Advanced Level, Block 5—Frustrations in the Land
Week 43
The Defeat at Ai
Point to Emphasize: We surely should not hide when we sin and break the commandments.
Reference Reading: Joshua 7:1-26, footnotes 21, 31, 41, 111
Memory Verse: …For there is nothing covered which will not be revealed, and hidden which will not be made known. (Matthew 10:26b)
Story Sample
Today we will see the outcome or the consequences of hiding a sin and breaking the commandments.
Joshua had led the children of Israel into the good land and they had begun to possess that land. They easily took the city of Jericho because they were attentive to Jehovah’s instructions. Actually, they did not engage in fighting to gain that city. Jehovah delivered Jericho into their hands. The next city they came to was Ai. Joshua sent men to spy out that land. They came back saying that only two or three thousand men were needed to go to take that city.
So only about 3,000 men went up there, but they all fled before the men of Ai. They were totally defeated. What had they done wrong? [Let the children answer. Hopefully, someone would say, “They did not ask Jehovah before they fought.”] Joshua was so caught up with the success at Jericho that he did not go to Jehovah about what they should do to gain Ai. He had acted upon the spies’ estimation of the situation, not seeking Jehovah’s directions. After this, Joshua learned the lesson to always go before Jehovah to allow Him to speak what they should do.
So, after the defeat at Ai, when Joshua fell on his face in Jehovah’s presence, he was told that there was also another reason for their defeat. Jehovah was not happy with the children of Israel because one among them had sinned, broken a commandment, and hidden it. Jehovah told Joshua that they had lost the battle because someone broke God’s commandment and hid it from Him. What a foolish thought! Can anything be hidden from God? No!
It turned out that Achan, one of the warriors, had stolen a beautiful Babylonian mantle (garment), which should have been destroyed, along with silver and gold. He had coveted it, taken it, and had hidden the items in his tent under the earth. Of course, others had not known, but Jehovah knew, and He would not tolerate this hidden sin. Achan and all his household were judged that day.
Now we need to talk about hiding. It is so interesting that in the Bible we are told numerous times that after someone knowingly did something really wrong, he tried to hide it, to cover it up, to keep it out of sight. Do you remember what Adam and Eve did once they sinned and went against what God had spoken to them? They hid. When God came to find them in the garden, they hid from Him. And everyone since that time would sin and try to hide it. It almost seems to be our natural response.
For example, you go into the kitchen and you get some goodies there. Then, you sneak back to your room. Why do you sneak back to your room? Why don’t you sit at the dining table and eat them? Well, the “why” is obvious. You don’t want to be caught. You want to hide what you did. How about when you sneak a peek at someone else’s paper so you can see their answer. You sneak and you hide the sin of stealing an answer. We must admit that we are all like this. But our memory verse tells us that all the things we have hidden, all those times we sneaked something so no one would know, will be made known. Whether we admit it today or next week or a year from now, everything hidden will be uncovered. Do you think that God does not know you have stolen that answer from someone else? You don’t think your teacher doesn’t know either? And when the goodies start disappearing, you don’t think your parents suspect you? Of course, they do! So, since God already knows and our parents and many others around us know, we should just admit it. Admit it to yourself, admit it to God, and admit it to your parents. And then let them know that you are sorry. None of us want hundreds of things hidden now only to be revealed later in an unpleasant way. If we wait, we will be so ashamed that we did not simply admit it when we should have.
After hearing this story, I hope that we will receive this word for ourselves and talk to our parents about anything we have done and hidden. Talking to our parents can be the best help in clearing matters up.