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Introduction:
1 Samuel Chapter 2b***
Tonight, we are doing something a little bit unusual.
We studied back in September of last year.
Introduction:
But the recording was lost, so in order to have the complete book of 1 Samuel, we are going back and I’m going to re-teach that chapter.
I apologize for this break from our current study in 2 Samuel.
----
I remember as a little boy playing football in a neighbor’s backyard.
Usually, when we were playing, eventually the “My father can do this or that” conversation would start up.
One person would say, “My dad can kick a football as high as that tree.”
Then another would say, “Oh yeah, well my dad can punt a football over that tree.”
For most children their dad is their first hero.
It’s been said that:
Childhood is when you think your parents are perfect …
… Adolescence is when you realize they’re not perfect, …
… and you become an adult when you accept them for who they are … imperfections and all.
———
What is a real dad?
According to TV commercials and sit-coms the dad is the fool of the family.
He’s portrayed as a narrow-minded bigot, a buffoon, the butt of all jokes, the one the whole family looks down on.
But a real man is a Godly man.
He’s the spiritual leader of his home.
He loves his family with a self-sacrificing unconditional love.
He is honest and faithful and a model of integrity to his children.
This is quite a contradiction from how hollywood presents fathers.
The sad thing is many people are taking our queues from the media.
The best way to fix that is to recognize the Biblical model for fatherhood … something that we can all aim for.
——
Being a dad is a difficult task.
And I’m far from having it all figured out.
But I want us to look to the Bible this evening …
… not only for instruction on what to do, but also warning on what not to do as fathers … and parents in general.
As parents and fathers there are 2 things that are certain:
We are always going through trials.
I’m sure every parent in this congregation could write a list - possibly a long list - of things they are dealing with.
We fail sometimes.
Our children today need for us to be real with them.
One of my greatest desires as a father is for my children to know the real me.
I don’t want to present some facade of a man who never shows weakness, or admits to failure, or never says I’m sorry.
I want my kids to know me, just as I believe God wants us to know Him as our Heavenly Father.
This leads me to a pitfall we parents often face.
THE DESIRE TO BE PERFECT.
1. THE DESIRE TO BE PERFECT.
As I searched the Bible for the perfect example of a father I only found one, that being God.
Apart from God as our heavenly Father, there is no such thing as a perfect father because there are no perfect people.
And we here tonight surely know this, but our culture is always pushing us in every area of our life to be perfect.
Elite’s, politicians, and Hollywood stars portray themselves as perfect (with the help of the media) …
… and if you’re not perfect like them, you just don’t measure up and need to try harder.
Well I’m here to say that’s not Biblical.
But here’s the thing … God doesn’t expect perfect parents, He expects us to be obedient.
He knows we are fallen sinners and desperately in need of His grace.
Our children need to learn to recognize their sinfulness and that they can ask for forgiveness.
Another pitfall is this:
THE DESIRE FOR OUR KIDS TO BE PERFECT
We are not perfect … In turn we shouldn’t expect our families to be perfect.
So then … Another hard lesson for parents is … Our children need room for failure.
And when they do fail, they need to know that you still love them and support them.
Failure is where we learn our life lessons the most effectively.
Failure is where we learn our life lessons the most effectively.
As a dad some of us might need to lighten up, … perfectionism is counter productive.
And it’s a standard your Heavenly Father holds you to only so far as you are clothed in someone else’s righteousness …
… that is Jesus’ righteousness, which as a Christian, you are clothed in.
——
This evening we re-visit a very busy man who lived in a town in Israel called Shiloh.
His name was Eli.
He was not only the High Priest of Israel but also served as a judge of Israel for 40 years.
No doubt he was a Godly, good man.
So, we might expect him to be the perfect example of fatherhood with 2 Godly sons … Hophni and Phinehas.
But verse 12 says, “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.”
Do not read below:
How did this happen?
How did this happen?
Well, as we pick it up with verse 13 of this chapter, we realize that Eli is neglecting his family.
And this is another pitfall that parents often face:
That pitfall is:
2. TO GIVE OUR BEST AT WORK AND GIVE THE LEFTOVERS TO OUR FAMILIES.
We all have a limited amount of our emotional being to give.
We only have so much enthusiasm, creativity and emotional strength to give.
When we give it all to the work place there is nothing left for our families.
The same thing goes for time … it’s a limited quantity for all of us (at least in our current state).
But it’s not only quantity that matters.
It’s also the quality of the time we give them.
Some people say it’s not the quantity of time we give our children …
… it’s the quality time we give them that matters.
That’s simply not true.
The amount of our time we give someone, to that person, equates to our value of them.
But so does what we do with that time … discipline, guidance, play, instruction, etc.
Certainly, our jobs come with expectations and those jobs provide for our families.
So, we must give our jobs due weight in our considerations.
At the same time our families, like our jobs, are given to us by God and we must be a steward of them as well.
And so balance is important, keeping the LORD forefront in both the job and the family.
And consider this: The job you work will someday end.
Your kids, however, will serve either God or idols while here on earth, and then continue to an eternal destination.
So, make sure that Jesus is the focus of your life, whether at the job, church or family.
Because the focus of your life is going to focus the life of your family.
——
Now, to our text … These men who had the responsibility for ministering to the LORD on behalf of Israel …
… are described as “Corrupt” … or as the ESV puts it, they were ‘worthless men.’
No wonder then that Israel languished.
Those who came to Shiloh seeking spiritual assistance and guidance went away empty.
However, we shouldn’t see Israel as totally empty of such guidance.
As verse 27 reveals, the LORD still had local prophets (‘men of God’) who would pronounce His word.
Do not read below:
Throughout the ages this has always been the case.
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