A Door of Hope in the Valley of Trouble

Philosophy View of Trouble

1. Difficulty or problem

2. Public unrest or disorder

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Biblical View of Trouble

This knows also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 31-5 KJV

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When we have openly brought trouble on ourselves through our own wrong choices, it can seem like there is no way out. While some may try to hide or ignore their sin, it is far better to confess it to God and ask him to show us the door of forgiveness in our valley of trouble.

Achan’s epitaph in the Chronicles of the Jewish nation is that it brought disaster on Israel by violating the ban on taking devoted things from Jericho.

Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. 2nd Chronicles 2:7 KJV

Joshua told the Israelites that the city and everything in it must be destroyed, do not take any of the things set apart for destruction (Joshua 6:17-18). God required that his people destroyed some cities without taking any plunder for themselves. But one man disobeyed and his name was Achan. (Hebrew word for Achan is ‘akhar) The name Achan means disaster and he lived up to his name by bringing disaster on God’s people.

And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

And yet, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Joshua 6:17-18KJV

We can reference another story in the Bible (Acts 5 :1-11) Ananias and his wife Sapphira who sold a piece of property and lied about the sale and kept back part of the proceeds for themselves and gave the rest to the church, placing the money at the apostle’s feet. Their deceit and greed stand in contrast to the sincerity and generosity of the community of faith.

We are living in a world filled with unsavoury people who only wants to divide us and cause trouble. God frowns on such behaviours, He hates the stirring up of contention.

It all began with Achan’s “greed need”. There were three things he did:

He saw

He coveted

He took

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Joshua 7:21 KJV

When he saw the spoils he wanted it, he coveted to the point where he took it, even though God had explicitly forbidden it. Disobedience led to disaster. Achan tried to hide the consequences of his action, but his sins found him out. His wrongdoing affected him, his family and Israel and resulted in death in the valley of Achan, the valley of trouble.

Yet God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation, so he promised that this very place of failure could become a place of promise, that this very place of failure could become a place of rest and restoration for any from Israel who would seek him.

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath, I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Isaiah 60:10 KJV

What’s more he promised to lovingly draw his people back to his arms, like a faithful husband drawing back his unfaithful wife, I will transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope he promised Hosea.

And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. Hosea 2:21 KJV

We can be sure that whatever disobedience we’ve tried to hide will be discovered by God even before we dig the hole in our lives and try to bury it. It will only be a matter of time until our sins are found out and start affecting others. Yet when we admit and confess our hidden sin, God will then open a door of forgiveness in the middle of our valley of trouble. Then the choice is ours to walk through that gate into the new day.

CONCLUSION

All these lessons can be learned from the story of Achan. If we haven’t learned anything else, we should understand and face the fact that God will punish us when we sin against Him, It is a very profound and serious thing to sin against Almighty God. God loves the sinner the person himself, but utterly hates the sin. There is a great judgment day coming in which we will all give an account of ourselves to God. Let us repent of our sins while there is still time and opportunity. God has promised that he will forgive us when we humbly turn to Him.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 KJV

Lessons From The Sin Of Achan

• The Severity of Sin God Sanctions Capital Punishment

• Sin Cannot Be Hidden From God

• Our Sins Can Trouble Other People

• We Should Immediately Confess Our Sins

• The Church Cannot Tolerate Sin In Its Midst

• Beware Of Covetousness

MAY THE LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU!