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Family Accountability Roles, TheFamily Accountability roles The Lord had said that everything in Jericho belonged to him. But Achan from the Judah tribe took some of the things from Jericho for himself. And so the Lord was angry with the Israelites, because one of them had disobeyed him. While Israel was still camped near Jericho, Joshua sent some spies with these instructions: “Go to the town of Ai and find out whatever you can about the region around the town. ”The spies left and went to Ai, which is east of Bethel and near Beth-Aven. They went back to Joshua and reported, “You don’t need to send the whole army to attack Ai—two or three thousand troops will be enough. Why bother the whole army for a town that small?” Joshua sent about three thousand soldiers to attack Ai. But the men of Ai fought back and chased the Israelite soldiers away from the town gate and down the hill to the stone quarries. Thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed, and the Israelite army felt discouraged. Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes and put dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. They lay face down on the ground in front of the sacred chest until sunset. Family accountability roles Then Joshua said: Our Lord, did you bring us across the Jordan River just so the Amorites could destroy us? This wouldn’t have happened if we had agreed to stay on the other side of the Jordan. I don’t even know what to say to you, since Israel’s army has turned and run from the enemy. Everyone will think you weren’t strong enough to protect your people. Now the Canaanites and everyone else who lives in the land will surround us and wipe us out. The Lord answered: Stop lying there on the ground! Get up! I said everything in Jericho belonged to me and had to be destroyed. Family accountability roles. But the Israelites have kept some of the things for themselves. They stole from me and hid what they took. Then they lied about it. What they stole was supposed to be destroyed, and now Israel itself must be destroyed. I cannot help you anymore until you do exactly what I have said. That’s why Israel turns and runs from its enemies instead of standing up to them. Tell the people of Israel, “Tomorrow you will meet with the Lord your God, so make yourselves acceptable to worship him. Family accountability roles The Lord says that you have taken things that should have been destroyed. You won’t be able to stand up to your enemies until you get rid of those things. “Tomorrow morning everyone must gather near the place of worship. You will come forward tribe by tribe, and the Lord will show which tribe is guilty. Next, the clans in that tribe must come forward, and the Lord will show which clan is guilty. The families in that clan must come, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, the men in that family must come, and the Lord will show who stole what should have been destroyed. That man must be put to death, his body burned, and his possessions thrown into the fire. He has done a terrible thing by breaking the sacred agreement that the Lord made with Israel. Family accountability roles”Joshua got up early the next morning and brought each tribe to the place of worship, where the Lord showed that the Judah tribe was guilty. Then Joshua brought the clans of Judah to the Lord, and the Lord showed that the Zerah clan was guilty. One by one he brought the leader of each family in the Zerah clan to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Zabdi’s family was guilty. 18 Finally, Joshua brought each man in Zabdi’s family to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Achan was the guilty one. “Achan,” Joshua said, “the Lord God of Israel has decided that you are guilty. Is this true? Tell me what you did, and don’t try to hide anything.” “It’s true,” Achan answered. Family accountability roles“I sinned and disobeyed the Lord God of Israel. While we were in Jericho, I saw a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred pieces of silver, and a gold bar that weighed the same as fifty pieces of gold. I wanted them for myself, so I took them. I dug a hole under my tent and hid the silver, the gold, and the robe.”Joshua had some people run to Achan’s tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe. They brought them back and put them in front of the sacred chest, so Joshua and the rest of the Israelites could see them. Then everyone took Achan and the things he had stolen to Trouble Valley. They also took along his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else that belonged to him. Joshua said, “Achan, you caused us a lot of trouble. Now the Lord is paying you back with the same kind of trouble. Family accountability roles ”The people of Israel then stoned to death Achan and his family. They made a fire and burned the bodies, together with what Achan had stolen, and all his possessions. They covered the remains with a big pile of rocks, which is still there. Then the Lord stopped being angry with Israel. That’s how the place came to be called Trouble Valley. Joshua 7:1-26 Age of accountability The Lord had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. 1 Samuel 3:7 Personally accountable and he sent Nathan the prophet to tell this story to David: A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. Family accountability roles The lamb was like one of his own children. One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn’t want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man’s little lamb and served it instead. David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this deserves to die! And because he didn’t have any pity on the poor man, he will have to pay four times what the lamb was worth.” Then Nathan told David: You are that rich man! Now listen to what the Lord God of Israel says to you: “I chose you to be the king of Israel. Family accountability roles I kept you safe from Saul and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more. Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by having the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife. “Because you wouldn’t obey me and took Uriah’s wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace. Family accountability roles Someone from your own family will cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on. What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see. ” David said, “I have disobeyed the Lord.” “Yes, you have!” Nathan answered. “You showed you didn’t care what the Lord wanted. He has forgiven you, and you won’t die. But your newborn son will.” Then Nathan went back home. David’s Young Son Dies The Lord made David’s young son very sick. 2 Samuel 12:1-15 Able to understand On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the Lord had given his people. Family accountability roles Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully. Nehemiah 8:1-3 Eternity in the heart God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. Ecclesiastes 3:11 Accountable at judgment Only those who sin will be put to death. Children won’t suffer for the sins of their parents, and parents won’t suffer for the sins of their children. Good people will be rewarded for what they do, and evil people will be punished for what they do. Ezekiel 18:20 Know right from wrong Listen to me, you rulers of Israel! You know right from wrong, but you prefer to do evil instead of what is right. Family accountability roles You skin my people alive. Micah 3:1-2 Conversational accountability I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. Matthew 12:36 Much received, greater accountability But servants who don’t know what their master wants them to do will not be beaten so hard for doing wrong. If God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well. But if he has been more than generous, he will expect you to serve him even better. Luke 12:48 Financial accountability After the prince had been made king, he returned and called in his servants. He asked them how much they had earned with the money they had been given. Luke 19:15 Family accountability roles All accountable to God And so, each of us must give an account to God for what we do. Romans 14:12 Responsibility for evil Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. James 1:13-15 Time of judgment Family accountability roles Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it. But they will have to answer to God, who judges the living and the dead. 1 Peter 4:4-5 Taking scriptures to heart God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others, and he will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here. Revelation 1:3
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