Last night was another great evening at the Five.  I’m glad that you were there.  It really has been great getting together each week… You can keep on praying for the ministry of the Five here at FBC.

Last night I gave a challenge for Dad’s to step up there game in watching out and protecting their children from sin.  However it doesn’t just apply to us as Dad’s.  There is a universal call to every man woman, teen and child to guard their heart and mind from sin!  We were in 1 Samuel and the story found there reminds us about how serious sin is to God.  It is not something to mess around with and take lightly.

On to the questions…

1.  Why do you think that God needed to punish the whole house of Eli and not just Eli and his sons?

I think that God needed to punish the whole house of Eli because it seems to me that the whole house of Eli was living in sin.  It wasn’t just the boys… It was everyone.  Each one of us is responsible for our own actions.  Eli was responsible to judge the nation of Israel and lead the nation in the direction that the Lord would have them go.  He unfortunately was accused of putting his sons in front of God.  The punishment that God chose we cannot explain.  God’s ways are higher than our ways.  The Bible says who can understand the mind of the Lord.  What I can tell you is that God is a just and fair God.  He would not have done something out of anger or high tempered emotions.  This was necessary.

2.  You mentioned a period when God killed those that mixed with the Moabites.  I get that they were sinners, but can’t racists use that as an example to justify their actions?

First off, there is never any kind of justification for racism.  The passage that I referenced last night was Numbers chapter 25 verses 1-5.  This passage recognizes the fact that those that were killed from Israel were going to a neighboring nation and joining themselves to that nations gods and idols.  They were worshiping false gods and that is unacceptable according to the Lord.  This is yet again another example from remaining pure, staying away from sin.

This would be a very difficult passage to argue racism from.  God does not require the life of those who do not declare Him God, it is the lives of those who know better and run and worship at the feet of false idols.  God deals very seriously with our sin.  Therefore so should we!

3.  What constitutes a man?

This is a difficult question to answer.  Each culture defines manhood in a different way.  I am reminded of something very simple and insanely ridiculous to even be drawing a spiritual truth from, “Madagascar 2”.  In that movie Alex the lion reunites with his family and has to go through a rite of passage ritual in order to be allowed into the pack.  I know, that was just outlandish.  However, all that to say each culture has an age that it is recognized when a boy enters into “manhood”.  I don’t know that I can answer this question.  I think however the real question that you should be asking is, “What types of things should I be doing as a man after God’s heart?”

4.  The enemies of Israel often said to Israel “May your children be fatherless.”  This was a statement not only of “I wish you were dead” but also recognizes the leadership role the dad has in the family and the community.  It was like saying “May your family and community lose its rudder.”

What about single dads?  Sometimes hearing about the role of fathers just heaps guilt onto single dads, especially if they sinned and caused the family to break and realized it later (often too late).  What about the role of moms in supporting the dads – letting him take appropriate leadership, supporting him, etc.

Clearly each one of us makes mistakes.  There is no doubt.  Some of us will make mistakes that leave deafening marks in the lives of those around us.  God has something called Grace and Forgiveness for that.  From that point forward there is an incredible opportunity for each of us to do the best that we can with the time that we have to help make amends and build the bridges back in the lives of those that we’ve hurt.  My point last night was not to inflict guilt or heap on regrets of should haves or would haves but to help each one of us as dads reflect on the responsibility that we have in the lives of our children.

I didn’t have an opportunity to speak to the moms supporting the dads…  Yes this is a very touchy and time consuming issue of men being the leaders in their household.

My prayer is for dads both married and single to turn to God and seek God’s heart as they raise their children.

Whew!  Well, you guys have some great thoughts… Let’s keep this conversation going!  I love it!

~Peter