Thursday, March 26, 2009

His standard

"Why did you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I commanded in My dwelling and honor your sons above me." 1 Samuel 2:29
I have been meditating and studying this portion of scripture in order to add it to my "Christ centered" attachment Bible study. However, I felt led to share it here.
As we look at the book of 1 Samuel, we are stuck by the fact that the priest of that time, Eli, had very wicked sons. One may wonder where the father went wrong. If we back up to verses 22-25 we read that Eli barely reprimanded his sons for their gross sins of defying the temple. It was merely a 'hand slap."
"He said to them, 'why do you do such things, the evil things I hear from all the people. No, my sons; the report is not good..."
The word is clear that "there are none righteous. So, Eli should have known the answer to his own question of, "why?" Even more so, he was a priest and would have known the law, which was God's standard at the time. If you read Dueteronomy 21:18-21, you see that "rebellious children were to be stoned to death." Oh, how I am grateful we live under grace now--and our kid's should be more grateful :-)
Obviously, seen by the words of God in verse 29, Eli "honored his sons above the word of God."
God' word places heavy emphasis on the training and discipline of our children. God even goes as far as saying that "discpline/the rod will save them from death." Proverbs 23:14
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "train up a child in the way he/she should go and when he/she is old he/she will not depart from it."
I was taught, from the pulpit, that "in the way he/she should go" meant according to ones personality. However, after much digging and research I discovered otherwise. In the original Hebrew, the word "way" means 'proper, the path of wisdom or godly living' It is never used as personality in the book of Proverbs (The Bible Knowledge Commentary).
Therefore, we can conclude that we as parents are to train up our children in the way of proper, godly wisdom. Wisdom, as we know, is to fear God and obey His commands. It is our ministry as a parent to begin this training, or hedging, as soon as the child is brought into our care. Narrowing the child's conduct away from evil and toward godliness and starting him/her in the right direction.
On a side note, 'the nature of a Proverb is a literary device whereby a general truth is brought to bear a specific situation. Not all proverbs are an absolute guarantee although they are usually true, occasional exceptions may be noted. This may be because of the self will or deliberate disobedience of an individual who chooses to go his own way. It is generally true, however, that most children who are brought up in Christians homes, under the influence of godly parents, who teach and live God's standards, follow that training." (TBKC)
There is a tendency, that I have allowed myself to think and have seen in many adoptive families. This is to "honor" our children above God and His word. How is this done? By not training them according to God's standard. They are not expempt. And like all children, they must be brought before God's holiness, recognize their own sin, its consequences and the hope that is free in Jesus Christ.
It is my desire to study God's word and live it out--depsite what the world standards look like. I am the first to admit that I am not a perfect mom and I do not have all the answers. However, I know THE ONE WHO DOES HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS and THEY ARE FOUND IN HIS WORD, THE FULL COUNSEL OF GOD! HE IS THE MIGHTY COUNSELOR. AND IN HIM IS LIFE AND LIFE ABUNDANTLY.

3 comments:

Adeye said...

Thank you, friend, for such a wonderful post. So much insight--I can't wait to add it to the study you e-mailed me.

Thank you for being such a blessing!

Warren Baldwin said...

I was linking "missions" and found your site. I like your post on Proverbs. I have five articles on my Family Fountain post based on Proverbs now, and will be adding moe. Please check it out if you get a chance. And thanks for doing mission work!
Warren
Family Fountain:
http://warrenbaldwin.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

How true that many who adopt certainly "exempt" their children from being "hedged" onto the path of righteousness. Many adoptive parents have asked, "when should we start to tell them 'no'?" WHAT??? I have 4 from China and they were each "hedged" in during our first days with them in China! I am encouraged by your blog - and pray for you and your brood of young ones! God Bless you!! MaryK
kambergerchronicles.blogspot.com