The Lord humbled me greatly last night. I was cast on the mercy of God as I encountered 1 Samuel 2:25. Eli was a priest of God and his sons were totally Godless. Eli rebuked his sons for sleeping with women who came to worship. But Eli's sons would not listen to him. Now, the question that the text answers is "Why?" Why did Eli's sons not listen to him? Was it because they were teenagers? Was it because Eli was a bad father? Was it because Eli did not pray for them enough? Here is what the Biblical author says after Eli finishes rebuking his sons:
"But they would not listen to the voice of their father, FOR it was the will of the Lord to put them to death."
They did not listen to their father because God was causing them not to hear. How else can "it was the will of the Lord" be interpreted?
What should a parent do in response to this text?
9 comments:
Weep and beg for mercy.
The answer is found in the decretive and preceptive understanding of God's will. God may have decreed to put our children to death, but that is not to be the rule of our duty as parents. We are to pray and labor and share the gospel and pray that the Lord would be pleased to save them because that is what the Lord calls us to do. God's decretive will is 1 Samuel 2:25. His preceptive will is Ephesians 6:4.
So, this text is to humble us and teach us that their salvation is ultimately in the hands of God, but it is not to cause us to see this text as command. It isn't command. It's decree. The secret things are his (i.e. 1 Samuel 2:25), but the things revealed (Ephesians 6:4) belong to us (Deut. 32:32). More could be said. What do you think, Justin?
I agree with Mark. I parent is commanded to pray and to plead for the grace of God to fall upon the lives of their children.
I do not believe the text is teaching that Eli had an excuse for not restraining his sons. (1 Samuel 3:13-14).
Yes we agree that ultimately God is Sovereign over the lives of our children - but as in all of life, His sovereignty does not negate our responsibilities!
Pray, plead and pound the throne of grace on behalf of your children!
Clif
Justin,
Let's let one of our common heroes speak. I don't know how to make this a "clickable link" in the comments but here is Spurgeon's sermon on God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility.
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0207.htm
Clif
I have agonized about this. I have prayed for mercy and cried. I have accepted the fact that the eternity of my children rests with God. I have the responsibility to teach them the truth and direct them toward God. That is why we have decided to homeschool. I have come to peace with the fact that God is sovereign and perfect. I am glad it is in his hands and not my children's. Who am I to question God when I don't fully understand how it all works. Like chase said, I beg for mercy and show them the truth. Since I do not yet understand the finer points of theology, if I am wrong in my thoughts PLEASE point it out since I do not want to go forward blindly in error.
Great comments. I could not agree more with Mark.
My point in asking the question was to get us, as parents, to think about more than simply being "good" parents. I think most parents just think that if they love their kids, they will turn out fine, without any thought to God's Sovereign Mercy.
In other words, I think there ought to be more pleading to go along with the teaching.
Shannon, I think you are saying the same thing as Mark. Our responsibility is to teach them and lead them to Christ. But all the while we must understand that we cannot save our kids. Only God saves.
I did a post a while back about Spurgeon's mom who would litterally plead with God in the presence of her son for his salvation (see: Dec. 9th, 2005 post). She would say that her soul must give witness against him if he didn't trust Christ. Read it for yourself.
Good words Everybody!
Ultimately only God has the power to save them and change their hearts but at the same time He commands us to "teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth." Deuteronomy 11:19-21
Thanks for the reminder!
I found comfort in it all. That nothing that I can do can thwart the plans of the Lord. (not throwing out my responsibility of course) but its so comforting to know that the Lord is the one who elects and saves- not me. So thats just what I thought of when I read that....how comforting.
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