Children decide ∙

Children decide ∙

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

 5 You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.

 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,

 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.

When America was first settled, what were the first colleges like? As astonishing as it may sound, all of the first colleges in America were created to train Christian ministers. There was no separation of church and state. The states directly supported the churches in colleges in their religious efforts.

The original cornerstone of Harvard College, the first college in America, reads:

“After God had carried us safe to New England and we had builded our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God’s worship and settled the civil government, one of the next things we longed for and looked after was to advance learning and perpetuate to posterity, dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches when our present minsters shall lie in the dust (1636).”

Congregational ministers founded Yale University on October 16, 1701, to fight growing liberalism at Harvard. Their objective was that “Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences who through the blessing of God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State.”

Students were required to “live religious, godly and blameless lives according to the rules of God’s Word, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures, the fountain of light and truth; and constantly attend upon all the duties of religion, both in public and secret.” Prayer was a requirement. Furthermore, every student was instructed to “. . . consider the main end of his study to wit to know God in Jesus Christ” and “to lead a Godly, sober life.”

The fervent faith and high and lofty resolute intention of the college founders did not last past that generation. Regrettably, faith, salvation, and spiritual life are not part of a person’s DNA. Each child of every age has the responsibility to make the fateful decision to accept the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves. Parents cannot ensure the faithfulness of their children. Yet, the Scriptures are clear that fathers are responsible for attempting to do so by instructing them in the Truth.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers do not provoke your children to anger but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

REFLECT & PRAY

How much truth did you have growing up? And how did you respond to it? Life on earth is what we know here and now. Eternity lasts forever.

Father keep me faithful. May I unswervingly pass on Truth to those I love and care for.

INSIGHT

The story of Eli, the high priest, and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, is poignantly tragic! It is a sad account of parental responsibility gone amiss. The consequences were dreadful and lethal. Because the Aaronic priesthood was hereditary, passed down from father to son, Eli’s profane sons were also priests regardless of their moral character.

1 Samuel 2:12 The sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.

Eli was now 98 years old, and his eyesight was failing. Eli had become a prophetic figure. He was an absent father and, even worse, an absent high priest. As a father, he was far too permissive and overindulgent with his kids. He was negligent. He did not instill the knowledge and values they needed to succeed. He let his sons run the “family business,” the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle. What a big mistake. Knowing the lay of the land, his sons took full advantage of their father’s laxity and absenteeism.

Hophni and Phinehas never committed to the truth of God they had. They never entered into a personal relationship with the Father. Their lives reflected it. They were thugs and acted like gangsters. Because they could, they robbed people of their share of sacrificial offerings. They demanded meat before it had been offered to the Father. Barbecue was the preference of their pallets. They demanded roasted meat for themselves instead of boiled meat stipulated in the Law of Moses for sacrifices. If people resisted, they forcefully took what they wanted (1 Samuel 2:11-17). To make matters worse, they sexually abused female workers who assisted the priests and Levites (1 Samuel 2:22, Exodus 38:8).

Eventually, all of this got back to Eli. Apparently, the #MeToo Movement was at work in ancient Israel, even without Twitter. Eli heard reports about the wicked things his sons were doing. What did Eli do? He confronted his strong-willed and rebellious boys. Eli was blunt and asked them, “Why do you keep sinning?” (1 Samuel 2:23). But it was too little and too late.

Hophni and Phinehas blew Eli off. They were getting away with murder and saw no reason to quit. Who was going to stop them? They never thought the Father, the God of Israel, would intervene. What would He do? They soon found out.

Eli’s sons had no idea that they were not only mistreating people and sinning against them, but they were also sinning against the Lord God Almighty. Eli told them to stop. He warned them, “If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?” (1 Samuel 2:25)

Hophni and Phinehas had pushed the Father too far. He was over it. The Father sent a man of God to deliver his message of judgment. Eli’s house would no longer serve as priests before the Lord. The entire line would be cut off from this sacred privilege. To prove the future fulfillment of this prophecy, a short-term prophecy was made that Hophni and Phinehas would die soon on the same day! (1 Samuel 2:34).

The Father sent the Philistines to carry out His sentence on Hophni and Phinehas. They were both killed in the battle that ensued. But worse, the Ark of God was taken by the Philistines. A messenger brought this news to Eli. When he heard his sons were dead. He was understandably disturbed and saddened. But when he heard that the Ark of God was taken, he was grief-stricken to the core. Eli fell backward off his seat, broke his neck, and died.

The removal of the Ark of God from Israel was tragic. Imagine if someone could carry off the Statue of Liberty and ship it back to their own country. The Statue of Liberty stands for much of what America is all about. The American identity is tied to it. It is a symbol, a national rallying point.

But the Ark of God was more than a symbol; the Ark of God was the place where the Father’s glory dwelt. When the Ark was carried off, the glory of God was taken as well. Imagine, for the first time in memory, the Father’s visible presence was missing from Israel. A child, a grandson of Eli, was born. The grief-stricken mother named her child Ichabod, meaning “no looks what does it mean when it says I.” His name was, in fact, a statement and asked the question, “Where is the glory?” The glory had departed!

All of this happened because of an absent, weak father. Eli overly indulged his children. They grew up without discipline, had no fear of the Father, and they were far from Him.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,

Hosea 8:7 For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind.

You reap what you sow,

More than you sow, and

Later than you sow (Charles Stanley).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4-11-1

© Dr. H 2023