Hosea 2:14-15 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.”
Joshua 7 “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. 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. 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. 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 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. 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 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! 8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! 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? 10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 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. 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. 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. 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. 14 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. 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. 16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: 17 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: 18 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. 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. 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 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. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 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. 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.”
From that time forward, that place was called The Valley of Achor. Joshua had just led a great victory against a great city–Jericho. The spoils were not to be taken, but destroyed, as unto the Lord. Only Rahab was spared. One man, Achan, saw something he wanted and took it. Because of this sin, the battle at Ai was lost.
Sin literally has the ability to stop victory from coming into the church, your life. If you want victory, get the sin out of your life.
God went through all the people and showed them who the person who brought all this trouble was. Joshua said to Achan, ‘What have you done? Why have you brought trouble to Israel?’
Disobedience was dealt with and buried right there.
God’s love is unconditional. He loves you no matter what you have done or do. However, in order to obtain the blessings of God, you’ve got to obey. Because Achan chose disobedience, he received the consequences, not just on himself, but many people died in that battle. You can choose what you do, but you cannot choose the consequences.
It’s possible the Valley of Achor became a phrase used to show trouble. However, God promised hope even in the midst of trouble.
It was in this place of trouble that God put a promise.
The trouble and distress that Achan brought to himself and to other people was burned and buried in the Valley of Achor.
Jesus is the One who promises liberty and freedom. Everything is available in Him. We get a bit of heaven on earth through His Spirit. We have hope because of Him. Even in the valley, we can find hope. Mercy and judgment meet together in the valley.
“the valley of Achor for a door of hope…” The door symbolizes entering in or leaving from. A door in Scripture represents access to a new place. We go from one place into another. We don’t go through windows, because only a thief or a robber does that. We don’t go through the roof because only teenagers would think of something like that! We go through the door because we have access. The door is in the Valley of Achor where mercy and judgment meet.
Mercy is not only in words, it is also in the restoration the Lord gives us.
Isa 32:15 “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.”
The door is found in the valley. Let the trouble and frustrations go. You have an opportunity to LET IT GO! In the place of death, there is a door of hope.
There is transformation possible, but from what to what?
We transform from where we are today to what God wants us to be. You are a work in progress. God is not done with us yet.
The Valley of Trouble made the Promised Land possible. The thing that holds the promises back needs to be burned and buried. This is the purpose of the fast.
Transformation is about trying to transform the person who drives you nuts, it’s about Him changing YOU. Jesus turns your sorrows into joy. He turns your crazy into peace.
With the devil, things start good, and then things tank. It always goes from good to bad. With Jesus, if you obey, it goes from bad to good. In the place of trouble and death and sin.
God will help change your character and your destiny. That change is a door of hope, but you have to walk through.
Jesus said that right there in the valley of trouble is your door of hope. In order to get to the Promised Land, you’ve got to go through the valley. Sin and judgment happens because some things can’t go to the Promised Land. If you want to get where God wants you, there are some things that must be let go.
Peter, the disciple, was not the easiest guy to deal with. He put his foot in his mouth–many times. He cut off a soldier’s ear. He was very passionate and didn’t think before he spoke or acted. Yet, this same man got out of the boat and walked on water. He trusted God. He wanted to walk with Jesus. He wanted to be with Jesus. He allowed Jesus to change him. He grew into maturity.
You have to let go of comfort. Trust Jesus. Let Him lead you and see something incredible. Any time you want to come towards Jesus, He will put solid ground under your feet. Nothing shall keep you from Him.
What does God require of you today? If a door of opportunity has opened, will you walk through it?
Of course, the devil doesn’t want you to walk through the door, but he can’t shut it. The only thing he can do is put obstacles in your path and try to convince you to not walk through. It might not be the easiest, but trust God and go through.
Victory is on the other side. If your hands are tied, use your feet and walk. If your leg is broken, crawl. Deal with your anger issues, your relationship issues, your financial issues. Face them and take responsibility. Do what you can do. When you deal with your issues (and obey Jesus in helping you deal), the door opens.
Isa 42:3 “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.”
A reed is something that grows on the seashores of Galilee. They found the ones that were the best to use. But, God doesn’t do that. He can use everything, everyone. A smoking flax can’t be used anymore, but God won’t put out your fire. He will breathe on it and cause it to come back.
Mat 12:20 “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.”
He didn’t say ‘judgment unto truth.’ He said ‘judgment unto victory.’ Jesus wants to bring judgment to things, not you. He wants to destroy the things that keep you from Him. He doesn’t want to laugh at you. He wants to develop you.
There is revelation in the book of Job. God was looking for a way to bless that man. How do you bless somebody who has everything already? God used Satan to bless Job. God had a plan to bless Job, but he had to go through the Valley of Achor in order to receive the blessing.
The door is opened. No one can shut it. God is in the transformation business. He wants to change something. He wants to make new neural pathways in your brain. You are not your mistakes. You are precious and wanted.
People have changed because of Jesus. Why? Because He loves us.
He wants to protect you and heal you. He is so willing and ready to reverse that curse on you. It’s a lie, ‘I can’t change. It’s always going to be this way, etc.’ That’s a lie! There is change available to you in Jesus.
God will bury the stuff that keeps you from Him. However, He won’t push you through that door. Instead, He says, ‘Come!’ The door is open. It’s up to you to walk through that open door.
More Questions for Personal or Group Study:
- What really spoke to you in this message?
- What things in your life have already been burned and buried? What things still need to be burned and buried? What is keeping you from a deeper relationship with Jesus?
- Read Col 1:20-29. What are we to do in order to hold on to that hope mentioned in verses 23 and 27?
- How can you encourage someone else with this message?
Excerpted from a sermon preached by Pastor Anthony LoCascio.
The Life Church 