Joshua 7

Weeds. They are a gardener's ongoing enemy. We mulch, pick and poison to contol them. And we must be diligent in this battle. A week or two of neglect and they can overrun a garden and mar it's beauty and bounty. And if further neglected, these unwelcome guests can blossom and produce seed - creating agricultural anarchy. If we remove them before they become deep rooted, invasive and they crowd out good plants or produce offspring, the work is fairly simple. But sometimes we get too busy, lazy, or indifferent to their presence to keep watch over their activity. That's when they take over.

Achan had a few weeds; materialism, rebellion and greed, growing in the garden of his heart. They had probably been growing unhindered for some time. Their roots had to be deep to cause Achan to deliberately disobey God's clear warning not to take any of the plunder from Jericho and risk "your own destruction" and the destruction of "the camp of Israel." Achan paid the ultimate price for ignoring the weed patch that had become his heart. He paid with his life.

Adversity exposes weeds. That's part of the pain of our suffering, seeing the weeds we've allowed to flourish. No wonder God uses our suffering to cleanse us. He knows that a weed-choked heart destroys our beauty, our calling, and it can rob us of blessing. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:22&3).