[00:00:00] Welcome to the Recovery Bible. Read Joshua chapter 7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the Devoted Things. Ancient son of Carmi, 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. To now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-Avon, to the east of Bethel,
[00:00:27] and told them, Go up and spy out the region. So the men went up and spied out Ai-Avon. Three, when they returned to Joshua, they said, Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it, and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there. Four. So about three thousand went up, but they were routed by the men of Ai.
[00:00:54] Five who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate, as far as the stone quarries, and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear, and became like water. Six. Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell face down to the ground, before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same,
[00:01:22] and sprinkled dust on their heads. Seven. And Joshua said, Alas, sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. Eight. Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? Nine. The Canaanites and the other
[00:01:50] people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name? Ten. The Lord said to Joshua, Stand up. What are you doing down on your face? Eleven. 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.
[00:02:18] They have lied. They have put them with their own possessions. Twelve. 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
[00:02:41] destruction. Thirteen. Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. Fourteen. In the morning,
[00:03:05] present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan. The clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family. And the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. Fifteen. Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him.
[00:03:31] He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel. Sixteen early the next morning, Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes and Judah was chosen. Seventeen. The clans of Judah came forward and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families and Zimri was
[00:03:55] chosen. Eighteen. Joshua had his family come forward man by man and Achan son of Kami, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. Nineteen. Then Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honour him. Tell me what you have done. Do not hide it from me.
[00:04:21] Twenty. Achan replied, It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done. Twenty-one. When I saw in the plunderer beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent with the
[00:04:46] silver underneath. Twenty-two. So Joshua sent messengers and they ran to the tent and there it was, hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. Twenty-three. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord. Twenty-four. Then Joshua, together
[00:05:10] with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, to the valley of Achor. Twenty-five. Joshua said, Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today. Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Twenty-six.
[00:05:39] Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. Confronting the Cover-Up. The successor to Moses as leader of the Hebrews, Joshua was ordained by. God to complete the task of bringing the people into the Promised Land. Joshua's acceptance of God's
[00:06:07] promise and his dependence upon God's direction gave him much success. God had said that as long as Joshua and the Hebrews were strong and courageous and followed his orders, God would give them victory in battle. And so it went, until the Israelites tried to attack the city of Ai and were easily beaten back.
[00:06:29] Joshua inquired of God and discovered that one man, Achan, had hidden a few items of plunder in his tent against God's command. Like Joshua, sometimes we recognize God's promise to us, but we don't see it working in our lives. Perhaps we've been trying to hide a little something, a secret habit, a tiny attitude, and we've covered it up.
[00:06:54] We don't realize that in so doing we are planting a seed that will grow into a large and troublesome weed. Our twelve steps require us to open our hearts to the light of inspection. Our sponsors shine lights into the darkness within us, and our meetings pull back the covers and make us face the things we want to hide.
[00:07:17] Denial and avoidance are the enemies of recovery. We cannot hold on to even one tiny seed that contributed to our addiction and codependency. When Joshua dealt with Achan, the seed of defeat was uncovered, and God gave Israel the victory over Ai. Joshua followed God's orders. He made sure nothing was hidden from God.
[00:07:42] As we do the same, and follow God's word in the twelve steps, we too will see victory. Barbara Stephens