Valley of the Troubled

~ Jesse Eyestone ~

10/4/2026

//  INTRO

James 1:12-18

  • 1:12   Blessed [is] the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
  • 1:13   Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
  • 1:14   But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
  • 1:15   Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
  • 1:16   Do not err, my beloved brethren.
  • 1:17   Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
  • 1:18   Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

    • //  The Troubled

    Joshua 7:1-26 - Achan's Sin

  • 7:1   But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
  • 7:2   And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which [is] beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
    • Please note that Joshua did not yet know about Achan's sin
  • 7:3   And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; [and] make not all the people to labour thither; for they [are but] few.
  • 7:4   So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
  • 7:5   And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them [from] before the gate [even] unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
    • Have you ever set out to do something that went horribly wrong?
    • Something that you thought for sure that God had sent you to do?
  • 7:6   And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
  • 7:7   And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
    • Have you ever been confused, or even angry at God?
    • Because you thought you were doing what you were destined to do and it just blew up in your face?
    • Or other things in your life weren't working out?
    • Or that you were having to wrestle things that you just COULD NOT defeat?
  • 7:8   O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
    • What am I supposed to think?!
      What am I supposed to say?!
      What am I supposed to DO?!
    • Ever been confused like that? Perplexed?
    • That's a tough place to be, my friends.
  • 7:9   For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear [of it], and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
  • 7:10   And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
    • Wow... what a response that was...
    • Why do you suppose He said that?
    • Was it because -> lying on his face before God in a time of trouble?
    • No, I doubt it.
  • 7:11   Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put [it] even among their own stuff.
  • 7:12   Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, [but] turned [their] backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

    • Joshua 6:17-19

  • 6:17   And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
  • 6:18   And ye, in any wise keep [yourselves] from the accursed thing, lest ye make [yourselves] accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
  • 6:19   But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, [are] consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

    • Joshua 7:1-26 continued

  • 7:13   Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
  • 7:14   summarize? In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, [that] the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families [thereof]; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
  • 7:15   And it shall be, [that] he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
  • 7:16   summarize? So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
  • 7:17   summarize? And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
  • 7:18   summarize? And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
  • 7:19   And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide [it] not from me.
    • Did you know that when you repent of your sin, you give God glory?
  • 7:20   And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
  • 7:21   When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they [are] hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
    • SUMMARY:
    • Joshua sent messengers to fetch the stuff
    • They found everyhthing in the tent and brought it back to Joshua
    • Joshua then took Achan, his family, and the stolen stuff to the valley of Achor
  • 7:25   And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
  • 7:26   And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

    • 2nd Timothy 2:11-13

  • 2:11   [It is] a faithful saying: For if we be dead with [him], we shall also live with [him]:
  • 2:12   If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he also will deny us:
  • 2:13   If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

    • James 1:16-18

  • 1:16   Do not err, my beloved brethren.
  • 1:17   Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
  • 1:18   Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.