05/21/2008 Sins of the father

[RandomK]

S. 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their
tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 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. 18 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.
19 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.”
20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against
the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 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.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it
was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. 23 And they took
them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the
children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. 24 Then Joshua,
and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the
garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his
donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought
them to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you
troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned
him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned
them with stones.
26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to
this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger.
Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor
to this day.

O. In verse 24, did anybody else notice that they didn't say His wife?
Granted I know they usually leave the women out of the equation, but
in this case, they did mention his daughters.. but not his wife. Is it
possible that she escaped judgment?
Anyway, this passage reveals the danger of sinning against the Lord,
and what kind of effect it can have on your family. It reminds me of a
situation in another church, where an affair between two of the staff
members resulted in the children HATING church and wanting nothing to
do with it ever again. The sins of that Father, have now led to the
children's sin.

A. So important is it for me to live a pure, holy life, because I
never know who is watching me, and who I am going to effect with my
sins. My sins are not just against God, they are against my children,
my family, and even my friends walk with God.

P. Father, forgive my sin. Empower me to live a holy life, and when I
do sin, please convict me quickly so that I do not face the anger of
your wrath. Please show me my sin so that I may be able to save others
from it.