So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
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.”
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. ~Joshua 7:16-22

Here is this thing that Achan coveted, he found it beautiful and wanted it desperately. But where is it? Is this things beauty displayed up on a shelf for all to enjoy? No, it’s hidden in the dirt. Achan knew taking it was wrong and he hid it from the Israelites.

We do the same with our own sin. We find something attractive (yes, sin is attractive) and take it. Or perhaps we want to do something we know is wrong and do it anyway. And once the sin is committed what do we naturally want to do? Hide our sin.

If we can’t enjoy what we have taken or what we have done or are doing because we have to hide it, that should tell us something.

Where are the things that you once coveted so? Are they hidden in the dirt? That relationship you are forming with the married person at work, does your family know about it? The extra time you’ve been claiming on your time card, does your boss know about it? The substance you’ve been taking late at night when no one is around, do your friends know about it?

Whatever it is that you are doing, are you still trying to justify it to yourself?

God doesn’t want you hiding in the dark with your sin. He already knows about it, He just wants you to bring to Him, confess, repent, and let Him wash you clean.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a Him a liar, and His word is not in us. ~ 1 John 1:5-10

Oh, Lord, those sins that I knowingly I have been committing, I bring them into the light and confess them openly to You. Lord, please change my heart on this matter so that I no longer covet this sin. Thank You for forgiving me and being faithful to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I love You. In your name. Amen.

I hope my thoughts help you understand how this scripture can be applied to our modern lives, but don’t just take my word for it. Dive into The Bible yourself, pray, and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you.

Have a question or a thought? Please feel free to leave a comment.