Joshua 7:16–21

So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the clan 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. Then 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.

Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

The search method works. The LORD points out who the guilty party is. Achan is cornered.

But notice that Joshua does not offer Achan a deal. There’s no plea bargain. He simply says, “Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” Joshua does not say what will happen if Achan comes clean.

This highlights an important biblical principle—tell the truth for truth’s sake. Many people make the case for truth on the basis that being truthful is ultimately beneficial. That may be true, but that’s not the real reason for telling the truth.

The real reason for telling the truth is that it’s the right thing to do, as per the ninth commandment. That seems simple enough, but it actually represents a seismic shift in perspective—from seeing everything in terms of “me” and “my goals,” to seeing everything in terms of the kingdom and the kingdom’s goals.

Telling the truth is the right thing to do because God says it’s the right thing to do. It’s not about me; it’s about God’s glory. Telling the truth honors and glorifies God. That’s the primary team goal. That’s why Joshua says, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him,”

We might think that Joshua is asking two things of Achan here: to give glory to God and to confess.

But it’s one thing—to give glory to God by confessing—and that’s exactly what Achan’s response does.

This shift in perspective makes salvation by faith alone beautiful.

If our works are done for the team, and not for our own salvation, they glorify God.

Conversely, if our works give us credit in some kind of “salvation account” that we have, then we’re really doing these works for our own benefit. In a sense, our charitable works aren’t even charity. They’re just work for pay.

That doesn’t glorify God at all.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.