Fathers

Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. (Proverbs 17:6 KJV)

There were several verses in between tonight, but one Pastor used stuck in my mind:

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. (1 Samuel 4:21 KJV)

We don’t know the mother’s name, just that she was the wife of Phinehas, son of Eli.  We meet Eli through Hannah as she prayed for a child and he thought she was drunk with wine.  She explained her situation and Eli blessed her:

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. (1 Samuel 1:17 KJV)

God did grant her petition and her son Samuel came to Eli to serve the Lord.  It was a very good thing, for Eli’s sons, though priests, were ungodly.  They mishandled sacrifices for personal gain and were unfaithful to their wives with women at the tabernacle.  Eli’s words went unheeded.

If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. (1 Samuel 2:25 KJV)

Ichabod was born the day his father, uncle and grandfather died, then his mother died, too. The glory of this child died.

How many children do we know that could be named “glory is departed” because they do not have a father to be their glory?  How many fathers fall out of love with mothers and leave their children without beauty, honor or valor – the definitions of the noun ‘glory.’  The definition of the verb glory include:  joy, rejoice, boast, pride. 

How many children are left with remnants of their family instead of pride and being able to boast of their father’s achievements? How can these children’s children be their grandfather’s crowning joy? So much is lost.

So, what can we do about it?  What has been done cannot be undone. We can’t go back and undo a family’s breakup.  We can’t create fathers for the fatherless.  Acknowledging that is hard, and sad.

What we can do is introduce them to a Father who will not leave.  The Father who hears our prayers.  The Father for whom all of us can say:

We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 KJV)

The Father who teaches us daily to love His children.