The devoted things

Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Joshua 7, 8, 9; Psalm 54

Joshua 7:1 (NIV)
1 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan 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.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Good morning!

When my toddlers were first learning to pull up and walk, there was a period of time when I felt like the only thing that consistently came out of my mouth were words like, “Don’t touch that! No, no, no! Mommy said no!” They were so very curious. If they could get their hand around it, they might be able to put into their mouth. Colorful, shiny, tempting attractive things to touch and feel and play with – oh, the joy of possession! One of the first words I heard our son Benjamin say was not Mommy or Daddy. “M – I – N – E “ was his word of the hour. He would sing it out loud with a sinister grin plastered across his little face as he reached for something the things he should not have. That little guy delighted in the challenge of acquisition. If Benjamin could grab it, then he believed it was his for the keeping.

Have you ever tried to pry something out of a child’s hand when they do not want to let it go? It is not a pretty sight. Screaming and flailing around, they throw their little temper tantrums. We see the words written all over their not-so-sweet faces: I want it, I want it, I want it! I’m not giving it back! It’s mine! I earned it! I found it! Yikes!

Isn’t it amazing how the things that we see in our children are reflected in our own hearts as children of the living God? As parents, we discern what is safe and not safe for our children. We steer them from danger, hoping they will listen to us and not suffer the consequences and pain of helping themselves to something that truly does not belong to them. And yet, we think we can take the things that truly belong to the Lord and He is not going to notice?

When Achan took the “devoted things” from the plunder of Jericho, his disobedience caused a serious separation between the people of Israel and the Lord. God said, “Don’t take it” but Achan just had to have it. He took a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels and buried them in the dirt inside his tent. It was bad enough that Achan felt he had to take something that belonged to God alone, but to bury it in his tent – what good did that do? What he thought he could steal and keep would never be hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

It has been said that mothers have eyes in the back of their head. Even when they have turned away from their children, many of them can still see what is going on behind their back. Simple intuition – knowing as soon as you turn around, your sweet little angel is going to try and pull a fast one. As children of the living God, we do the same thing with Him. When will we realize that we cannot hide our sin from Him? He has eyes that see us no matter where we are, or what we are doing. He knows the scoop, and when we choose to disobey His command, there will always be a consequence for our disobedience.

Have you been trying to take something that does not belong to you? Do you withhold your tithe from Him so that you can buy something for yourself instead? Have you been coveting the possessions of your neighbors? Have you ever taken something that you knew was not yours for the taking, but you did it anyway?

The Good News is that while we are prone to disobedience, when we confess our sin, seek His face and turn from our wicked and sinful ways, the Lord will hear our prayers from heaven, forgive us, and heal our land. As the body of Christ, we need to give the devoted things of God back to Him. Hand Him your heart this morning, along with all your regrets, your hurts, and your wrongdoing. He will hear your prayers and forgive you, if you are genuinely sorry. Are you sorry? Are you willing to turn around this morning?

When the Lord says, “Don’t do it,” we need to obey.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com

Pray for: the desire to become obedient to the Lord’s leading. Ask Him to help you. On our own steam, we will not succeed. But with God’s help and our sincere desire to follow His way, all things are possible!
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