Tears of
weeping:
Do you,
like me, remember Boney M’s hit in 1978, by the rivers of Babylon Babylon ,
where we sat down, there we wept, when we remembered Zion Jerusalem
We weep
in Joshua 7:5 at the senseless loss of 36 lives as the assault on Ai fails.
Joshua weeps, tears his clothes and falls face down all day long.
We weep
at Achan and his family suffering for his sin of disobeying God’s clear
instructions, (Josh 6:18) as he sneaks devoted things into his tent (The Hebrew
term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord,
often by totally destroying them). They poison and corrupt his whole household
who pay the terrible price of his sin.
In Jeremiah
1 there is a prophecy of judgment coming from the North on Israel
Do we
take our sin seriously? Achan’s sin had huge effects, not just on him, but his
family and livestock. Disobeying God’s clear commands is wrong and will bring
judgment. Sin is seriously not good for your health.
We must
weep over our sin and the sins of our world. So we can leave the valley of Achor
I John
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(crèche helper)