Joshua 7:1

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.

As I read Joshua 7 today I am struck by the depth of my own depravity. Actually, if I am completely honest with myself, I was first struck by the severity of the punishment for stealing here. But as always, God revealed to me me a bit about He and me as I waited to hear Him explain this to me. He seems to be reminding me again how sinful I am and how Great He is.

This chapter reminds me of a conversation I had with my daughter recently. She had found a verse that was reminding us to fear God, and she asked me why we needed to fear Him. I will admit, she stumped me and I offered a feeble attempt to point out his majesty. But the reason we ought to fear God is because we deserve the punishment that was handed out to Achan here. We do far worse than he did here, and yet we go on as if nothing has happened. We sin DAILY, and for many of us, we sin HOURLY and yet God allows us to live and thrive in spite of our sin. Why do we get grace that Achan did not? He is called Christ.

Because of the cross of Jesus Christ and his great sacrifice, we can now continue to have fellowship with God even though we sin and envoke his wrath quite frequently. Because when God looks at us he sees Christ we are able to live.

Should we fear God? Absolutely! Should we seek to love and thank and glorify him regularly for our very lives? Absolutely!

Father God, forgive me. Forgive me for my unbelief, forgive me for my sin, forgive me for my lack of commitment, forgive me for not serving you more, loving you more, seeking you more. Help me Lord I pray. Change my heart, turn me fully toward you and help me to love you completely with my whole heart always. Thank you for the cross Lord.