Eli and Samuel

For over 200 years, Israel was ruled by judges whom God raised up to deliver the children of Israel from the hands of their enemies.  Eli and Samuel were the last of the judges, with Samuel being the protege of Eli, the priest.  Samuel was dedicated to the Lord by Hannah his mother before he was born (1 Sam 1:11).  As a young boy, he heard the voice of God proclaiming judgment on Eli's household (1 Sam 3:11-14).  He became a prophet of God who saw Israel's transition from theocracy to monarchy (1 Sam 8:7ff).  Due to the godly influence of Hannah and Eli, Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men (1 Sam 2:26).

When we look at the children of Eli and Samuel, we notice that they were not similar brought up in godly values and discipline. The Bible's account on Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, was that they were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD (1 Sam 2:12ff).  The NASB version states that they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people.  Eli's sons abused their position but were not rebuked nor disciplined by their father for their sacrileges.  Likewise, Samuel's sons, Joel and Abijah, did not walk in his father's ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice (1 Sam 8:1-3).   This led to Israel demanding a king to rule over them, just like the other heathen nations (1 Sam 8:4ff).

Today, as we commemorate Father's Day, these two so-called godly characters provide us with a snapshot of how one can be so focused on ministry (or work) at the expense of the family's spiritual well-being.  Likewise, we can be so busy doing the Lord's work (or advancing our career), seeing lives of people saved and touched by the power of God, but fail to instruct our own children in the ways of the Lord.  Paul exhorts, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Eph 6:4 (NIV).  The role of fathers is to teach their children the Lord's instruction as found in His Word.  This can be done through family times or casual conversations (Dt 6:5-7). This training should start when the children are still young so that they would not depart from the teachings when they grow old (Pr 22:6).

Our children may be attending church currently.  However, there is no guarantee that they would continue to worship God and acknowledge Him in the future.  With the influence of the world (through the net and peers) bombarding them constantly, if they do not have any spiritual anchors in life, they can be easily swept away by the teachings and enticements of the world (Eph 4:14).  As parents, how do we go about insuring their salvation and rich welcome into God's kingdom?  One way is to get the Word of God into their spirit man; teaching them how to go about feeding themselves on God's Word.  At the same time, teaching them how to commune with God, both speaking and listening to Him.  It won't be easy, as it requires effort on the part of both parent and child to build a good habit of having daily devotion with God.

A prayer that we can pray for our children centred on 5 Ps:
Principles: they be built up based on the principles of God's Word, knowing right from wrong.
Practices: their words, actions and attitude would be pleasing to the Lord.
Productive: they would grow in the grace and knowledge of God.
Peers: they would not be influenced negatively by their peers/friends but rather influence them positively.
Partners: their life-partners in future would be god-fearing; following and serving the LORD (Dt 13:4).

May God forgive us for our shortcomings in bringing up our children and give us His wisdom to be good fathers.  Have a blessed Father's Day!