#DailyDevotion Your Parents Are Next To God
July 25th
Read 1 Sam 9:1–27
1Sa 9:1-5 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. (2) And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. (3) Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”…(5) When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Honor your father and your mother.
What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
In our account today we start off with an example of keeping the 4th commandment. Notice what Saul does when his father gives him an assignment. He gets up and does it. Saul is a grown man, a young man sure, but grown. Yet he still honors his father. He doesn’t yell, kick or scream. He doesn’t make excuses of why he can’t do something. Nope, he just gets on it.
We also note something else, what Saul thinks about his father. He believes his father will be missing him and be more concerned for him than his donkeys. This tells us that Saul’s father appreciates and understands his role as a father. He doesn’t treat his children like chattel or playthings. He loves them and is responsible for them. He also trust them to do the job set before them.
This may be a lot different from some of today’s fathers and children. It is hard to tell if the media i.e. TV, sitcoms, movies and commercials reflect the culture of our day or if it is influencing it. Perhaps it is a bit of both. Paul warns us in Romans that when we reject Jesus as our Savior and our God there is a direct consequence as to how we will live our lives. Rom 1:28-32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (29) They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (32) Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Perhaps we have notice this in ourselves with our own family. Is there help? Is there forgiveness? Can there be change? Most definitely! We all must confess our sins, admit our faults and then believe that Christ Jesus indeed has won forgiveness for us and gives us the Holy Spirit that we might live the life he wants us to live.
Lord Jesus Christ, we have not trusted you and lived life apart from your Word. Grant us faith and your Holy Spirit that now may live according to your will. Amen.