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OLD TESTAMENT ARTICLE
DEFEAT AT AI
"The spoils of Jericho belong to me," said God. Not surprising that God would command such since this would be the first city they conquered on this side of Jordan and God demanded the first fruits of everything. Unfortunately, not everyone obeyed the command. Achan saw and took a beautiful robe, silver and gold. Israel attempts to conquer Ai and is soundly defeated. Joshua complains to the Lord and the Lord responds by stating he needs to get up and find the sinner, for until he does, Israel will lose every battle fought. Every tribe, family, household, and man passed before the Lord until Achan was chosen. Achan confesses he has sinned and upon verifying it they take Achan, his family and all his possessions and stone then burn them in the Valley of Achor.
For Joshua, he learned God meant what He said and knows when His laws are disobeyed. This would ever be a reminder to Joshua that no matter how small the sin, if it's in the camp of Israel God would not be with them and they would fail to conquer the land. It should also have impressed Joshua regarding God's ability to see all. These were things hidden underneath Achan's tent. Imagine the number of tents there must have been and the bountiful spoil available from Jericho. Who would know if one man among all Israel had taken three measly items from the spoils of such a large city?. God would!
For Achan, he learned his sin affected others. We are not told if Achan' s family knew anything of God' s command or Achan's disobedience thereto. But it didn't matter for they lost their lives as a result of Achan's covetousness; and what of those 36 Israelites who were killed in the initial battle with Ai. They had followed God's command regarding the ban on Jericho but they paid the price for Achan 's disobedience with their lives.
Surely we see the need to be equally impressed with these lessons. God demands
obedience; He knows when such is not rendered and your sin may affect many innocent
people,
NEW TESTAMENT ARTICLE
"OUT OF THE HEART"
"It's what's in the heart that counts." Truer words have never been spoken. However, for the Pharisees their emphasis was one of outer rather than inner significance. While it was true the Old Law laid down certain rules regarding defiling oneself, the Pharisees had taken this to the extreme and made this the sole emphasis. So long as they were physically clean, they could refuse care to their own parents (Mark 7:10-13), devour widows' houses, (Matthew 23:14) and a host of other atrocities, (Matthew 23:4, 16, 25). While they may be keeping their traditions, Jesus says you're breaking the law, (Mark 7:9, 13).
The disciples are stunned by Jesus stating, "there is nothing outside the man which going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man." (Mark 7:15). Nothing which a man may eat makes his heart pure or defiled. Instead, Jesus states, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man." (Mark 7:20). Jesus then gives a list of items which have their beginning in the heart, (Mark 7:21-23). One's food or method of washing has no effect on these actions.
Contrary to what some believe, bad deeds don't come from good hearts. "Deep down inside he's a good person." I've always wondered just how "deep down" one must go to find it and what good is it if it's that deep? So deep that it's never seen in their actions. Here's what Jesus said about that, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:17-20) Jesus is specifically talking about identifying false teachers but the guidelines Jesus gave are for identifying bad hearts, which aren't limited to just false teachers.
The long and the short of it is that my actions say something about the condition of my
heart. What are your actions saying about your heart?