Sin in the Camp: Joshua 7

What happens when a seemingly innocent childhood snack turns into a lesson on honesty and integrity? Join me, Jessi Morgan, as I recount a humorous yet thought-provoking tale from my father's childhood in McCullough, Alabama, involving Vienna sausages and a dose of family wisdom. Inspired by Joshua 7, this episode of the Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast reflects on how personal stories and scripture intertwine, revealing the profound ways God's teachings impact our lives.

Key Passages

Joshua 7

Joshua 2

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello, hello. You are listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast, episode 42. This week's devotional is titled Sin in the Camp, joshua 7. Let's go. Hi. I'm Jesse Morgan. I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart my journey and love for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hot Podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:27

This is a weekly devotional. I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier. It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born four months early in 2023. Through that challenging time, god worked in ways that truly amazed me. On this podcast, I share personal stories of faith, woven together with scripture to show just how incredible God's word can be in our everyday lives. My hope is that through these stories, you'll be encouraged, uplifted and reminded of God's love and presence, no matter what you're going through. So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together. Let's all pray within Sin in the Camp, key Passages Joshua 7, joshua 2.

Speaker 1: 1:18

Are you ready to laugh, because I've got a story for you today. Thank you for being here on the podcast and all the support. I really appreciate it. So let's start with a funny, funny story, a story that really resonated with this lesson for the day. It's one of my absolute favorites from my dad's childhood. Now to this day, my father will never eat Vienna sausages. I mean, he will physically leave the table or turn his nose up at them like they don't exist. And once you hear this story, you'll understand why.

Speaker 1: 1:53

So let's go back to my dad's childhood. He grew up in a small two-bedroom house on a few acres of land in McCullough, alabama. Now, I don't even know if you can really find that on the map, but that's where he and his 10 brothers and sisters were raised by their dad after their mother passed away when he was six years old. Being the second youngest, my dad looked up to his older siblings, of course. Whatever they did, he wanted to do. Whatever they didn't like, he didn't like either. He followed their lead, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.

Speaker 1: 2:29

One day after school, one of his older sisters got off the school bus earlier than she was supposed to. Instead of going straight home to do her chores, she decided to hang out with a group of girls who weren't exactly the best influences. She decided to hang out with a group of girls who weren't exactly the best influences. They stopped at a little convenience store and spotted a crate of Vienna sausages just sitting outside on the porch. Now, keep in mind, my dad and his family didn't have much. They worked in the fields before and after school and things like Vienna sausages something we might take for granted were actually a luxury to them. So his sister and her friends saw an opportunity. They stole some of those Vienna sausages, split them among themselves and she brought a portion of them home. When she got home, she shared them with my dad and two of their other siblings. Like any big sister, she took charge handing them out like this Okay, don one for you and two for me. But my dad didn't care about the uneven distribution. He was just excited to have a taste of those Viena sausages.

Speaker 1: 3:37

Everything seemed fine until about an hour later when my grandfather, his dad, came home. He gathered everyone in the room and said something like this I just talked to the convenience store owner down the road and he told me that some kids stole a batch of Vienna sausages today, and one of those kids was my daughter. Now I need to ask did any of you eat them? Because the store owner said those Vienna sausages were poisoned, they were a bad batch Y'all. The room went silent. My dad's sister, without hesitation, said no, daddy, we didn't eat any of them. And grandpa Asked again. Their dad asked again are you sure? And she nodded positive. And that was that. And their dad left the room. Now my father, at around 10, 11 years old, looked at his sister like she had lost her mind. My dad whispered we did eat them. Why didn't you tell? Daddy whispered, we did eat them. Why didn't you tell daddy? She shot a look at my dad and said Don don't say a word, we'll be fine.

Speaker 1: 4:53

15 minutes passed, then 20, then my dad couldn't take it anymore. He busted into the room where my grandpa was and yelled oh daddy, please, daddy, we ate them. She gave them to me and I ate them. We all ate them. Am I going to die, daddy? I'll never eat a Vienna sausage again. I'm so sorry, daddy. Help me. Daddy, am I going to die? Daddy? The fear took him out Immediately.

Speaker 1: 5:22

My grandfather gathered every single one of them who had eaten those sausages and gave them castor oil. Now, if you don't know what castor oil is, just know it's nasty, but it's also a strong laxative. So, needless to say, they suffered while getting those vienna sausages out of their system, and y'all, my dad, has never touched Vienna sausages since. So why am I telling you this story? Because look how one act of sin stealing affected the entire family. Even though my dad's sister stole those sausages, my dad and his other siblings were just as guilty. Why? Because they participated and when confronted, they lied about it. They went along with the cover-up and in the end, they all suffered together. This reminds me of the story of Ahan and Joshua 7.

Speaker 1: 6:24

After Israel conquered Jericho, their next mission was to take out the town of Ai. It should have been an easy win, but when they sent 3,000 men to fight, they were defeated and around 36 men of Israel were killed and the rest were forced to retreat, were killed and the rest were forced to retreat. Joshua, the fearless leader, of course, was devastated. He fell before the Lord and cried out in Joshua 7, 7 through 10. I'm just going to paraphrase right now but sovereign God, why did you bring us across the Jordan? Just to let us be destroyed? What will happen to your great name. And God responded stand up, what are you doing on your face? Wow, what a response. What a moment from God and Joshua. Joshua was crying and pleading, but God wasn't having it. Then God revealed the real reason in Joshua 7 11.

Speaker 1: 7:23

It says Israel has sinned. They have stolen, they have lied and they have taken what was set apart for me. So someone in the camp had disobeyed God's command. After Jericho's defeat, god had instructed them to dedicate all the plunder to him, but one man, ahan, decided to keep some for himself, secretly, through a process of elimination. Joshua discovered that Ahan was the culprit. When confronted, ahan finally confessed. It says in scripture as well yes, I have sinned against the Lord. I took a robe, silver and gold and I hid them in my tent. Because of Ahan's sin, the entire nation suffered defeat. So his punishment was to be stoned alongside his family, specifically his children. If you look in Joshua 7, 24 through 25. Now keep this in mind.

Speaker 1: 8:26

It may seem like Joshua and the Israelites were being ruthless and mean by punishing Ahan and his entire family, but let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The Israelites were actually a fair people. They didn't blindly condemn everyone connected to someone who had sinned. A perfect example of this is Rahab's story in Joshua 2, remember, rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, but she believed that Israel's God was the true God. When Israelite spies came to Jericho, she hid them from the city officials and pleaded for her life and the lives of her family members. The spies saw her faith and her willingness to do what was right, so they spared her and her household when Jericho's fell.

Speaker 1: 9:14

Now, contrast that with Ahan and his family. He didn't just take a little. He had a significant amount of treasure under his tent and, considering the effort it would have taken to hide it all, it's likely that his family knew about it. They weren't innocent bystanders. They participated in covering up his sin. So, while Ahan was one who initially disobeyed, his family sinned as well by hiding the stolen goods and lying, and because of that, they all suffered the consequences. Yes, being stoned was harsh, but that was the standard of justice within the community. It fit the crime in the context of their time.

Speaker 1: 9:58

Now does that mean that in 2025, we should go around condemning people in the same way? Absolutely not. But what we should do is encourage honesty, confession and repentance. God does not tolerate sin in his camp, and as believers, we shouldn't either. Instead of hiding our mistakes or compromising our faith, we should be striving for truth, accountability and a heart that seeks God's grace and mercy. This story and the Vienna Sausages story teaches us a powerful lesson One person's sin can affect the entire group, and then the entire group can compromise with that sin, and sin as well.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Right, ahan's sin didn't just affect him, it affected everyone, and when we try to hide our sin, we prolong our suffering, just like my dad and his siblings too. So let me ask you are you tolerating sin in your life? Are you compromising your obedience to God for a quick fix? Because sin doesn't just impact you, it affects your family, your church, your community, and if you cover it up instead of confessing it, you're only making it worse. But here's the good news we don't have to stay in that place. Right, god hates sin in the camp. He hates compromise in the camp, but you know what he loves Faith in the camp.

Speaker 1: 11:23

Jesus Christ already paid the price for our sins. When we repent, we don't have to suffer the way Ahan did. We have grace, we have forgiveness. So will you choose to hold on to sin, or will you surrender, confess and move forward in faith. I hope you choose faith. Let's pray.

Speaker 1: 11:42

Heavenly Father, we come to you today just so thankful and full of praise for all the opportunities you've given us. Thank you for this podcast and I pray that it inspires others to keep sin out of their homes, their circles and their lives as much as possible. Lord, we are so grateful that even when we do fall short, we have the chance to repent, because Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins on the cross. Thank you for the lesson we learned through Joshua, showing us that you do not tolerate sin and that when we compromise, hide the truth or refuse to admit our mistakes, we're hurting ourselves. Thank you for your presence, lord, your grace and the way you continue to guide us. We love you and we praise you and we give you all the glory In Jesus' name. Amen, till next time, my friends. On to Joshua 8 on the next episode. God bless Well.

Speaker 1: 12:38

That wraps up this week's episode. I hope these devotions help you draw closer to God each day. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who might need the same message, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a weekly episode. Also, if you feel compelled, leaving a nice review would be so appreciated as well. For more information or to reach out, check the show notes or visit jessimorganhomecom or find me on Instagram at jessimorganlife. Remember God's timing is always perfect. Keep trusting him Until next time. This is Jessi Morgan praying on. Just want to have a quick shout out to my dad and his siblings. They are just extraordinary people and their bond as siblings is just one of the strongest I've ever seen. Siblings is just one of the strongest I've ever seen and I'm telling you the amount of stories from their childhood and growing up in Alabama are just there's just so many, and some of them are just absolutely hilarious Hilarious. So love you, daddy, love you family. God bless. Cherish the moments.