The tribe, the family, the household, the men were taken, and upon Achan the lot fell. How his heart must have trembled, how he must have watched, as the lots were drawn forth, knowing in himself how matters would end and that there was no escape! There was no more use denying his guilt, and when Joshua desired him to make confession he at once says, "Thus and thus have I done." (Ver. 21.) Mark the progress of the sin,-first seeing, then coveting, then taking, then hiding away. Had he used David's prayer, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity" (Psa. cxix. 37), and in God's strength resisted temptation, that sin had never been committed, that trouble had never been brought upon Israel. But he forgot God's word in his great desire to obtain these things. As he gazed, the remembrance of God grew fainter in his mind, the longing increased. Oh, let us ever beware of giving way to the first thought of evil, the first desire of any forbidden thing, of the thought indulged, the longing unrepressed; for resistance every moment becomes more difficult. It is only by keeping God's words in our hearts, that we shall keep out sinful longings. If our faith were stronger, our perception of spiritual things would be more keen, the things of the world less attractive to us. " Our Lord says, "Take heed and beware of covetousness" (Luke xii. 15), and He would not have spoken so strongly had He not known the need of such a caution. There is in every heart a longing for satisfaction; if we seek for it in this world, and "in the abundance of the things which we possess," we shall be miserably disappointed. But we are to "covet earnestly the best gifts" (1 Cor. xii. 31), and in obtaining these, we shall lose the wish for even the best that this world can give. IV. THE ACCURSED THING MUST BE UTTERLY DESTROYED. The confession made, nothing now remained but the complete destruction commanded by God Himself. Messengers were sent to Achan's tent, all was found as he had described, the things were brought forth and laid before the Lord. Achan himself and all his coveted goods were burnt. What good had they done him? what profit had they been? (Ver. 25.) And no one ever yet has found that obtaining a thing forbidden by God has brought them any good. It would be an interesting study for you to find out instances in Scripture of this. Read the story of Gehazi (2 Kings v. 20-27), and say was there a blessing or a curse resting on him after he had obtained from Naaman the things he coveted? Look at the story of Judas Iscariot, and mark his terrible end. (Mat. xxvi. 14-16, Acts i. 18.) So will it ever be with those who go against God's Word: either they will pierce themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim. vi. 10), or they will, like Achan, be altogether destroyed. Let me apply this part of Achan's history to ourselves. Is there with us any accursed thing? It may not be that we are coveting and wrongly getting money; there are other things that may be greater snares to us, known only to ourselves, yet very real. Achan's things were hidden in his tent, under the earth: no human eye could detect anything wrong there; to all outward observation it was like the other tents. But "the eye of the Lord is in every place," and His eye rested there, and marked what was beneath the surface. And there may be in our hearts, seen by none, suspected by none, a hidden evil, which like the worm at the root of the plant is consuming the life, preventing growth, and keeping us back in every way. It is the Holy Spirit alone that can enable us to detect the hidden evil: His light shining into our hearts will show us all that is there. Let us often pray, "Search me, O God." (Psa. cxxix. 23.) Do not let us be satisfied that the outward appearance, the walk before men, is all right. The Lord looketh on the heart, and it is there that we must examine ourselves; for He tells us, “it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." (Jer. xvii. 9.) If on examination we find that we have grown careless and worldly, and that there is a something of the world which we have been loving too well, the course to be pursued is plain,-give it up, though it be with anguish of spirit, lay it before the Lord, and let it be utterly destroyed. The burning indicates the complete and entire destruction: not a particle must remain. The Babylonish garment was useful as well as beautiful: the silver and gold might have been put into the Lord's treasury; but no, all must be destroyed, for it was accursed. And so there may be beautiful things to be given up, and apparently profitable things to be denied, if they vour of the world, and in any way keep us back from entirely living to Christ. St. Paul counted "all things loss that he might win Christ." (Phil. iii. 8.) And if our hearts are likewise set upon the same object, we shall not say, "How much can I keep and yet have Christ?" but we shall be only thinking how much we can give up, that we may have nothing but Christ. Achan's story is a sad one. may profit by the study of it! God grant that we iniquities before us, and our secret sins in the light of His countenance," it is that we may come to “the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness," and that we may there wash and be clean. IX. THE GIBEONITES. JOSHUA IX. THE fame of Joshua had spread far and wide, and struck terror into all the neighbouring countries. Many nations gathered themselves together to fight with Israel. (Ver. 2.) But the inhabitants of Gibeon pursued a different course. They went to work craftily, and taking advantage of Joshua's ignorance of their close vicinity, they deceived him, pretending that they lived a very long way off and came from a far country; and pleading the distance between them, they asked Joshua to make a league with them. This Joshua did, without asking counsel of the Lord. (Ver. 14, 15.) Three days afterwards he found out the deception that had been practised upon him, and that these very people who had pretended to live at so great a distance were none others than close and powerful neighbours. But the word of Joshua had been given, and it |