The Relationship of the Accursed

The Relationship Between the Accursed

11/10/21

Why is it that humans do not work at the relationships that really mean something to them, and embrace those that can do not right?  This is a question that many of us consider almost every day yet tend to fall into the bad example column when times become rough.  It is no secret that the entire Bible gives us clue after clue of how to properly address and live in good relationships with others, but at the same time seek out worldly relationships and leave God to His own Way.  When this occurs, we cannot help but fall prey to our enemy's tricks because we have forsaken the One that can provide us with the wisdom of how relationships work, and during these failed times we forget that relationships do not have to stay on the human aspect of life either.  Our actions were given to us through God's gift of choice and it is our responsibility to know about these relationships and how our choices can affect not only our individual lives but others around us too.

Being raised in a Christian home, God was a continual topic of discussion a good portion of the day.  I did not see this as a bad thing but one of information, that my parents wanted me to learn about so I could share Him with others. From way back when I can remember many conversations concerning this matter, none of which were repetitious but only building blocks from the foundation of those first lessons.  One of the more interesting topics of conversation was about food and how I should never take food for granted because one day I may not have any.  Some would see this as a threat not to eat your veggies or cook way too much and then throw it away and not keep it for later.  I have to admit for a while I did not see this as an issue but as my life took its turns later I understood what it meant not to be wasteful and to appreciate food and the qualities it gives to our bodies.

Living in this day and age one would not readily believe that there would ever be an opportunity to have a relationship with food and how suppliers can take what is pure and true and perverse it into a shining idol of greed or even place curses upon it so that the spirit realm is manifested when ingested.  Does this seem a bit far-fetched?  To most folks, it would but we must take into consideration that there are parts of the world that are more spiritual than our western societies are, and being spiritual does not always mean being on the correct side of the spiritual either.  I say this to tell you of a story that was told to us while on a trip to Africa.  One major way Voodoo and Satanic churches placed spells on the unsuspecting people were to place these curses and spells on food and give them as gifts to the selected people.

The reason I tell you this story is that in order for this type of ceremony and casting to occur is that one party does not need to understand what has occurred in order to accomplish the desired spiritual effect.  However, if any and all parties have been involved in an area where such teachings or observations include such tactics their lives must have been exposed to certain spiritual laws that govern our surroundings.  On this trip to Africa of mine, all of us were told not to accept food from the local people due to the fact that it could have such spells and curses upon the items.  Do you know how difficult it is to not accept things from those who look you in the eye and you know that they have nothing?  There is a relationship with the things we accept into our lives, whether it is food, drink, or other items of substance and it is this spiritual law that God wants to share with us today, a Kingdom article about obedience and why God says yes to certain things and no to others.

Some of you know that I live in western Colorado in a small town and that there are other small towns around me that I have interactions with every day.  But do I really know what transpires in each of these towns or do I just receive a small bit of information about the what-doings concerning these towns?  What about the specific things that go on in individual households, or meeting halls, or even churches?  There is no way possible that I could understand such settings unless I was directly in constant close contact with each individual setting in the towns; an impossible task to complete.  It assessment includes those people you know and those who you have no clue about therefore increasing the odds that you do not know what they do good or bad.  But God has the ability to know everything and to see what each person does or thinks about doing and it is this detail that He shows us in our two passages today:

Joshua 7:11-13

"Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it in even among their own stuff.  Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.  Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you."

Joshua 6:16-18

"And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.  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 ye, 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."

We must realize that the city of Jericho was a formidable city with a great number of people inside its gates.  Jericho was an enemy to Israel, God knew this and so did the leaders of Israel.  God had everything planned out and had placed His instructions into the heart of Joshua.  However, the plan for the attack was totally unorthodox and probably confused many people in Israel, not to mention everyone who watch the plan unfold with circle after circling of the city for a specific amount of days; no conventional weapons were used at all during these marches.  All went according to God's timing and plan with a complete victory for Israel even Rahab was saved just as God had planned.  So, we can safely say that with Jericho's walls down Israel was still in the Will and Plan of God and that their relationship with God and Jericho changed afterward.

We know that Jericho was not a city of God and that they had many idols and statues present within the walls and the houses.  We know that God knew exact details about such items and people and that there was a specific reason that nothing was to be spared from the city.  The people of Israel did not know every detail but it was not theirs to know either, only that they were supposed to leave everything accursed alone.  Also, there were a few things God said to be taken to His stores in Israel, that was all.  This means that some of the personal items had previously been held in high esteem for some reason by the inhabitants of Jericho, a relationship had been formed on some level between the people and those items.  This first passage is one of trusting God and through this trust obeying what He had commanded and for the most part, this was followed.

But we know God to be a complete God, a 100% God at all times, which means He sees all actions from people and that He cannot change His Word for any reason.  Let us take a moment and think about what would have transpired if Joshua did not have the relationship with God as he did.  This relationship with the accursed would have eventually grown and would infiltrate the very life vessels of Israel, including Joshua and his tent.  Joshua did not take his actions lightly but it is evident that Achan did and had no real concern for God, Israel, or his family for he hid those items under his tent, how brazen can a human be?  The answer to this question lies in the fact that Achan had established a relationship with those items thus opening himself and his family up to the idols or any other graven images that those articles were used for.  Or, it simply could have been that God did not want those items going to the Israelites anyway.  Whatever the case may be, God did not want His Words to be disobeyed and He made it clear what to do and what not to do.

An age-old adage states that you are what you eat, well the same is true when it comes to what you accumulate as well and if these items are not in good standing with God, those possessions shall infiltrate every inch of your inner being and so shall your associates be subject as well.  In a day and age where relationships are superficial and thrown away as wrapping paper, we fail to recognize what it means to have a deep commitment to anything or anyone.  It is easy for Christians to say that those who do not know God cannot know what they are doing when a subject such as this is presented, God asks us, and whose fault is that?  Remember, Achan was a member of Israel and had been around for quite some time, and witnessed many miracles previously which means in modern terms he would be a church member.

Look at our churches today, and one should be able to see these types of hidden relationships within the congregations.  There are so many double standards and straight-up hypocrisy amongst those who call themselves Christians that our actions have made the entire Church sick and accursed.  The abuses we have allowed to infiltrate our hearts turn God's stomach simply because we have been warned over and over not to allow any type of sin to dwell in our lives and to never allow sin to enter into our tents.  In many ways, God has been specific in His instructions for the Church but just as in Joshua 6, there have been many areas where He has not, just to say do not do it.  God also makes it clear in Joshua 6 that Israel will become accursed if they disobey His command, and they did.  We have become the exact same as Israel was, our nation and the Church have become run-down institutions that cannot even function enough to honestly pay bills much less fulfill our mission and calling from God.

We run with the world and do our best to catch up with the wickedness it gives off.  Ignorantly, what we are really doing is turning from God and subsequently treating Him as our enemy; a complete failure of a blessed and complete nation that was created for His purposes and no one else's.  In Joshua 7, God has a leader with whom He can talk and can instruct what to do.  Sadly, this nation and Church are more concerned with their personal feelings and denial of the Truth that we have no option for eternal correction, nor do we even want this correction; we are fine like we are according to many people.  We have become comfortable enough with our treasures and monuments that our hope and trust lie within these items.  We have failed to realize just how far away from our Establisher we have gone from, and it is this action of ours that Achan did way back in Ancient Israeli times.

Achan and his family were found out and even a confession from him about what he did could not save him from the punishment he deserved.  His relationship with the disobedient heart against God then took from God and then tried to hide his actions believing God would let it slide.  Achan did not come forward when the army of Israel fled from the battlefield, he stayed silent.  This is a great example of how humans believe relationships should be administered, by leaving God out and doing our own thing, an eternally bad choice.  We will deal in deeper detail concerning Achan and his demise in a later article, but let me just say that his life was over never more to be considered, yet it was remembered for a grave purpose.  Still, we cannot ever forget that yes, one person's actions can affect an entire nation and this result does not have to originate from a "big or popular" person or leader.  This example also reminds us of how important each person is to God and how He wishes us to have obedience in our hearts at all times.  Relationship with the world brings accursed issues into our lives and we should have no part in this temptation.

There should never be any doubt that a single person of God believes that their small or insignificant disobedient act would warrant an act by God against an entire nation or the Church.  Remember, God is a complete God and that means that everything He creates or establishes needs to work on that complete basis.  We have read this many times over in Scripture and for some reason, we continue to think we can pull a fast one on God.  This setting also promotes disobedience and leniency from the tribes, for there should have been no way Achan should have believed he could get away with this, even after God gave him time to repent before his punishment was doled out.  Church, what are we doing to ensure that our lives do not have any trace elements of Achan?  This may seem like a minute matter but disobedience and the following thereafter is a grave resource for eternal separation from God.  A little bit extra is not worthy of eternity away from God.

Oh Church, we have fallen down and have allowed wickedness to infiltrate our hearts.  We have had the best of God for such a long time and still, we have willingly sinned against Him.  Our time is about to change and it shall be a turning point for God's Glory that we have never witnessed before.  God's Glory did show up in ancient Israel at this time and we must never forget that God's Glory cannot mix with the world, and most importantly, if we do not correct our sins before God voluntarily, then He has no other option but to do it Himself.  God has never lost, but His people will as long as sin reigns in their hearts; it does not matter which timeline one wishes to inspect.

DLB