This morning I am reading from the book of Joshua, and specifically the story of Achan, and the defeat of Israel at the hands of the people of Ai. The defeat was the result of disobedience to the Word of the Lord, and Achan had claimed things for himself, that were devoted to the Lord. Here are a couple fo the verses that are most critical:
Joshua 7:1, 10-12 NIV
But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things ; Achan son of Karmi, 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.
[10] The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? [11] Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. [12] That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
I think there are important points here, that we must not miss. First, those things devoted to God are His alone and we dare not try to hold onto them or own them. This also relates to praise and worship, glory and honor, His people, His word's, everything that God has specifically accomplished by His own hand. How quickly do we want to personally profit from our relationship to God, or grab onto things that are His for our own pleasure or benefit.
Our approach must be to recognize the source of all we have, everything good and give proper honor to God in all. He is the source of all provision, and Life. He should receive all the praise, adoration, worship, glory and honor, for all the awesome things we see! We are merely administrators of His grace and mercy, compassion, healing and signs and wonders. It all originates with Him, it all comes from Him.
Secondly, one person's actions within the body of believers can have impact on all the members of the body! In this case, the sin of one man caused the death of 36 of his people. Thankfully, under the new covenant of Jesus' Blood, all our sins are already paid for, and we are forgiven, as we come to Jesus. He has already born the punishment for our sins, so we do not experience the Lord's punishment in our lives, yet our sins can still affect others. There is often fruit born out of decisions we make that are not in line with what God desires.
As Paul writes in Galatians 6:7-8 NIV: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
So, as we are in relationship with others in the Body of Christ, they will be impacted by our sowing and reaping, because they are connected in relationship. When one suffers in the Body, all are affected. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV: "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
Let us be mindful of those things that belong to God, and give to Him all the is due Him, and let us be aware of our actions and how they impact those we love, or families, and those we are connected to in the Body of Christ. Let us sow into the things of God that we, and those we love, might be honored, blessed and reap eternal life.
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