Amazingly, right after Israel absorbed the lessons from Achan's sin and their initial defeat at Ai, the next main event in the conquest of the Promised Land was their deception by the Gibeonites. This, too, was the result of presumption on the part of Israel's leaders. Indeed, presumption is a difficult habit to break.

As we read in Joshua 9, when the Gibeonites saw what Israel had done to Ai, they decided to act craftily and deceive Israel in order to spare themselves. They sent envoys to Joshua to make a covenant with Israel. They took old wineskins...

Through Achan’s sin, Israel had learned some valuable lessons about both greed and rebellion. Sin results in defeat. Rebellion results in defeat. To take the Promised Land, or to possess our promises, we need faith, courage, wisdom, and a resolute heart to obey the Lord.

Throughout Israel’s history, we see a pattern that some of their most devastating defeats came right after some of their most spectacular victories. The history of the church is also filled with this same pattern. Why is this? The answer is in Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before...

After the incredible and miraculous victory over Jericho, Achan's sin had caused a defeat for the entire nation of Israel before the tiny little village of Ai. Without question, this shook their confidence. If any pride had entered the camp after Jericho, it was dispelled at Ai. They were again made aware of the total dependence on the Lord for victory and their total obedience to His instructions. They would not win by their own might and power, but by His Spirit. There were other similar lessons about this that they would learn during their conquest of the land....

As stated in our last study, in contrast to the growing lawlessness there is an emerging generation of spiritual leaders who will come forth in the opposite spirit. These are the ones who will preach the gospel of the kingdom with power. They will be trusted with unprecedented power because they will have been found trustworthy. They will be trustworthy because of their deep and genuine respect for authority and the anointing. This deep and sincere respect for authority will be one of the most striking contrasts between those who are the Lord’s, and those who have given themselves...

In our last study, we ended with the prophecy in Isaiah 60 that declares how at the very time deep darkness is coming upon the people, the glory of the Lord will be appearing on His people. Before we leave the situation concerning Achan, we need to make one more observation that highlights just how this contrast between the light and darkness is going to come.

For Achan to have taken that which was under the ban was also rebellion against the clear command of the Lord. One of the ultimate evils of the last days is lawlessness,...