fathers

Do the father's faults flow to the next generation more easily than their virtues?

That is the observation after a brief review of the kings of divided Israel. The kings of the north are judged against Jeroboam, their first king. The review is commonly "did even worse things than Jeroboam". The kings of the South are compared with either David as good or Rehoboam as bad. A much more common theme is the steady decline of the moral fiber of both nations until God gives up on the monarchy to disband the nations with foreign conquerors.

Solomon the wise loved foreign wives: he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The one significant failure of David, his sinful management of the affair with Uriah's wife, multiplies in the next generation. The multitudes of women drew him to worship their gods in sacrifice. Solomon was known to travel to these sites even as he was building the Temple to the Lord! In the very next generation the unity of the kingdom is lost and the downward moral spiral becomes a freefall.

The monarchy is a failure to bring a people into shalom with God.

The third generation loses the family business.

An earnestly desired government becomes the oppressor in less than 100 years.

Man's thoughtless rebellion against God is manifest in the crying against unrest or war. Man wants shalom, peace with God, but continues to indulge the Fall of Adam's flesh. 

Surely a Savior to show the way is needed!

But in most of our lives we need an example of what good looks like, and then emulate that example. I'm talking about fathers. David was never perfect, but if he stayed true to the Law then peace was the theme of his family. But the introduction of unforgiven sin led to the downfall of his house, Abasalom rebels, and his line through Solomon. God promised One from the line of David who would be the Messiah, but never promised one from the royal side of the family. David continues to be the example for the generations of the upright godly man. 

Fathers, are you taking this lesson seriously on a day to day basis? Are you doing the godly actions that will be remembered for ages? Will your stories be of devotion to drink or driving to worship through horrible weather? Will your children smile at the examples of loving discipline that have served them well through the years or will your children be angry at life because they don't get their way like they did at home? Fathers, how will you be remembered? From the line of David or the line of Rehoboam?