|
|
|
Date: 2009-11-16 08:42:09
Title: Bad Parents, Good Servants
I've recently read back through 1 and 2 Samuel and one of the things that stood out to me was the parenting of both Eli and Samuel. You might remember that Eli was the prophet during the time when Samuel was born and then grew up in the temple. During that time, Eli's two sons were so bad that God eventually killed them and erased Eli's line from the priesthood. Now the interesting thing to me was that Eli appeared to do his own job very well and was even wise enough to know when God was trying to speak with Samuel. Later on we read that when Samuel's sons got older, they were bad examples also. So bad that the people wanted a king to rule them instead of his sons. Samuel also seemed to be a good example of someone who sought God and was obedient.
As a parent and a children's minister, these stories interest me. I think that God has included these details in the Bible for many reasons. And one of them is for us to see that it is possible to serve in one area and be unfaithful in others. This doesn't make it right and if we look at these two men, their disobedience had harsh consequences later in life. We often idealize the characters in the BIble to the point where we fail to see them as humans, but instead as mythical moral figures from the past. I feel God has left us their stories so that we may learn from all of them, not just the good parts.
[Post Comment]
|
|
|
|
|
