Fall of Jericho
443
have been proved and confessing sins known only to ourselves and to
God. Achan would not have confessed had he not hoped by so doing to
avert the consequences of his crime. But his confession only served to
show that his punishment was just. There was no genuine repentance
for sin, no contrition, no change of purpose, no abhorrence of evil.
So confessions will be made by the guilty when they stand before
the bar of God, after every case has been decided for life or death. The
consequences to result to himself will draw from each an acknowl-
edgment of his sin. It will be forced from the soul by an awful sense
of condemnation and a fearful looking for of judgment. But such
confessions cannot save the sinner.
So long as they can conceal their transgressions from their fellow
men, many, like Achan, feel secure, and flatter themselves that God
will not be strict to mark iniquity. All too late their sins will find them
out in that day when they shall not be purged with sacrifice or offering
forever. When the records of heaven shall be opened, the Judge will
not in words declare to man his guilt, but will cast one penetrating,
convicting glance, and every deed, every transaction of life, will be
vividly impressed upon the memory of the wrongdoer. The person
will not, as in Joshua’s day, need to be hunted out from tribe to family,
but his own lips will confess his shame. The sins hidden from the
knowledge of men will then be proclaimed to the whole world.
[499]