Daily Devotional

One man sinned, but God said “Israel has sinned.” This wasn’t merely divine grammar; it was covenant reality. In God’s eyes, Achan’s private disobedience had become the community’s public shame. The devoted things hidden in his tent had defiled the entire camp.

We live in a culture that says, “What I do in private is nobody else’s business.” But biblical community operates on different principles. We are members of one body, living stones in one temple, branches on one vine. When one member suffers, we all suffer. When one member is diseased, the whole body is at risk.

This truth should both humble us and motivate us. It should humble us because our secret sins aren’t just between us and God—they affect the spiritual climate of our church, our family, our witness to the world. It should motivate us because our faithfulness doesn’t just benefit us, it strengthens the entire body of Christ.
Achan thought he could hide his sin, bury it deep where no one would find it. But hidden sin has a way of revealing itself through its consequences. Israel’s defeat at Ai was the fruit of Achan’s hidden rebellion. Sometimes the troubles we face as a church or family aren’t random difficulties—they’re symptoms of spiritual disease that needs to be diagnosed and treated.

The call here isn’t to become paranoid about every setback or to start pointing fingers at others. The call is to examine our own hearts honestly and to take seriously our connection to the body of Christ.