THE WAGES OF SIN (JOSHUA 7:16-26)

REFLECTION The theme for our reflection is ” The wages of sin. A wage “a fixed regular payment earned for work or services, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis. Sin is disobedience to God’s will. The wages of sin means the ramifications or consequences of disobeying. We shall reflect on the fact the…

Jean-Paul Agidi

May 19, 2025

3–4 minutes

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is ” The wages of sin. A wage “a fixed regular payment earned for work or services, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis. Sin is disobedience to God’s will. The wages of sin means the ramifications or consequences of disobeying. We shall reflect on the fact the the wage of sin is destruction.

Beloved in the Lord, the wage of sin is destruction. After the Israelites defeated Jericho were commanded by Joshua, “... keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.” (Joshua 6:18-19) Achan disobeyed the commandment of the Lord and this led to the defeat of the army of Israel by one of the Canaan’s towns called Ai. “So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.” ( Joshua 7:4-5)

“The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (Joshua 7:10-12) We see the ramifications of sin on others. In other words, through one person’s disobedience, others lost their lives. We need to reflect on our actions and inactions and consider their impact on others before we act.

Regardless of the law or commandment, given “Achan replied (Joshua), “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” ..,Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. (Joshua 7:20-21,25-26) Once his disobedience led to the death of many innocent soldiers, it was justified that he suffer the same punishment. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Let us obey the Lord and live rather than live a life of disobedience and unrepentance and lose our lives.

In summary, we have reflected the fact that the wages of sin is destruction. We admonished to obey the Lord and live. Shalom.

PRAYER
May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to obey the Lord and have eternal life. Amen.