There is a saying that most people are familiar with—”One Bad Apple spoils the bunch”. It is true that one rotten apple in a barrel can cause the others to spoil. I think the origin of this phrase is interesting. According to Ben Zimmer a linguist, this idiom goes back to at least 1340. The original phrase was, “A rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor.” It meant that a rotten apple, or a rotten person, corrupts others.
In Joshua 6 God led the people Israel in victory in Jericho and yet the next battle ended in defeat. Why? Same people, same God. What was the difference? As we study we’ll learn that it was just one individual that was the reason for the the defeat, and for all Israel to be troubled. His name was Achan, and what he did had consequences that reached beyond himself, to his family and to the entire nation.
We need to understand that our sin always has consequence and often affects those around us. Maybe that is why Paul commanded us, “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).