The Realization of Fatherhood

Father’s Day is just around the corner. As a husband and a father, I am held responsible by God for the way in which I behave as a steward of what God has given me. He has given me the responsibility of caring for one of His daughters and five of His little ones. As a steward, I must understand some things.

First, I must realize that I am a man under authority. According to

1 Corinthians 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

…I have authority over me. When I was young I had my parents over me and Christ over my parents. When I left my home, I stepped out from under my parent’s authority and now I am directly under the authority of Christ. Before I can be a good husband and father, I must first realize this truth.

Second, these dear souls that have been placed under my care are not mine. They belong to Him. They are His. I am to care for, provide for and direct them…My wife, is to be loved by me as Christ loves the church and our children are to be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. As a steward of God, I must do these things.

Where can I go to find instruction as to how I am to carry out my duties as the steward of God? I can go to all scripture. It is God breathed and if profitable for instruction in righteousness.

The Word of God tells us in 1 Timothy 3:16-17 that,

1 Timothy 3:16-17

16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

As I closed out my reading of the Old Testament this week, I found some instruction tucked away in what some might think to be a strange place…the book of Malachi, an Old Testament prophet. This was written to Israel hundreds of years before Christ was born. How can it be applied to my life today?

Malachi 1:1-5

¹ The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

² I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

³ And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

⁴ Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

⁵ And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

The first thing I see is that just as Israel was chosen of God, so too was I that the purpose of God according to election might stand… this is reiterated in Romans 9:11-13. Why was I elected unto salvation? Was it because there was something in me that would be of value to Him? Absolutely not! It was simply because it pleased Him to love me and draw me to Himself.

My eyes do see and I can say that the LORD will be magnified in my home…in my family so long as I follow His instructions.

Malachi 1:6-9

⁶ A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

⁷ Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

⁸ And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

⁹ And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.

In these four verses I see a most important lesson. Just as the priests of Israel were the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel, so a father is the spiritual leader of his wife and children. Just as God asked the priests of that day where their honor for Him was, so today we who are fathers are asked the same. We must search our hearts. Are we honoring God as our Father and are we showing Him fear or reverence as our master, or do we despise His name? That’s something to think about! What are some signs that indicate we have not been honoring Him?

Are we offering Him our very best, or are we giving Him the left-overs? Am I given to spending the first part of my day in prayer and the reading of God’s word, or is that something I try to fit in to my schedule if I can find the time? Do I give Him the best of my time?

Do I give Him the first of my paycheck? Do I give tithes and offerings of all He has allowed me to earn? Do I teach my family the principle of tithing? Do I give Him the first day of the week? Is attending the worship of God in church important to me? Is it settled in my heart that I will be in the Lord’s house on His day, or is that just one option of many open to me? Do those under my charge see God as being important in my life?

If three out of four Sundays I am taking my family to see the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, some museum, water park, or camping and hiking, then no matter what lip service I pay to Christ, my actions speak louder than my words!

Do I honor God as my Heavenly Father and do I fear Him as my Master? As a Christian…a husband…a father, I must! If I don’t, as the priests of Israel did not in their day, then I must seek God’s forgiveness and beseech Him that He would be gracious to me. Does He play favorites? Will I escape the chastening of God if I lead my family away from Him rather than to Him? No I will not!  Learn this lesson early and learn it well!

Malachi 1:10-14

¹⁰ Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

¹¹ For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

¹² But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

¹³ Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

¹⁴ But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

Here, the LORD is speaking to the priests who have been offering lame, blind, sick animals on the altar. This could be applied to fathers today who are not giving the best of all they are and all they have to Christ. God says He has no pleasure in them and He will not accept anything less than what He requires.

From the rising of the sun until the setting of the same, His name will be great. If a father will not make God’s name great to his children, then He will use other men to make His name great in the eyes of his children. Some fathers have profaned His name because it was a weariness to them. Some have made clear that to them the things of God (reading His word, praying, attending His worship services) are unimportant. They’ve snuffed at the name of the LORD and brought their left-over time and prayers and offerings. Will God accept that?

The father who deceives himself, by convincing himself he has no time to read the word of God, pray, lead his family in the study of the word of God, or take them to a corporate worship service, when in all reality he has a vast amount of time; and offers God the scraps of his left over time…he is cursed. That means God abhors and detests such a one. The man who deceives himself in such a way will not prosper spiritually and neither will his family, and is reminiscent of the luke warm church in Laodicea found in Revelation 3:14-19. Such a one God will spew out of His mouth.

Malachi 2:1-4

¹ And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

² If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

³ Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.

⁴ And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

You who are the spiritual leaders of your home pay careful attention. This commandment is for you. Listen to what the LORD is saying. Give glory unto the name of the LORD of hosts or He will send a curse upon you; He will cause your blessings to crumble around you. Lay this to heart and purpose to obey it. Those who will not lay this message to heart are cursed already.

The LORD said He would corrupt your seed. I understand this to mean the “seeds” you plant with your words, they will be made corrupt. Remember when Paul wrote…

1 Corinthians 3:6-8

6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7  So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that fiveth the increase.
8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

If we do not glorify the name of the LORD of hosts, not only will those things we have been blessed with fall apart, but also the seeds we sow will be corrupted. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell your children the importance of the things of God, if the life you live bears out that other things are more important than God. Your words will be counted as dung. Your religion will be empty and meaningless and your children will see it.

Malachi 2:5-9

⁵ My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

⁶ The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

⁷ For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

⁸ But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

⁹ Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

When the Lord saved me, I entered into the New Covenant with Him. His covenant is one of life and peace. My desire is to fear God and eschew evil and be described as Job was by God. I long to have the law of truth in my mouth and have no iniquity found in my lips. I want to walk in peace and equity and turn many, especially my children away from iniquity.

As God has ordained me, the father, to be the spiritual leader of my home, my lips should keep knowledge to the degree that my children will come to me when they have questions concerning the word of God.

That is how every father should be. Unfortunately, many fathers have departed out of the way. Too many fathers have caused their children, as well as others, to stumble and have corrupted the covenant they entered into with God. May it not be so with me and if you are a child of God, may it not be so with you!

Instead, let us understand that our Sovereign God elected us unto salvation for a purpose. That purpose is to glorify Him and raise a generation that loves the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, body and soul. Let us honor Him and reverence Him as we purpose to give Him the best of our sacrifices of prayer, reading His word, and attending to His worship. Let us fear and reverence Him as we strive to keep the law of God in our mouths, walk in peace with Him, and turn others away from iniquity. May we love our wives as Christ loves the church and may we raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.