Purify Your Mind Series (Part 3) by Joe KirbyNäide

Hiding Sin under the Tent

And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” (Joshua 7:20–21)

Are you a public success but a private failure? At the time I’m writing this, we’ve seen some big names exposed in the Christian world—preachers and evangelists who had perfect “sin systems.” They had mastered the art of covering their sin and had gotten away with deception and immorality for so long that they thought they were untouchable. Sin had lulled them into a false sense of security and taken their raft out into deep waters; just when they thought the water was totally calm, sin ripped off the garment that was covering them to expose their darkness to the rest of the world.

In the Bible, we read of Achan—the man who stole from God. After Jericho was conquered by the Israelites, they were commanded to dedicate all of the plunder to the Lord. But Achan saw some silver, some gold, and a fine Babylonian garment, stole them all, and buried them under his tent. Just picture that in your mind’s eye: a big bump in the middle of Achan’s tent where his secret was hidden. Achan thought that he had tricked everyone, but the eyes of the Lord, which are on every place, saw Achan’s sin, and brought judgment on Achan and the people of Israel for his private misconduct. Achan was stoned to death. His secret was brought out into the light (see Josh. 7).

When God looks at the tent of your life, is there a bump of some treasure that you’re hiding from the rest of the world? If the answer is yes, what is the sin you’re hiding from God? Are you willing to dig it up and destroy it before it destroys you?