Sin Stinks

We all know what it’s like to open your fridge only to have your olfactory glands assaulted by a rotten stench.  It happened to me this week.  I did a quick check of the shelves, and threw out some old turkey, and a container of cooked turnips.  The malodorous cloud engulfed me again this morning, lingering in my, otherwise, Christmas-scented home. My husband asked me what had died, and I was beginning to wonder the same thing.  I decided to open the produce drawer, and there it was, a Walmart sack full of grey, slimy, once green, peppers.  Without giving a thought to the 21 degree morning, and the frost-slick back steps, I took the offensive mess out to the burn barrel for annihilation!  On the way back to the house, I wondered how many unsuspecting visitors, to my home, had been subject to this horrendous, nasal attack? We get used to certain smells after a while, (although I never cozied up to the pigs we raised), sort of like sin in our lives. There is a story in the book of Joshua, chapter 7, that sheds light on this stinky kind of situation.  During the battle of Jericho, God warned the Israelites not to take any of the valuable items they found in the city.  Things were going well for the nation of Israel, until the Lord called Joshua and his army to spy on the city of Ai.  It should have been an easy fight, only a few men were inhabiting Ai, so 3000 Israelites were sent.  Expecting a victory, you can imagine their surprise when those “few” men ran them off, killing 36 soldiers.  “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.” verse 6.  Confusion, mourning and doubt filled the people’s hearts and minds.  They complained to God, blaming him for their failure…if it wasn’t His fault, whose was it?  God, in angry reply, tells them to check for “sin in the camp”.  Remember God’s warning about not looting in Jericho? Many had been tempted, but one guy, Achan, had given into his desire. No one had been aware of his sin, and Achan hid it well, until that fateful day.  As the tents were searched, Achan confessed. “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” verse 20.  In the grand scheme of things, his “sin” didn’t seem all that bad, but his act had broken the covenant/promise relationship with God.  It’s so easy to convince ourselves that those little sins, we try to hide, won’t matter to anyone, and God won’t take notice.  Read the rest of Achan’s sad story, it’s not pretty, but it stands as a warning for all of us believers, that hidden sin will not be tolerated.  Just like those smelly peppers, sin stinks, and is a major deterrent in receiving God’s blessing and power.  Sniff them out, and rid yourself of them, before any lasting damage is done, then breathe easy!