Short-Sighted Sin Causes Us to be Short-Changed

So Achan answered Joshua and said, “In truth, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done: when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and they saw the stolen objects hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. And they took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and spread them out before the Lord. Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the [royal] robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor (Disaster). Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring you disaster this day.” Then all Israel stoned them [to death] with stones; afterward they burned their bodies in the fire. Joshua 7:20-25 (Amplified Bible, AMP)

This is the account of Achan who kept some of the spoil from the battle of Jericho, which the Lord had forbidden them to keep. The riches of Jericho were to be for the Lord as an offering. It was the first fruits of the Promised Land- the first city they defeated. Jericho was to be their tithe to God. Instead of honoring the Lord with the first fruits, Achan took some for himself and hid it. And the results of that sin were catastrophic. It caused 36 men to be killed in the battle of Ai, plus Achan and his entire family perished.

Achan’s sin was short-sighted. He failed to consider what God had said He was going to do for them in the land of Canaan. God had promised to give them homes, food, everything they would ever want or need. But Achan only considered what he saw at the time- the gold, the silver, and the garment. God had promised to make their wildest dreams come true- if they would simply honor Him as their Source by dedicating all the riches of Jericho to Him. Achan apparently did not believe God was going to care for them or he wouldn’t have felt the need to stash away some of the loot.

Achan traded his life and the lives of his family for a few shiny trinkets. We do the same thing when we fail to honor God with our tithe. Some people see the bills piling up and they don’t believe they can ever make ends meet if they give 10 percent of their gross income to God. In reality, that 10 percent is what causes all our needs to be met- more than the 90 percent we get to keep. The things we can pay for with that 10 percent are pathetic compared to what God can do for us if we honor Him with the tithe.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings [you have withheld]. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this whole nation! Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it. Then I will rebuke the devourer (insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest],” says the Lord of hosts. “All nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight,” says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:8-12 (Amplified Bible AMP)

This is a harsh passage for those who do not tithe. It says such people are cursed. God owns everything- the whole world and everything in it. He blesses the fruit of our hands, and all we are required to do is give Him a tenth of our increase to demonstrate that we know He is responsible for every good thing we have. Achan did not obey the Lord in this, and he was cursed- as well as his household. If we do not tithe, it affects our families. The entire household suffers because of one person’s greed and selfishness.

If we refuse to tithe, we are being short-sighted. When we give that 10 percent to the Lord, He takes it and causes every one of our needs to be met abundantly. If all we see is the here and now- the bills we have to pay or the things we want to buy with the tithe- we are losing out on the great big blessing that God has in store for those who honor Him and trust Him to provide all their needs. Keep God’s promises in mind and refuse to be short-sighted like Achan. When we trust God to provide for us, He never lets us down.