Spiritual MRI!
- Aug 29, 2025
- 6 min read
He was a typical guy, much like the type of person you’d meet in church, settled into the norm’ of life with his family! He was one of the thousands of men that crossed the river Jordan and ransacked the city of Jericho. His name - Achan.
But, why, after an amazing victory allow a heart to be turned? It’s because of what’s been called the ‘Achan Syndrome!’ I saw, I coveted, I took and I hid it.
Achan, in the process of victory found defeat; found a coat of many colours, 2kgs of silver and about half a kg of gold.
We continue the story! But first, let's pause and remind ourselves none of us are without fault!
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.
It’s not as if they didn’t know!
They were given a strict set of guidelines to follow. Remember what God said in Joshua 6:18-19: “But 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. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
The final part of the above text refers to something that is totally set apart for God and irrevocably dedicated to Him for use in the Lord's treasury.
Well, most of the conditions were met. BUT!
Not all the spoil was brought to the treasury. It was clear to everyone apart from Achan that the gold, silver, bronze, and iron were sacred and belonged to God.
But no one needs to know! I guess we’ve all been there. However, sin that seems private is not really that way. We may think that it’s actually nobody’s business, but God, through the text today, assures us that’s faulty thinking.
Vernon McGee said, "The worst enemy that you have is yourself. He occupies the same skin that you occupy. He uses the same brain that you use in thinking his destructive thoughts. He uses the same hands that you used to perform his own deeds. This enemy can do you more harm than anyone else. He is the greatest handicap that you have in your daily Life.”
It’s interesting that Joshua 7 records the first occasion in the book where Joshua acts first before asking God. Had he first checked with God, the results might have been very different. However, he didn’t, and he along with Israel suffer a humiliating defeat.
So, Joshua goes before God (vs 6-9) and says, “God, what happened? This isn’t the way it was supposed to be!” That’s how Joshua feels! Been there?
Joshua complains that their reputation was now ruined, and people wouldn’t be afraid of them anymore. At some point during this rant/prayer, the Lord tells him to STOP and SORT it!
Why? Because there’s sin in the camp.
Joshua and the rest of the nation did not realise, it’s not the Jerichos that defeat us it’s what follows after a victory.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle loved practical jokes. Once he sent a telegram to 12 friends. All were respected in society. The telegram said, "Flee at once, your secret is discovered!" Within 24 hours, so the story goes, all twelve had left the country! One never returned!
The point is, many people, including Christians, are not what they seem to be.
The secret sin of one derailed the whole of God’s people from going on to accomplish more for God and continue with the great vision that lay before them.
We might have an amazing vision for our life, but there’s something that can derail us – SIN! Your/my secret sin.
Achan rationalised his sin. We all do it! You deserve it, just this once, no one will notice. Plenty to go round. What we love determines how we feel, and how we act, but it can have devastating consequences.
Please note, God never honours disobedience.
Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death.” Sin is deadly, but we still try to explain it away, make it sound trivial.
We call it a little white lie instead of being a liar; we call it a fling, instead of adultery; creative bookkeeping instead of calling it stealing; we call it harmless fun instead of pornography; we call it sharing concerns instead of gossip. We downplay sin. Listen to the words of Jeremiah 8:11: “dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.”
What we learn from Achan is that sin is costly and must be dealt with.
Notice that the failure of one man led to implicating the entire nation. Achan’s personal ‘HIDDEN SIN’ contaminated the whole. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough" (Gal. 5:9).
God said,"They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions" (7:11).
But remember, a failing in life does not make life a failure. Failure should never consign us to a lasting and unrecoverable defeat. We’re back to Consecration (v13).
A few weeks ago I had to have a MRI scan. Filling in the questionnaire, I find one question always confusing: 'Have you ever had any metal fragments in your body?' Answer – YES! But it was years ago and was removed from my eye.
It got me thinking, what if Jesus had our hearts and lives go through a 'spiritual MRI' heart detector this week!! Any SIN?
The Psalmist knew. See Psalm 139: 23-24 - “Search me, O God and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; see if there’s any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
R McCheyne once said, “The greatest need of our church is … my personal holiness.” So he prayed, “Make me as holy as a saved sinner can be.”
We all need to pray the same prayer.
Achan's confession details the event. Achan Syndrome - I saw it, I coveted it, I took it, and now I'm trying to hide it. God said, "He has violated the covenant of the Lord and done a disgraceful thing in Israel" (vs 15,19-20).
Someone has likened it to stealing what was rightfully God’s for their own use. Take for instance, God’s money right out of the offering plate.
The penalty for sin is always death, but Jesus Christ paid that penalty for each of us. He allowed himself to die in our place. When we fail? We must come to Him, the One who paid the price, and confess our sin - the shame of past mistakes, disgrace from personal struggles, or those unfulfilled promises.
1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Hallelujah!!
Overcoming our past can be the most difficult part of a new beginning! But each one of us can begin again! Hallelujah!
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand” (Ps 37:23–24).
Ponder for a while
Welsh revival began in 1904 when E. Roberts stood after a prayer meeting and said, "I’ve a message from the Lord."
1) You must confess any known sin, and put any wrong done to man right again.
2) You must put away any doubtful habit.
3) You must obey the Spirit promptly.
4) You must confess faith publicly.’
These became the four points of the 1904 Welsh Revival.
Do you long for revival? It’ll require a deep desire for God through total spiritual surrender. Allow a 'Spiritual MRI' to take place!
Vance Havner once said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Note! God sent His Son to deal with our sin through His death. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above,
And God’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
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