Father Knows Best?
Did you know that there are three specific days that have greater church attendance than any other days of the year? They are Christmas, Easter, and … Mother's Day. For Mother's Day, a lot of mom's kids know that their moms love their church and they know that one of the best ways they can honor mom is, even if they don't usually do so, this one day they can honor her by going to church with her.
Meanwhile, how many come to church to honor their fathers on Father's Day? It's not usually one of the top attended services. What does this say about fathers?
This summer, we've been doing some character studies, looking at some Good, some Bad, and some Ugly people from the Bible. This morning in honor of Father's Day, I'm going to attempt to look at two Bible Fathers: Eli and Job.
When it comes to lousy priests, Eli's name rises toward the top. He was the priest of Israel, but he seemed to be a spiritual midget. From the first time we meet Eli in the book of 1 Samuel, we can see that something is wrong. We meet him when a woman named Hannah had come to the tabernacle to pray. She was childless and had struggled with this for years, but on this particular day, she was weeping and praying, making a vow to God, that if God would give her a son, she would give him to the Lord.
Let's look at Eli's response, as seen in (1 Samuel 1:12-17) As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
Can you imagine this? You're here at church, and we've had services you're full of grief, praying at the altar, and there I am, sitting in my easy chair, and I mistake your prayers for drunkenness... wow.
Eli was supposed to be the spiritual leader of the people of Israel, but he doesn't even recognize it when someone is praying.
That's not Eli's only failure, though. As I was reading up on him, I noticed something interesting. At least I found it interesting. Actually I didn't notice it while I was reading; I noticed it while I was out running.
Though Eli is mentioned several times in 1 Samuel, only three times does it mention specifics about what Eli was doing – and twice he was sitting in his chair and once he was lying down. Though I understand that this doesn't mean that Eli never stood up and never did anything else, I think it's telling that every time we find him, he's on his backside.
And this laziness is not just in his manner of relating to people like Hannah. He carries the same attitude to raising his sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They ministered as priests as well, but they were flat out evil. As much as I am knocking Eli, he did raise up Hannah's son Samuel to minister before the Lord. In the meantime, however, Eli lost any semblance of control over his own sons. In 1 Samuel 2:12-17 we read this: Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast; he won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw."
If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would then answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force."
This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.
If you wonder what Eli did about this, here it is.
1 Samuel 2:22-25 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the LORD's people. If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death.
Now before you go thinking that God had already decided to kill them, understand that Eli's sons had freedom to obey or to disobey, but their disobedience was not beyond God's power. God planned all along to judge their actions. It's similar to when Jonah went to Ninevah to preach about God's impending judgment on them – but when they repented, God relented and did not punish them as He had promised.
Did you notice what Eli's reaction was? He complained. He whined at them. That's it. There were no real ramifications. Nothing happened to them, and they continued in their sin.
What I'd like to do now is to draw a comparison. I've shown you an ineffective, even evil, father. Now let's change gears and look at a father who actually cared about his children.
Let's turn in our Bibles to Job 1. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Did you notice how Job related to his children? Job's sons knew how to party. Their parties would be huge. But when they finished feasting, Job would make sure his children went through the appropriate purification rituals. He was concerned enough to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf.
What can we take from these biblical fathers?
1.Your priorities are important. I've often told people that my priorities are as follows: God is first, my family is second, and the church is third. I'm not sure where Eli's priorities were, but I can make an educated guess that he had them all messed up. As priest, he doubtlessly spent a lot of time at the temple. In fact, it seems like he had a near-permanent spot set up where he sat there. But here's something to think about: if you sacrifice your family at the altar of the church, you've done nobody any favors. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, was a prime example of this: he founded a wonderful ministry that continues to feed thousands, yet he was estranged from his entire family. 1 Timothy 3 has an interesting line about leaders in the church; verse 5 asks the rhetorical question: if anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? Eli lived this out.
2.Lazy leadership will bring you predictable results. If you want to help bring up a generation who doesn't give a rip about what their parents say, then live like Eli. When your children do evil, sit by silently. Complain at them at most. But whatever you do, don't get out of your chair and do anything about it. There are times when it seems easier to just sit back and let things happen as they happen, but that will not help your children grow into mature Christians. This isn't just true for parents, but for leaders in any arena. If you want to lead people to spiritual maturity, it won't happen by accident.
3.When it comes to leadership, especially with your kids, better safe than sorry. Job understood this full well. While Eli was afraid to confront his evil sons, Job was sacrificing on their behalf in case they had accidentally sinned. I know that none of us can make our kids accept Jesus Christ, but we can pave the way. How? We can live out a Christian life in front of them. This week as I was preparing for Wanda Keller's funeral, her daughter-in-law Kathy told me something touching. She told me that Wanda shone the light of Christ to her, loving, never judging, and that it was because of Wanda's witness that Kathy – and then her children – accepted Jesus. I've had people tell me, “Oh, I want my kids to make their own decisions on Jesus” and then they refuse to give their kids any information whatsoever. That would be like saying, “I want my kids to come to their own conclusions on math” but not teaching them numbers. I've also met people who said that their kids didn't understand everything that was going on in church, so they didn't “make” them go. Yeah, so instead of spending the time teaching them, using those things they didn't understand as teaching moments, they didn't bring them at all. And instead of having them understand a small amount and grow from that, they let them miss out on all of it. Dumb leadership.
4.It's not all about you. There are lasting ramifications for the way you lead, whether it's in your family or in your church, we are all a part of something bigger. Job's good parenting was a concrete demonstration of his faithfulness to God. Eli's poor parenting likewise reflected on his faithfulness.
Some of you are probably thinking, “My kids are already grown.” You can still have an impact on them. Do they know the Good News of Jesus Christ? That God desires a relationship with them and loves them so much that his Son Jesus Christ went to the cross for their sins?
What do you have to lose by telling them? Yes, I understand that evangelism within your own family is the hardest kind, but it's the most important kind. Having two funerals and losing a close friend this past week has served as a real reminder to me how important this is. That we have the hope of resurrection, of eternity with Jesus Christ, of knowing and seeing God face to face, of a reunion with our loved ones, but not outside of a relationship with Jesus.
Some others of you are thinking: I don't have kids yet. If that's your situation, it is not too early to begin praying for your future kids. Even those of you who aren't even married yet; start praying for your future spouse.
The judgment on Eli was swift. Because of his lack of leadership, God allowed his sons to die in battle, and their enemies took Israel's ark of the covenant. As Eli heard this information, he fell backwards off his chair and died. I'm not saying that you're going to die today if you are a poor leader, but I'll be honest and let you know that if you're not willing to step up and lead, there are consequences. And if you are, there are rewards as well – eternal ones.
Meanwhile, how many come to church to honor their fathers on Father's Day? It's not usually one of the top attended services. What does this say about fathers?
This summer, we've been doing some character studies, looking at some Good, some Bad, and some Ugly people from the Bible. This morning in honor of Father's Day, I'm going to attempt to look at two Bible Fathers: Eli and Job.
When it comes to lousy priests, Eli's name rises toward the top. He was the priest of Israel, but he seemed to be a spiritual midget. From the first time we meet Eli in the book of 1 Samuel, we can see that something is wrong. We meet him when a woman named Hannah had come to the tabernacle to pray. She was childless and had struggled with this for years, but on this particular day, she was weeping and praying, making a vow to God, that if God would give her a son, she would give him to the Lord.
Let's look at Eli's response, as seen in (1 Samuel 1:12-17) As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
Can you imagine this? You're here at church, and we've had services you're full of grief, praying at the altar, and there I am, sitting in my easy chair, and I mistake your prayers for drunkenness... wow.
Eli was supposed to be the spiritual leader of the people of Israel, but he doesn't even recognize it when someone is praying.
That's not Eli's only failure, though. As I was reading up on him, I noticed something interesting. At least I found it interesting. Actually I didn't notice it while I was reading; I noticed it while I was out running.
Though Eli is mentioned several times in 1 Samuel, only three times does it mention specifics about what Eli was doing – and twice he was sitting in his chair and once he was lying down. Though I understand that this doesn't mean that Eli never stood up and never did anything else, I think it's telling that every time we find him, he's on his backside.
And this laziness is not just in his manner of relating to people like Hannah. He carries the same attitude to raising his sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They ministered as priests as well, but they were flat out evil. As much as I am knocking Eli, he did raise up Hannah's son Samuel to minister before the Lord. In the meantime, however, Eli lost any semblance of control over his own sons. In 1 Samuel 2:12-17 we read this: Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast; he won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw."
If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would then answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force."
This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.
If you wonder what Eli did about this, here it is.
1 Samuel 2:22-25 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the LORD's people. If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death.
Now before you go thinking that God had already decided to kill them, understand that Eli's sons had freedom to obey or to disobey, but their disobedience was not beyond God's power. God planned all along to judge their actions. It's similar to when Jonah went to Ninevah to preach about God's impending judgment on them – but when they repented, God relented and did not punish them as He had promised.
Did you notice what Eli's reaction was? He complained. He whined at them. That's it. There were no real ramifications. Nothing happened to them, and they continued in their sin.
What I'd like to do now is to draw a comparison. I've shown you an ineffective, even evil, father. Now let's change gears and look at a father who actually cared about his children.
Let's turn in our Bibles to Job 1. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Did you notice how Job related to his children? Job's sons knew how to party. Their parties would be huge. But when they finished feasting, Job would make sure his children went through the appropriate purification rituals. He was concerned enough to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf.
What can we take from these biblical fathers?
1.Your priorities are important. I've often told people that my priorities are as follows: God is first, my family is second, and the church is third. I'm not sure where Eli's priorities were, but I can make an educated guess that he had them all messed up. As priest, he doubtlessly spent a lot of time at the temple. In fact, it seems like he had a near-permanent spot set up where he sat there. But here's something to think about: if you sacrifice your family at the altar of the church, you've done nobody any favors. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, was a prime example of this: he founded a wonderful ministry that continues to feed thousands, yet he was estranged from his entire family. 1 Timothy 3 has an interesting line about leaders in the church; verse 5 asks the rhetorical question: if anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? Eli lived this out.
2.Lazy leadership will bring you predictable results. If you want to help bring up a generation who doesn't give a rip about what their parents say, then live like Eli. When your children do evil, sit by silently. Complain at them at most. But whatever you do, don't get out of your chair and do anything about it. There are times when it seems easier to just sit back and let things happen as they happen, but that will not help your children grow into mature Christians. This isn't just true for parents, but for leaders in any arena. If you want to lead people to spiritual maturity, it won't happen by accident.
3.When it comes to leadership, especially with your kids, better safe than sorry. Job understood this full well. While Eli was afraid to confront his evil sons, Job was sacrificing on their behalf in case they had accidentally sinned. I know that none of us can make our kids accept Jesus Christ, but we can pave the way. How? We can live out a Christian life in front of them. This week as I was preparing for Wanda Keller's funeral, her daughter-in-law Kathy told me something touching. She told me that Wanda shone the light of Christ to her, loving, never judging, and that it was because of Wanda's witness that Kathy – and then her children – accepted Jesus. I've had people tell me, “Oh, I want my kids to make their own decisions on Jesus” and then they refuse to give their kids any information whatsoever. That would be like saying, “I want my kids to come to their own conclusions on math” but not teaching them numbers. I've also met people who said that their kids didn't understand everything that was going on in church, so they didn't “make” them go. Yeah, so instead of spending the time teaching them, using those things they didn't understand as teaching moments, they didn't bring them at all. And instead of having them understand a small amount and grow from that, they let them miss out on all of it. Dumb leadership.
4.It's not all about you. There are lasting ramifications for the way you lead, whether it's in your family or in your church, we are all a part of something bigger. Job's good parenting was a concrete demonstration of his faithfulness to God. Eli's poor parenting likewise reflected on his faithfulness.
Some of you are probably thinking, “My kids are already grown.” You can still have an impact on them. Do they know the Good News of Jesus Christ? That God desires a relationship with them and loves them so much that his Son Jesus Christ went to the cross for their sins?
What do you have to lose by telling them? Yes, I understand that evangelism within your own family is the hardest kind, but it's the most important kind. Having two funerals and losing a close friend this past week has served as a real reminder to me how important this is. That we have the hope of resurrection, of eternity with Jesus Christ, of knowing and seeing God face to face, of a reunion with our loved ones, but not outside of a relationship with Jesus.
Some others of you are thinking: I don't have kids yet. If that's your situation, it is not too early to begin praying for your future kids. Even those of you who aren't even married yet; start praying for your future spouse.
The judgment on Eli was swift. Because of his lack of leadership, God allowed his sons to die in battle, and their enemies took Israel's ark of the covenant. As Eli heard this information, he fell backwards off his chair and died. I'm not saying that you're going to die today if you are a poor leader, but I'll be honest and let you know that if you're not willing to step up and lead, there are consequences. And if you are, there are rewards as well – eternal ones.
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