If when Achan yielded to temptation he had been asked if he wished to bring defeat and death into the camp of Israel, he would have answered: “No, no! is thy servant a dog that he should do this great wickedness?” But he lingered over the temptation to gratify his own covetousness; and when the opportunity was presented, he went further than he had purposed in his heart. It is exactly in this way that individual members of the church are imperceptibly led on to grieve the Spirit of God, to defraud their neighbors, and to bring the frown of God upon the church. No man lives to himself. Shame, defeat, and death were brought upon Israel by one man’s sin. That protection which had covered their heads in the time of battle was withdrawn. Various sins that are cherished and practiced by professed Christians bring the frown of God upon the church. In the day when the Ledger of Heaven shall be opened, the Judge will not in words express 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, his selfishness, covetousness, dishonesty, dissembling, and fraud. His sins, hidden from the knowledge of man, will then be proclaimed, as it were, upon the housetop. {4T 492.3}

Hvis Akan, da han gav efter for fristelsen, blev spurgt om han ønskede at bringe ulykke og død i Israels lejr, ville han have svaret: "Nej, nej! er din tjener en hund der skulle gøre noget så ondt.?" Men han dvælede over fristelsen for at tilfredsstille sin egen begærlighed; og da anledningen kom, gik han længere end han havde i sinde. Det er præcis på den måde at enkelte (493) menighedsmedlemmer intetanende føres til at såre Guds Ånd, til deres næstes bedrag og pådrager Guds vredesblik over menigheden. Intet menneske lever for sig selv. Skam, nederlag og død kom over Israels, på grund af et menneskes synd. Den beskyttelse som dækkede deres hoveder under krigstid blev trukket bort. Forskellige synder som bevares og udøves af bekendende kristne pådrager Guds vredesblik på menigheden. Den dag Himmelens protokol skal åbnes, vil Dommeren ikke udtrykke skylden for mennesker i ord, men vil sprede en gennemtrængende overbevisende glans og enhver handling i livet, vil indprentes levende i den fejlendes hukommelse. Personen vil ikke, ligesom i Josuas dage, blive jaget ud fra stamme til familie, men hans egne læber vil bekende hans skam, hans selviskhed, begærlighed, uærlighed, hykleri og bedrageri. Hans synder, skjulte fra menneskers kundskab, vil proklameres, som den blev, fra hustagene.