21When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.
Saw, coveted, took, and hid. Sin did not happen in the seeing, it happened in the coveting. His desire got the best of him, and he yielded to that desire. He took. And if that was not enough, he hid the treasure thinking he could hide it from the Lord. Sin is always a progression of events, of choices that we make. And we tend to try to hide our sin, cover it up so no one will discover it. Achan took these things that were supposed to be given to the Lord. This was plunder from the first town Israel encountered in the Promised Land. Everything was to be given to the Lord or destroyed. What Achan hoped to keep for himself and his family cost him his life and his family. Sometimes we don’t consider the cost of our sin, but that is exactly what will help us choose obedience. Obedience always has the long term benefits. Sin often has the shortest benefit curve.
The Arnold Journey 