In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and there daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feast in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
This post will still talk about parenting, and I think we need to get some examples of fathers or maybe I should just say parents in the Bible and learn from their experiences. I have heard a quote that says "a wise man is one who learns from the experiences of others," so we will do ourselves a lot of good by learning from the experiences of those in the Bible.
From the intro given in the Bible about the man called Job, there are several interesting characteristics of this wonderful man of God. He was a very wealthy man, in fact the Bible calls him the greatest man among the people of the East in his lifetime. So he was very rich and great and that most likely will make him a very busy man. For him to be able to attain and retain greatness it really takes diligence and consistence in his work. His schedule must have been a very tight one owing to his riches, greatness and influence.
He was also a righteous man, he was a man who was very God conscious. He was godly to the point that God Himself made a proud declaration of this man saying there was none like him on the face of the earth. For God to make such a declaration, Job must have been assessed inside out by God and not found wanting in anyway.
But for the purpose of this message we will look at the life of Job as a father. The Bible said Job will wait till the feasting period of his sons were over and will send for them to have them purified. He had to make sure that his sons did not sin against God even as they feasted and this was his regular custom.
Owing to Job's status as a rich, great and busy man one would have assumed that he had every reason to overlook the deeds of his children and their attitude towards the things of God, but Job understood better. He knew that in order to have an excellent score card before the Lord, the lives, attitudes and deeds of his children was of great importance and in his very busy lifestyle his children's life took center stage. It was not just his own personal life that he needed to watch over but that of his ten children and Job did this as a regular custom.
Another thing to note about Job and his children was that his children were not young. In fact they were already living in their individual home as the Bible records that they took turns to hold feasts in their homes. So each one in his home would hold a feast and after the feast, Job will send for them from their individual homes in order to be purified.
Noting all that we have seen from the life of Job and his children, we will notice that his wealth, affluence, busy schedule and even his righteous walk with God did not affect or disturb or hinder his role as a father. And also the age of his children did not stop him from purifying them after each feasting period. Job did not assume that since his children were old they could take care of themselves and develop their own relationship with God with no contribution from him. But instead he ensured that he still did what was needful as a father whether or not his children were old enough to show restrain towards sinning against the Lord or not. This was the life and regular practice of Job as a father.
In my last post we saw that no ministerial call of God on our lives is more important to God than the ministry of home management and children management. In addition to that, we are learning from the life of Job as a father that our wealth, riches, greatness, work-life, busy schedule and whatever reason we might come up with is good enough reason for us to fail as parents. In fact the age of our children no matter how they may have grown to be is not enough reason for us not to purify them before God in good counselling, training and even discipline. And just like Job, the Lord expects that to be our regular custom and not a one-off habit. Your task as a parent ends the day your exit the face of the earth. But as long as you are still living you owe God the responsibility to produce for Him the godly offspring that He seeks from your marriage union.
Looking at the life of Job, was there any gray area of his life that will make not God say to satan "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil"? Job was not just a blameless man in his walk with God, he was also a blameless man as a father.
If we seek such testimony as that of Job's coming from the mouth of God and not man, then we need to start emulating the life of Job and seek perfection not just in our personal relationship with God, but also in our responsibility as parents. Our work-life and pursuit of wealth, our political life and our ministerial calls are no reasons at all to fail God as parents.
There is sales promo on all my books for less than half the original price for the next 500 copies of each book sold. Take advantage of this opportunity to get copies for yourself and loved ones. Minister into someone's life by sowing a copy of any of these life changing books into their lives. It will really make a difference. When you feel you can't preach, purchase a book that speaks about the changes that needs to be made and into the life needing it and watch God cause your seed to germinate and grow and produce fruits to His glory. All books are available on any amazon online store. Details below.
Gleanings From The Throne of God. Price $24.99 - Now $11.99. Available on all Amazon online stores and on Createspace.com via this link https://www.createspace.com/4330620. Promo Kindle Price is $9.99 - Now $5.99
Another thing to note about Job and his children was that his children were not young. In fact they were already living in their individual home as the Bible records that they took turns to hold feasts in their homes. So each one in his home would hold a feast and after the feast, Job will send for them from their individual homes in order to be purified.
Noting all that we have seen from the life of Job and his children, we will notice that his wealth, affluence, busy schedule and even his righteous walk with God did not affect or disturb or hinder his role as a father. And also the age of his children did not stop him from purifying them after each feasting period. Job did not assume that since his children were old they could take care of themselves and develop their own relationship with God with no contribution from him. But instead he ensured that he still did what was needful as a father whether or not his children were old enough to show restrain towards sinning against the Lord or not. This was the life and regular practice of Job as a father.
In my last post we saw that no ministerial call of God on our lives is more important to God than the ministry of home management and children management. In addition to that, we are learning from the life of Job as a father that our wealth, riches, greatness, work-life, busy schedule and whatever reason we might come up with is good enough reason for us to fail as parents. In fact the age of our children no matter how they may have grown to be is not enough reason for us not to purify them before God in good counselling, training and even discipline. And just like Job, the Lord expects that to be our regular custom and not a one-off habit. Your task as a parent ends the day your exit the face of the earth. But as long as you are still living you owe God the responsibility to produce for Him the godly offspring that He seeks from your marriage union.
Looking at the life of Job, was there any gray area of his life that will make not God say to satan "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil"? Job was not just a blameless man in his walk with God, he was also a blameless man as a father.
If we seek such testimony as that of Job's coming from the mouth of God and not man, then we need to start emulating the life of Job and seek perfection not just in our personal relationship with God, but also in our responsibility as parents. Our work-life and pursuit of wealth, our political life and our ministerial calls are no reasons at all to fail God as parents.
There is sales promo on all my books for less than half the original price for the next 500 copies of each book sold. Take advantage of this opportunity to get copies for yourself and loved ones. Minister into someone's life by sowing a copy of any of these life changing books into their lives. It will really make a difference. When you feel you can't preach, purchase a book that speaks about the changes that needs to be made and into the life needing it and watch God cause your seed to germinate and grow and produce fruits to His glory. All books are available on any amazon online store. Details below.
Because the Lord Seeks Godly Offspring. Price $15.99 - Now $7.99. Available on all Amazon online stores and on Createspace.com via this link https://www.createspace.com/4352171
Promo Kindle Price is $6.99 - Now $3.99
.png)
"And just like Job, the Lord expects that to be our regular custom and not a one-off habit."
ReplyDeleteI'm 37 years old and my wonderful mother is always helping me get stuff done around my home. Right now she's helping me paint the exterior of my home. She is a great influence on my four children, on me, and even on my husband.
I think the key is making it a 'regular custom' to help your family in their daily load, whether your husband, your kids, or your parents. That and donuts.
Donuts? Absolutely! My mom is always bringing some sort of treat when she comes over and the kids don't forget it!
Thank you for bringing Job's fatherly customs to the forefront of my mind. God wants us to provide for our families, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and monetarily. When I think of how important this is in God's eyes, I am reminded of 1 Tim 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."