haven't fully acquainted yourself with the story of our redemption. It is kind of His specialty.
Joshua 8:1–2 (ESV) And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
Notice that God instructs Joshua to lay an ambush behind the city. The Lord is revealing He is a master strategist here. He knows that Ai just defeated the Israelites quite handily and so now the plan is to use their overconfidence from that event to take them out once and for all.
How incredible to think of this - God can use even our failures and sin to accomplish His purposes in our lives.
Now, this is not an admonition to sin. Achan's sin cost him his life and the nation victory pressing pause on their advancement into the Promised Land. Sin will always cost you something. Joshua's army was down a fighting man, the nation was set back and even Joshua's own confidence shaken. It could be that Joshua needed God to intervene strategically here because that confidence jolt God gave him in Joshua 1 was now running on empty.
Nevertheless, God would take what the enemy meant for evil, what sin meant for evil, and use it for His good. This is the theme of the Bible. God uses the evil meant for Joseph and uses it for the good of Joseph, his brothers and the world through grain supply. God uses the bear and lion that came against David's flocks to train him for confidently battling Goliath. God uses the exile of Israel to raise up a new generation ready to fear the Lord and commit to things their fathers forsook. God uses the animosity, hatred, injustice, and illegality of Jesus trial and subsequent execution to accomplish our redemption.
It is this very connection Hosea makes centuries later when he refers to the valley of Achor where they executed Achan:
Hosea 2:15 (ESV) And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Though the valley of Achor saw the death of one man for his sin, God would take that same type of moment and turn it into an opportunity for a sinful nation to be saved through the death of an innocent man - Jesus Christ. Jesus would proclaim Himself the "door". The one through whom all who enter find life.
If you ever feel that God cannot take the mess you've made and turn it around for something good, you haven't fully acquainted yourself with the story of our redemption. It is kind of His specialty.
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