Any fool can be a DAD?

God says “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it …” Ezekiel 22:30

It’s Father’s Day in the UK this Sunday and although we live in Tenerife, part of Spain, we nonetheless celebrate ‘Fathers’ here this weekend too..
Any fool can be a dad; it takes someone special and certainly NOT a fool to be a FATHER! It seems to me that much of what is wrong in our homes, therefore on our streets, therefore in our communities, therefore in our Governments, therefore in society, therefore in our world is because there is the absence of good, strong, godly FATHERHOOD?                                          
In one of Dr. James Dobson’s 2008 newsletters, he writes: "Some years ago, executives of a greeting-card company decided to do something special for Mother’s Day. They set up a table in a federal prison, inviting inmates to send a free card to their Mom. The lines were so long they had to make another trip to get more cards. "Due to the success of that event, they decided to do the same thing on Father’s Day, but this time, not one prisoner felt the need to send a card to his Dad. In fact, when asked about it, many had no idea who their fathers were. I find that a sobering illustration of the importance of a dad and his blessing to his children." (From a sermon by Gene Edwards, "In Search of the Blessing")                                      

The Bible tells us that Fathers are to be heads of their households, to teach, to mould, to nurture, to encourage, to discipline and to lead themselves by example and practice and when they do not, well the evidence is there for all to see.
Thinking then of Fathers and the need we have for good fathers, took me a little further to think the same of the Church? Well is there not a direct link? After all to be a leader in the Church is not one of the qualifications that “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?” 1Timothy 3:4-5.
So can we conclude that as we see, I believe, the lack of godly fatherhood in our homes the result is evident in the decline in our society therefore is the same true in our world because within our Churches there is a similar lack of spiritual leadership? Men are not being what they should be or doing what they should do.. Oh yes there are a lot of men saying what needs to be said, there’s a lot of noise BUT nobody is prepared to act upon their words, it’s like what used to be heard in every household, maybe still is, when you were told to do or not to do something and when you asked why? “Because I said so, that's why!” 

These last few days I have been reading in the Old Testament and before you launch an attack on me, I know what you’re going to say!
What has the Old Testament got to say to 21st Century people? Well a whole lot actually, maybe because people are the same whatever century we live in AND perhaps if we had learned from the mistakes of our forefathers we wouldn’t be doing the same thing all over again!!!  THERE!

Now where was I? The first book of Samuel opens up with an amazing story about Hannah and how she gives birth to a son Samuel. The young boy is dedicated to the Lord and becomes a mighty prophet and a godly priest BUT running in stark contrast to this, through the first four chapters in another story about another family and this one is not great at all. It is the story of Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas.
It is the story of a family out of control because the father was not being the FATHER?
I think there is a clue in Chapter one about the nature of Eli. The High Priest, yet one who, it seems, has little discernment when he misunderstands Hannah, who is praying to God but Eli interprets as a woman who is under the influence of alcohol! In Chapter two then we discover the truth about the two sons as well. They were as verse 12 puts it, “worthless men” corrupt, scoundrels, a bad lot as some of the other translations puts it. They didn't even know the Lord? Yet their father had brought them into the priesthood?
They were Priests.. WHAT??? Aren't they are supposed to be godly men, spiritual men, good men, not just men who are following the line of the family business, yet there they were? The story is far from over however, we discover too they are abusing their position as priests. They have a terrible name amongst ALL the people and so we read these words, “Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel….. For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.
1 Samuel 2:22-23                                     
Worse still they were stealing from God in taking from the sacrifices that which was the Lords, “Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.” v17 and there’s more. They even used their influence and position to gain sexual favours with the women who served at the gate of the Tent of Meeting v22. Oh yes Eli knew what they were up to all right and he even called them to give account for their wrongdoing. “Why do you do such things!” v23.  What on earth is going on here? I keep hearing story upon story, everybody is telling me of the awful things you two are up to and it’s not right!
And he warns them BUT that’s ALL he does. The two boys don’t listen and ignored their father’s words, and carried on doing what they had always done!                            
In stark contrast to Eli’s sons stands Samuel who we are then told in the same verse continues to grow and was doing well, being blessed by God and the people spoke well of him! It is a bit of irony then, that this young protégé of Eli is the one who brings him news of God’s judgement upon the sons and upon him, the reason, well it’s clear even before we read it, “He knew what was going on, that his sons were desecrating God’s name and God’s place, and he did nothing to stop them.”
1 Samuel 3:13 TM  He didn’t restrain them, he didn’t rebuke them, he didn’t discipline them, he didn’t stop them. Eli did nothing! He was one weak father indeed! …Just stood there and watched it all happening!
It was Edmund Burke who once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

You see I am not saying Eli was not a good man, he was BUT he just wasn’t the Father he ought to be. He let the boys do whatever they wanted, he loved them, he taught them the difference between right and wrong, he even taught them the Word of God, I am sure BUT he never disciplined them and he put them into places they should never have been in, simply because they were his sons.
He had wronged them by his actions at the beginning, and wronged them by his inaction at the end.. AND then the saddest thing was that what began as a family problem became a nation’s problem!

Israel’s spiritual leadership was rotten to the core and so it is understandable that when you turn another page into Chapter 4 that the people are just treating God with the same contempt as Hophni and Phinehas. God has become a mere talisman, a lucky charm to hang round their neck?
They go out to battle and face defeat and their response is let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant out with us and “IT will save us from our enemies.”? ! Samuel 4:3                                                                                  

Well if things have got bad they are about to get worse? The battle is lost, Israel is defeated, the Ark is captured and both of Eli’s sons are dead..The sense of  loss and of sorrow at what has taken place is summed up by the naming of Phinehas’s new born son as ICHABOD.. That’s what his wife named the child! “And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” 4:21.
Do you see it? A family destroyed, a Nation in ruins and God’s testimony dragged through the gutter and the fault lies with the ONE MAN! ELI!!!

Our homes and families are missing fathers who will not only be good fathers but godly fathers, who will be prepared to lead, to take the responsibility to be good roles models, to match words with actions?
Loving your children is NOT just about saying you love them, that's good or about spending valuable time with them, that's necessary or indeed just being good examples that they will follow, that's essential BUT  loving them enough to know when you must discipline them also.

               Heed the lessons of Eli! AND our ‘Spiritual Father’s’
      as it were, in our Churches, you must heed this lesson too.
There are very real connections here. I am not the only one who sees what happened to the Nation of Israel, happening right now to the Church of Jesus Christ. Ichabod??
Are you prepared to sit back and watch it happen, to allow others to go on sinning and robing God and treating His Church with contempt?

Our families need Strong Godly Fathers,
Our Churches need  Strong Godly Ministers and
Our Nations need Strong Godly Leaders!!!
Who are not only able to speak up BUT who are not afraid to take action when it is needed!

 

I for one am listening..I think to myself at times, I’m only one man, leading one small church on one little Island in the Atlantic Ocean, yet as this old poem says…

For want of a nail the shoe was lost. 
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Any fool can be a Dad? I don’t want to be just a DAD! I want to be a Godly Father; I want to be a Godly Minister that perhaps through me God would raise up from my children, from my Church, Godly people who will change our world, who will lead our people ,who will be the ones who restore the Glory!

“but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30