Text: Joshua 7:1-12
Memory Verse: “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them…” (Joshua 7:11).
In Joshua 7, though it was Achan that sinned, God said Israel had sinned and also transgressed.” That is the power of one man’s sin. The scripture also records that through one man, Adam, sin and death entered the world and affected all people (Romans 5:12). Miriam sinned and the whole nation of Israel was delayed for seven days in their journey to the Promised Land (Numbers 12:1-15). It is amazing how one man’s sin can have a great effect on others. The children of Israel who defeated Jericho, a great city and were to go and conquer a little city, Ai, could not stand before them because of the sin of one man, Achan.
When King David conducted a census of the children of Israel, the whole nation suffered for it. Also, when Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, sinned, the curse of leprosy followed not only him, but his generations after him. The sin of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and Eli’s failure to decisively deal with their infractions led to God not only cutting off his house from the priesthood but also to the cutting short of the lives of his male descendants (1 Samuel 2:27-33).
Beware of one sinful individual or joint sinful actions as the repercussion may not affect only you, but others around you and even generations coming behind you. Be considerate of others and let the fear of the consequences of
your sin on them restrain you from sinning.
Prayer Points:
1. Father, deliver me from the power of sin.
2. Holy Spirit, please help me to guard my actions and ways.