If you would turn to Joshua chapter
7. Joshua chapter 7. Michael read
from Hosea chapter 2 where God speaks of the nation Israel.
He said, I will give her the valley of Achor for a door of
hope. The valley of Achor is rich in
spiritual as well as historical significance for the nation and
for the church of the living God. Though only referenced three
or four times in all of Scripture, a couple of times in Joshua and
once in Hosea and once in Isaiah, it was here in this valley that
a just God and a Savior demonstrated His holiness and justice in punishing
sin and His mercy and grace in justifying the ungodly, His elect. It is thought that this valley
that was named by God, Achor. This valley was Israel's stepping-off
place for the Hebrew nation upon entering the Promised Land into
Exodus from Egypt. If you remember, they wandered
40 years in the wilderness, and God brought the nation to this
place where they would launch their campaign to possess the
land of Canaan, the Promised Land that God had promised them.
And if you remember, Moses is now dead, Joshua has been appointed
leader of Israel, and they stand ready to possess the land that
God promised. In this valley, they planned
and executed the defeat of Jericho. And you remember the story of
Jericho in chapter 6 of Joshua, how they marched around the city
once a day for six days. And then on the seventh day,
they marched around the city seven times, broke the light,
and they all shouted, and the wall of the city fell down and
the city of Jericho was taken. Look at Joshua chapter 6 and
verse 17. Joshua speaking to the Israelites
here before they possessed or go in to capture Jericho and
he says, And it came to pass in the seventh time, when the
priest blew with the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, Shout,
for the Lord hath given you this city, and the city shall be accursed,
even it and all that are therein, to the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot
shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because
she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise, in
other words, at all costs, keep yourselves from the accursed
thing, lest you make yourselves accursed when you take of the
accursed thing and make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble
it. But all the silver and gold and
vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord. They
shall come into the treasury of the Lord." God's instruction
was that every man, woman, child, animal and everything else was
to be destroyed and the city burned. Only the gold and silver
and those vessels of iron and brass were to be salvaged for
the treasure of the Lord. Look at verse 24 of chapter 6. So they went in and took Jericho,
and the Scripture says that they burnt the city with fire, verse
24, and all that was therein, only the silver and the gold
and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasure
of the Lord, house of the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot
alive, and her father's household, and all that she had. And she
dwelleth in Israel even unto this day, because she hid the
messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho." So the capture of Jericho was a
successful endeavor for the nation of Israel. And then they planned
to capture the next city, which was Ai. Look at chapter 7 and
verse 2. So Joshua sent men from Jericho
to Ai, which is beside Bethlehem, on the east side of Bethel, and
spake unto them, saying, Go up, and view the country. And the
men went up, and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua,
and said unto him, Let not all the people go up, but let about
two or three thousand men go up, and smite Ai, and make not
all the people to labor thither, for they are but few. So they
went up further of the people, about 3,000 men. So, after the
success of Jericho, Joshua sends men to spy out the city of Ai. And they come back with this
report. We can take it, no trouble. We don't need all of Israel to
go just send 2 or 3,000 men. But look at the latter part of
verse 1. and they fled before the men
of Ai. Something went terribly wrong
in their pursuit against Ai. The army of Ai routs the army
of Israel. Why? Look at chapter 7 and verse
1. But the children of Israel committed
a trespass in the accursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carme,
the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah,
took of the accursed thing, and the anger of the Lord was kindled
against the children of Israel." Something went terribly wrong.
Achan did what God commanded through Joshua not to do. He
took of the spoils of the city for himself. And that word achor
in the Hebrew is the word for trouble, which means that from this trouble caused by aching
sin, God would show to Israel his mercy and his grace. In Hosea
chapter 2 that Michael read for us, he said, I will give her
the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And I've titled this
message, A Door of Hope. This valley was for Israel an
opening into, that's what a door is, it's an opening, an entrance
into the hope of this. And this hope is not some uncertain
chance or wish for success, but a certain expectation of security
and peace for Israel in the land that God would give them. The
scripture says that faith is the substance of things hoped
for and the evidence of things not seen. This hope is the sum
of everything God has purposed for His elect and will give to
His elect. And Israel's possession of this
promised land has a spiritual parallel to the sinner's possession
of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what
I want us to look at this morning, a door of hope. Through this
door of hope, we learn three things. in this scripture that
we're going to be looking at. First of all, sin against God
is universal. All have sinned. We'll see this.
Secondly, the justice of God is inevitable. Sin must be punished
and will be. God is a just God. He must punish
sin. And thirdly, the love of God
is invincible. Nothing can stop the love of
God from accomplishing all that He purposed for us. So let's
look at these three things. First of all, sin against God
is universal. Look back at chapter 7 and verse
1. But the children of Israel committed
a trespass in the accursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi,
the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,
took what Joshua had told him not to do. The word, the name
Achan also means trouble. Just like the word Achor, the
word Achan. So this man was given from his
birth the name trouble. In the conquest of Jericho, he
took for himself of the spoils of the city against Joshua's
command, that we read a minute ago, and hid them in his tent.
In other words, he transgressed the commandment of God and brought
condemnation upon the whole nation. Achan is the one that committed
the sin, but the whole nation suffered because of this man's
sin. Look at chapter 7 and verse 1
again. It says, The children of Israel
committed a sin. Achan is the one that did the
committing of the sin, but God held the whole nation accountable.
Look at the latter part of chapter 7, verse 1. The anger of the
Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And look
at verse 11 of chapter 7. Israel hath sinned, and they
have also transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them. For they
have taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled
also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore
the children of Israel were suffered." You know, this is similar to
the fall of mankind. Aching by his one sin brought
the wrath of God upon the whole nation of Israel. That's what
happened when Adam fell in the garden. God created Adam perfect
and upright and put him in the garden and blessed him and gave
him certain parameters in which to live. And in Genesis chapter
2 the scripture says that the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of
it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die. The maintenance of Adam's state
and standing before God and that of his prosperity was subject
to his obedience to God. But we know that he disobeyed
God. This is not a new story to us. And like Achan's sin affected
Israel, Adam's sin affected all mankind. His sin brought guilt,
defilement, condemnation, and the deservedness of eternal death
upon Adam and all he represented. The scripture says that for as
by one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, Romans
5.19. So from a temporal state of sinless
perfection and uprightness based on his obedience to God, Adam's
disobedience brought alienation from God. By his one act of disobedience,
we, together with Adam, were alienated from God. And he describes
that for us in Romans. Turn with me to Romans chapter
3 for just a moment. Let's look at this state. Adam's
sin plunged us all into Romans chapter 3. He describes us all by nature
here in Romans chapter 3 beginning in verse 10. He says, For as
it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. Now he
doesn't say there's none moral. There are a lot of moral so-called
good people in the world. But he said nobody by nature
is righteous. There's none righteous. None
have the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness God requires
to stand holy and unblameable before Him. In verse 11, he says,
there is none that understand it. Not only do we not have a
righteousness by nature, we don't even understand what a righteousness
is. We are totally ignorant of it, Romans 10, 1-4. There is
none that do it good, and because we have no righteousness, we
do nothing good. Everything we do is evil. By
man's standard, it might look good. By God's standard, it is
evil. And he says in verse 12, they
are altogether become unprofitable. Everything we do is unprofitable. There is nothing we can do to
recommend ourselves to God based on anything in our character
and conduct. Verse 13, their throat is an
open sepulcher. We may preach Jesus, and we did. It was poison coming from our
mouth. He said the poison of Asp is
under their lips, whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
Instead of blessing God, we cursed God and didn't even know it.
And then he said in verse 15, their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery, verse 16, are in the way and
the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God
before thy eyes. That's all of us by nature. And
this is a description of spiritual death and the state of all by
nature. As Adam's sin brought death to mankind, so Achan's
sin brought death in Israel. Well, what was so grievous about
Achan's action? After all, what was a garment
and a few small pieces of gold and a little silver? What can
it hurt for one to take of the sword of war? Well, apart from
his disobedience to God's revealed will by way of command, he showed
contempt for the honor of God's redemptive glory and salvation.
He took that which God had consecrated to the tabernacle. Look at chapter
6 and verse 18 again of Joshua. Joshua chapter 6 and verse 18
and 19. And he brought his house, old
man Joshua sought out Achan. Well, let's read verse 16. So
Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribe,
that the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought the family of
Judah, and he took the family of the Zerites, and he brought
the family of the Zerites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he brought his household
man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the
son of Zerah, the tribe of Benjamin, was taken. I'm sorry, I'm reading
from chapter 7. It is chapter 6 and verse 18.
God speaking here says, And ye, if ye any wide yourselves from
the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye
take the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse
and trouble. But all the silver and gold and
vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord. they
shall come into the treasury of the Lord." What Achan did,
he profaned the name of God. He took what God had consecrated
to the tabernacle worship and used it for his own personal
gratification. If you remember, the tabernacle
was pictured in shadows and types, the person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ in some aspect. And to take anything away from
Christ is to rob him of his redemptive glory. And that's what Achan
did when he took what God had appointed and set aside for the
temple worship and used it for his own good. And he robbed God
of his redemptive glory and cast shame and reproach upon the God
of salvation. In other words, Achan sought
to share in that which belongs only to Christ. And God declares
in Isaiah 42, I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory
will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven image. That's
what Akin was saying when he took of the spoils in the battle
of Jericho. I deserve this for my part in
the victory of Jericho. The conquest of Canaan is not
enough for me. I want more for my part. This
is what he was saying. Such thoughts give the center
room to boast in his contribution toward salvation. Remember, Israel
didn't do anything in the conquest of Jericho. God did it all. They
just marched around the city. But that's what the lie of universal
redemption is such an abomination to a holy
God. Universal redemption teaches
it denies the finished work of Christ alone to secure the salvation
of God's elect. It says of Christ that he is
an imposter. It says of his work that he didn't
get the job done in saving his people. Worse still, it elevates
man to a position above Christ. It says of man that he is able
to do what Christ couldn't finish himself, that is, to save himself.
It says of God that he will accept what man's hands accomplish and
will not accept what Christ accomplished. as all salvation. In other words,
it denies the justice of God in salvation, and that's idolatry.
That's attributing to God things which don't belong to Him and
failing to attribute to God those things that do belong to Him.
So what's the big deal? We're taking a little bit of
the spoil. God's glory. That's what's the
big deal. Achan took that which was holy
unto the Lord and basically said, I deserve this reward. in my
part of the conquest of Jericho. The real sin of Achan is idolatry,
and that is the universal sin we are all guilty of, is idolatry. He had no reverential respect
for the honor of God's redemptive glory and salvation. Look at
verse 21 of chapter 7, of Joshua chapter 7. Look at verse 21. This is Achan speaking. When
I saw among the foes a goodly Babylonian garment, and two hundred
shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels' weight.
Then I coveted, I took, I beheld, and I hid them in the earth in
the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. I saw, I coveted,
I took, and I hid. Aching coveted that which belonged
to God alone. And the Scripture tells us in
Colossians chapter three, verse five, covetousness is idolatry. What is idolatry? It's to think
that anything but the imputed righteousness of Christ could
recommend me to God as all my salvation. That is to trample
underfoot the blood of Christ and to count the blood of the
covenant wherewith he was sanctified as an unholy thing. Hebrews 10,
29. It is to say like Achan, I deserve
what only belongs to God. And such is the sin of all of
us by nature. This was Lucifer's He said, I
will ascend to the most high. I will be like God. Turn to James
chapter 1. James addresses this issue of
covetousness. In James chapter 1 and verse
14, he says this, James 1, 14, But every man is tempted when
he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when sin hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin. And when it is finished,
it bringeth forth death. Through this door of hope, God
teaches us that all sin is universal. We are sinners first by imputation. We have Adam's sin imputed to
us. Secondly, we are sinners by nature. And thirdly, we are sinners by
practice. The scripture says, for all have sinned. They come
short of the glory of God. All of us are aching by nature. We're just like aching. And all
have failed to glorify God in salvation by seeking to share
that which is Christ alone. We're all guilty of that sin.
This is a universal sin. We saw, we coveted, we took,
and we hid. The second truth learned from
this door of hope is that not only is sin universal, but the
justice of God is inevitable. James says this, for when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death. The penalty for sin is death. It's inevitable. The soul that
sinneth, it shall die. Death, either to the sinner or
to the substitute of the offended's choosing. Not the offenders,
Tuesday, but the offended. Nobody learned that the wages
of sin is death better than Achan. Look at Joshua 7, verse 24. The justice of God is inevitable.
Verse 24, chapter 7, And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took
Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garments,
and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and
his oxen, and his asses, and his and his tent, and all that
he had. And they brought them unto the
Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou
troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this
day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them
with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised
over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned
from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of the place
was called the Valley of Achor, even unto this day. Akin coveted
that which glorified God. He was not satisfied with the
promised land as a free gift, but he coveted to be a part of
the actual taking of it. He sought to share in God's glory
in that conquest, thereby dishonoring God, and he paid a heavy price
for it. Isn't that the way it is? Sinners by nature. are not satisfied with all salvation
conditioned on Christ alone and his righteousness imputed. They
will not have salvation to be all a free gift of God. They
insist on sharing Christ's glory and salvation by making some
condition to that salvation. We are all gifted at it. Unless
we repent of this universal sin, we will pay the heavy price that
they can pay. The God we know by nature is
not a just God and a Savior. He's unjust. He does not judge
by strict law and inflexible justice. The God we know by nature
grades on the curve, as the old saying goes. He hates the Mansons
and the Hitlers of this world, but he doesn't
hate the Mother Teresas and the Joan of Arch. In other words,
we don't know a just God and a Savior until the Spirit of
God revealed to us and we're taught of God. and see Him as
a just God and Savior. But when we see Him aright under
the preaching of the gospel and are convinced of our sin, then
we see that God cannot dispense His love at the expense of His
justice. We see that if God spared not His own Son, who knew no
sin, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Sometimes
God is long-suffering. in his judgment of sin, but he
is never negligent in the judgment of that sin. In the case of Achan,
his justice was swift and it was severe. The scripture says
in verse 25 that they stoned him. Why did they stone him? Why did they choose this method
of stoning? Because his sin took place on
the Sabbath. And that was the punishment for
breaking the Sabbath, was stoning. He was stoned with stones because
stoning was the punishment for breaking the Sabbath and the
conquest of Jericho took place on the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath
was a day of rest, Achan's sin was failure to rest in God's
provision and God was just to destroy him before the congregation
of Israel. Well, where is God's rest for
spiritual Israel? Is not Christ our Sabbath? That's
what the scripture says. He is our rest. Achan rejected
God's rest and gloried in his own works. The great heap of
stones they raised over him to this day is a testimony from
God to all who reject the rest of God shall likewise perish.
It is a testimony that God's justice is inevitable and that
those who make the same state as Achan made, unless they repent,
shall also likewise perish. So God has given the valley of
Achor as a door of hope. because sin against God is universal
and the justice of God is inevitable, but because the love of God is
invincible. Look at verse 26 of chapter 7
again. So the Lord turned from the fierceness
of his anger. No greater words can comfort
the soul of a weary sinner who labors and are heavy laden than
those of God in Jeremiah 31 who said, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving cords
have I drawn thee." God turned from the fierceness of his anger.
Well, did God change? No, God never changes. He simply
acted out the next phase of his purpose and plan for Israel.
Look at Romans chapter 11 for just a moment. Romans chapter
11 and verse 26. Did God change? The scripture
here says again, Romans 11, verse 26, And so all Israel shall be
saved. As it is written, They shall
come out of thine to deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the
gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but as touching the
election, they are beloved for the Father's sake. For the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times
past have not believed God, yet now have obtained mercy through
their unbelief. Even so have these also now not
believed that through your mercy they might obtain mercy. For
God has concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have
mercy on all. Look back at verse 29. For the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance. What is he talking about here?
What are the gifts of God? Grace. Repentance. the Holy Spirit. What is the
calling? It's the factual call of the
gospel, which results in regeneration and conversion upon all the heirs
of grace. And he says it's without repentance.
That simply means that God's promises are immutable, unalterable,
and unchangeable. God can never revoke what he
has purposed, planned, and promised for his people. What happened
at Jericho was well within his purpose, and you know why it's
caught him off guard. It was and is His purpose in
everything to glorify Himself. Even the death of the wicked,
the scripture says, shall praise Him. And though God takes no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, His holiness, His justice,
His faithfulness is vindicated in these. So God's love is invincible. He didn't change. He always loves
His people, and He'll have them. So how was God able to turn from
the fierceness of His anger? one reason, by the death of Achan,
by satisfaction to the justice of God. By the death of one,
the fierceness of God's wrath was turned. By the death of Achan,
law and justice was executed. Achan received the reward of
his works. He received death. But God is
merciful. He is not only a just God, he
is a Savior. He has given Israel its value
of anchor as a door of hope. Through this door, God opened
a way for sinners. Where is that door? More important,
who is that door? Well, Jesus said of himself in
John chapter 10, I am the door. I am the door of the sheep. By
me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. The writer of Romans
said it this way for us. By one man's disobedience, the
many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one, shall
the many be made righteous. By Joshua's obedience, to execute
judgment, justice upon Achan, God spared the nation of Israel. It took the death of one to save
the many. Well, by the obedience of Christ,
by His satisfaction to law and justice, God spared spiritual
Israel. He is that straight gate that
Christ commands all to enter. Well, how could the death of
this Holy One vindicate God in the forgiveness of sins? How
could a just God who declared the souls that sinned shall surely
die ever remain just in justifying godly sinners such as we? How
could a holy and just God punish the only perfect and holy one
who ever lived and remain just? We know it had to be by strict
law and inflexible justice. The law had to be satisfied,
and the law demands death where the least sin is found in the
most moral of men. But righteousness demands life,
and to whomsoever possesses it, such is the mystery of godliness.
God charged the sins of his elect, ungodly, unworthy, undeserving
of the least of his favor, to the only worthy, deserving one,
and imputed the righteousness he established by his obedience,
suffering, and death to all the objects of his love. God the
Father made God the Son, who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. God made Christ
the door of hope for those in the Valley of Achor. Through
this door, Christ said, all who enter in shall be saved, and
shall go in and out, and find Turn with me to Revelation 3,
one more scripture. Revelation chapter 3. You remember the story of the
ark when God commanded Noah to build the ark. He gave him the
instructions on how to build it and told him to stick precisely
by it. And there was one door to the
ark and one window above that door. And the scripture said
that God commanded Noah to enter the ark. And when he went in,
God shut the door where he couldn't The only way of entry. Noah entered
in, and God shut him in. No one could enter, and none
could leave. Look at Revelation chapter 3
and verse 7. And to the angel of the church
in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy,
he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth,
and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth, I know thy
word. Behold, I have set before thee
an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
For God so loved the world, he has set forth an open door, and
no man can shut it. And he shuts that door, and no
man can open it. You remember the story of the
ten virgins in Matthew 25? They were waiting for the bridegroom,
and as they waited, they all slept. And five were ready when
the bridegroom came, and five were not. Five went into the
marriage supper. They were shut in by invincible
love, eternally secure. Five were not ready. They were
shut out by inflexible justice, eternally damned. It was impossible
for them to enter. And what an awful state of judgment,
especially when God has given the Valley of Acre as the door
of hope. God has opened a door. No man
can close it. He will close this door and no
man can open it. But for now, his call is this.
Look at verse 20 of Revelation 3. Behold, I stand at the door
and knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come into him and will sit with him and
he with me. Contrary to what most believe
of this verse of scripture, it's not an invitation from God to
invite Christ into your heart. It is a declaration from God
that salvation is in His Son alone. God says, I stand at Christ
and knock. I stand at the door and knock.
I knock to let sinners know that I am the door, the only entrance
I have opened for a sinner to approach unto me. If any sinner
hears my voice, and what does that voice say? Look at verse
18 of chapter 3. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried by the fire. What does Isaiah the prophet
say? Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come and buy without money, without
price. I count for thee to buy me gold
tried by the fire, that thou mayest be rich. And white raiment,
and speaking of righteousness there, to clothe, to hide the
shame of my nakedness, and to anoint thine eyes with eyesalve,
that thou mayest see. In other words, if we approach
him this way, through this door, He shall go in and out and find
pasture. That's the promise of God. So
Christ is the door of hope to spiritual Israel because sin
against God is universal, the justice of God is inevitable,
and God's love is invincible. In Hosea chapter 2, God says
this, For I will give her, Israel, spiritual Israel, her vineyards
from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. Well,
the question is this. on which side of the door are
you? Am I shut in or will this door of hope shut me out? He
says here in verse 19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Look to Christ.