Joshua 8:24-29: in context

Israel takes the city of Ai and destroys it. But this victory came only on the second attempt. The first time Israel went up against Ai, they were defeated and fled, though the city was small and they were many. The reason, they learned, was hidden sin in the camp: Achan had taken what was devoted to destruction, and because of that sin God's help was withdrawn, and Israel could not stand before their enemies. Only after the sin was uncovered and dealt with did God restore his help, and now Israel takes the city that had defeated them before.

The contrast between the two attempts on Ai is instructive. The same city, the same army, and yet the first time Israel was defeated and the second time victorious. What changed was not the enemy but the state of the camp. The first time, hidden sin, Achan's theft of what was devoted to God, was among them, and because of it God's help was withdrawn: Israel cannot stand before their enemies, God said, until the devoted things are destroyed from among you. The sin hindered them; it blocked the help of God; it turned a small enemy into an insurmountable one. And only when the sin was uncovered and dealt with was God's help restored, and the victory that had been withheld was given. This holds a sobering and hopeful truth about the hindering power of unaddressed sin. There are times when we are strangely defeated, unable to overcome what should not overcome us, and the reason may be hidden sin that has blocked God's help. Cherished, unaddressed sin can hinder us, turn small obstacles into insurmountable ones, and withdraw the help we need. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the psalmist says, the Lord would not have listened. Sin held onto can block our prayers, our progress, our victory. And the hopeful side is that dealing with the sin can restore what was lost. When Israel dealt with Achan's sin, God's help returned, and the victory withheld was given. The removal of the hindering sin opened the way for the blessing that had been blocked. Let us lay aside every weight, Hebrews says, and the sin that clings so closely, and run with perseverance. The sin laid aside is the sin no longer hindering us. This searches whether there is unaddressed sin hindering us, blocking the help of God, turning our small enemies into defeats. When we find ourselves strangely defeated, unable to overcome, it is worth asking whether cherished sin is the hindrance, and, if so, dealing with it, as Israel dealt with Achan's, that God's help might be restored and the victory withheld might be given. The sin in the camp defeated Israel at Ai; and when it was dealt with, the city fell. Dealing honestly with the sin that hinders us can restore the help of God and open the way to the victory that sin had blocked.

When I find myself strangely defeated, unable to overcome what should not overcome me, do I consider whether unaddressed sin is hindering me and blocking the help of God, as Achan's hidden sin defeated Israel at Ai, and can the victory Israel gained once the sin was dealt with move me to deal honestly with the cherished sin that clings to me, laying it aside, that God's help might be restored and the way opened to what sin had blocked?