Relevant and Fitting, with a purpose...

"For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son He receives." Hebrews 12:6 serves to remind us that God does not arbitrarily punish, but chastens out of love, in order to direct His children and allow them the best opportunity to follow in righteousness. "You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you." (Deuteronomy 8:5) Consequences can be positive or negative, rewards or punishments. God presents both in scripture.

There are two passages that I ran into during this portion. The first is the passage of Genesis chapter 9. During this section, Noah as well as his sons have left the ark and are beginning the new era, with a promise from God, and the provision of land, and animals as well as an exhortation to be fruitful and multiply. In verses 20-29, Noah, after enough wine to be inebriated, uncovers himself in his tent. After this we see 2 responses from his children.

1. Ham sees Noah's nakedness and tells his brothers

2. Shem and Japheth go in, cover up Noah and back out so they don't see anything and neither does anyone else

Shem and Japheth seek to cover up the sin in forgiveness where as Ham sought to expose it. Shem and Japheth were in turn respecting their father. They acknowledged that, yes, he was susceptible to sin, just like the rest of us, BUT, they were willing to help their father overcome it, and forgive him.

This makes me wonder. Noah must have raised his children in such a way that honoring/respecting one's parents was right as Shem and Japheth knew that to respond this way would be edifying. However, Ham had to make the choice to either expose or not expose. Noah, in turn chose to give blessing to Shem and Japheth because of their choice. Their reward was because of their faithfulness that bore fruit because of what was in their hearts.

On the same note, the people in the city of Babel had the choice whether to build to God or whether to let God build them up! The people built the tower of Babel in Genesis 11. The text says that "the Lord God came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built." Genesis 11:5. Despite man's desire to accomplish things on his own; to build his own greatness, God chose to come DOWN! He came down with a purpose to see and in result, he chose to disperse and to confuse. This could be viewed as a scenario of punishment. It was a fitting and relevant punishment, as their language was being used to rally up against God, and their unity was also used against God. God had to break up the rally. He had to give the people reason to trust Him again.

Ultimately, parents can not be responsible for the child's choice. The child is responsible for his/her choice. However, a parent is responsible for what it says in Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go..."

Parents have a rare opportunity to live out a life for many years in front of another life that watches!! Children see the steps of their parents and believe them in faith before they analyze things for themselves. Parents are privileged to be able to let their lives match up with the truth. Then, when they are older and they see that what they analyzed matches up with what is lived out, their faith will be grounded.

Parents are also daily presented with a choice to, before their children, open the word of God, and make it known. As it is said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

First he walked with God...

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD...Noah walked with God." Genesis 6:8-9 The precursor to Noah having children: Noah walking with God. Noah had already established a relationship with God, he had an intimacy such that God would find him to be called "righteous" and "blameless," not because of his great deeds, but because of walking with his Savior. Then, God called him to have children: Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 6:10). Subsequently, God calls Noah to build an ark and take his whole family aboard for the upcoming flood... Wait... the upcoming flood?? There had been nothing of the sort before! In Genesis 7-8, we watch Noah's family, without any scriptural mention of complaint or question, get right on and off the ark. That means, that Noah's whole family had a trust in Noah as well. His family followed his lead.

It is likely that Noah did not keep his faith to himself, but that his family knew of it and had reason to trust it and his hearing of the Lord's voice. It is also possible that they also heard confirmation from the Lord, but scripture doesn't tell us that specifically. What scripture does choose to reveal to us is that God told Noah and then they all got on the ark; and that God told Noah and they all got off the ark.

I believe that Noah likely had a relationship with his family that entailed Biblical leadership as mentioned in Ephesians.

Ephesians 5:23-27 "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."

God desires us to be humbly submitted to Him (even though we don't always have all of the information!). Noah had only but the Lord's voice to let him know that the flood was coming as his wife only knew that the flood was coming by Noah's voice (and perhaps the Lord's). The children only knew of the flood coming by the parents (and perhaps the Lord's). God has set up this system to build our faith. He desires for us to be washed with His word and presented back to Him as holy (set apart) and without blemish! So, God sets up these ways that He can build our faith (sometimes they are trials) so that we can be perfect and complete and lacking nothing (James 1).

This system is set up within the family not only to build trust in each other and interconnectedness but the same with the Lord, but the same is for the body of Christ. For instance a fellowship of believers at church or Bible study: these people are available to have the older teach the younger and to foster a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ for both parties.

I believe that parents are called to live their lives as a living sacrifice, just like God did, giving Himself for us, dying upon a cross for us, raising from the dead to show us that He has power over death and life. Parents are to live their lives in front of their children, pointing to the one who gave them life.

Barushit... in the beginning

Jesus Christ, having paid fully for us missing the mark, has made us His children! Ephesians 2:7 says that He wants to show us the exceeding riches of His grace. No searching, no striving, just let Him reveal it. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16) Thus is begun a study through the Bible regarding parenting. Please, with each word that is said, weigh out for your own the Word of Life in the Bible and let the Word dwell richly in you.

Parenting is a topic that many strive to work out through experience and time. While this information is very valuable and not to be ignored; Christ has written His word to be a flashlight of sorts, always pointing us back to the path that we should be walking. With such a rich resource in His word, we are challenged to let Him instruct us in all our ways. While parenting may not be what you are doing in the physical sense, we are all children of God. That being said, this is not written only to those with influence on a small child, but to all of us who are influenced by a very BIG God.

The first time that the words father or mother is mentioned in the entire Bible, is that when a man is joined to his wife in Genesis 2:24: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." It is certainly not an accident that the beginning of a relationship involving children starts with unity. First, the couple leaves his family and then they bind themselves together. In fact, they have chosen a bond so intimate, that God calls them "one flesh." Having not yet born any children, nor having been born of a human parent, Adam and Eve still set this standard of leaving family to be united with your spouse. This was intended as a step in order to further intimacy with the spouse, not an excuse to dislike in-laws! The intimacy established between a man and his wife creates a foundation for the relationship to be able to support children.

In Genesis chapter 4 we see Adam and Eve's first children, Cain and Abel. We don't see much interaction between Adam and Eve and their children. We do, however, see that the Lord directly communicated with each of them. Also it seems that God had set up some expectation for their sacrifices that they knew as communicated by either God or Adam and Eve... or both. In either case, it is applicable that God wants to set up standards for our children. He has written them for us in His word. Because, just as much, we need these standards as children of the Living God!

In Genesis 4:25-26 it is written, "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD." Here begins the lineage of those that call upon the name of the Lord. Adam and Eve had another child, it is not mentioned as to whether there were children in between Cain and Abel. What is mentioned, is that Seth's son, Enosh marked when people began calling upon the name of the Lord. This is something that as parents and children alike, we should be basing every decision on: the Lord's voice. In Romans 10:12-17 it says:

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

We are each called to preach the word of God to those around us. To each other, to our families, to our children. God speaks through His word. He speaks through His still small voice. He also speaks through Godly counsel. Be used, as children of God, to shepherd and to love others by laying our lives down as living sacrifices: to our children, to His children.