“…Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” [1 Cor 5:6]The importance of every member of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in keeping themselves unspotted from the world, the flesh and the devil is tragically illustrated in the following extracts taken from the Old Testament:
Joshua 7: 1 - 6
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 of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
2. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which [is] beside Bethaven, 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.
3. 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 labour thither; for they [are but] few.
4. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them [from] before the gate [even] unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
This account comes just after Joshua and the children of Israel, through the power of God have miraculously overthrown the city of Jericho.
Before the people overthrew the city, Joshua had expressly commanded them not to take from the accursed city of Jericho anything that was not expressly permitted by God for them to take, for fear of bringing a curse and troubles onto the whole nation [Joshua 6:18].
But what do we read happens in the next chapter, quoted above? The disobedience of a single individual named Achan, who does that which Joshua has expressly forbidden, brings the threatened curse onto the nation and removes the help and blessing of God; evidenced by the fact that they are defeated in their endeavour to overthrow the men of Ai [Joshua 7:5].
But why did God punish the whole nation for one man’s sin? Can I suggest the following possible reasons:
1. The other members of the nation concealed and consented to Achan’s actions.
2. The other members of the nation failed to rebuke and deal appropriately with Achan for his actions.
3. To demonstrate to the nation God’s hatred of sin.
4. To compel the members of the nation to be more cautious in the ordering of their own behaviour, and to be more diligent in watching over the behaviour of their neighbours.
There are many lessons that we as individuals, and as members and leaders of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ should learn from this account today:
1. The actions and life of the individual Christian has a significant effect on the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in the individual’s local body of believers, and in the universal church as a whole. Disobedience, whether seen by others or not may bring chastisement from God onto the whole church and many blessings may be forfeited; remember, you may be able to hide your sin from others, but you cannot hide it from God.
2. Church leaders need to ensure that church discipline is exercised where necessary according to the principles layed out in Scripture.
3. Church leaders, and ordinary members need to be watchful over the flock to identify evidence of possible disobedience and to deal with it in the appropriate ways.
Remember the church is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ and must be kept pure and free from sin, and this involves effort from all members of the body.
