How Your Children Can Prosper (1 Samuel 2:22-26)

How Your Children Can Prosper (1 Samuel 2:22-26)


 

22엘리가 매우 늙었더니 그의 아들들이 온 이스라엘에게 행한 모든 일과 회막 문에서 수종 드는 여인들과 동침하였음을 듣고

22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

 

23그들에게 이르되 너희가 어찌하여 이런 일을 하느냐 내가 너희 악행을 이 모든 백성에게서 듣노라

23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.

 

24내 아들들아 그리하지 말라 내게 들리는 소문이 좋지 아니하니라 너희가 여호와의 백성으로 범죄하게 하는도다

24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good.

 

25사람이 사람에게 범죄하면 하나님이 심판하시려니와 만일 사람이 여호와께 범죄하면 누가 그를 위하여 간구하겠느냐 하되 그들이 자기 아버지의 말을 듣지 아니하였으니 이는 여호와께서 그들을 죽이기로 뜻하셨음이더라

25 If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

 

26아이 사무엘이 점점 자라매 여호와와 사람들에게 은총을 더욱 받더라

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

 

 

 

1. Throughout the Bible, we see various cases of sons and daughters who were successful and lived prosperous lives. But there are just as many cases where children grow up to be wicked or failures.

 

Most notorious of such cases include Adam and Eve’s eldest son, Cain. Cain was incredibly jealous of his own brother and in the end murdered him. Noah’s son, Ham, mocked his father upon seeing him drunk and naked. Consequently, he and his lineage were cursed.

 

David’s son, Absalom, conspired against his father for power and ended up killed by David’s army. Of course there are many more instances of sons and daughters gone bad, but very few are as rotten as the ones in today’s scripture: the sons of Eli.

 

The Bible describes them like this:

 

1 Samuel 2:12-17

“12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. 13 Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” 16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.” 17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.”

 

Their first sin was ignoring the proper procedures of sacrifice; second, their lust and sexual debauchery.

 

What came of these sons? A war broke out, the two sons were sent to fight, and they both died on the same day. Eli hears the news, falls backward from his chair in shock, breaks his neck, and dies. But the misfortune does not end there.

 

His pregnant daughter-in-law receives news of her husband’s and Eli’s death, goes into labor, then dies upon giving birth. Before her last breath, she named her son “Ichabod” meaning “God’s glory has left Israel.” This family, that had once glorified God, ended up with the Glory lost and pitiful deaths.

 

Seeing this, what can we do to prevent such tragic outcomes? What can we do to lead our own sons and daughters to prosperity?

 

A) Teach Your Children to be in Awe of the Lord

 

1. First and foremost, we must teach our sons and daughters to be in awe of the Lord. They need to fear, but love and worship the Lord. They need to respect Him. They must do so for the promise of a prosperous future.

 

What we leave behind for our children when we die is important. We must recognize that it is more important to leave them an inheritance of faith than it is to leave them a grand inheritance of material wealth. If your children are left with an inheritance of awe and faith in the Lord, they will never fail. They will live a life of happiness.

 

We all want to raise our children right, but things do not always turn out the way we expect or hope. There are things we simply cannot control. But one thing we can do is instill firm faith in God, teaching them to be in awe of Him. If you do this, then you have raised them right.

 

2. Take a look at David’s confession:

Psalm 18:1-2

“1 I love you, Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

 

No parent can live forever and protect their children. It is impossible for us as humans, but not for our God. He can be their fortress for eternity.

 

3. This is the promise God made to Abraham in a vision:

Genesis 15:1

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

 

4. There is no reason for any parent here today to feel guilty for not being able to do more for their sons or daughters. If they only learn from us how to love, worship, and revere the Lord, God will ensure that they will live happily. He will protect them from harm, become their fortress, become their reward, and guide them down paths of righteousness.

 

The secret to a prosperous life for your children lies in Proverbs 3:1-12.

 

“1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your hear and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

 

5. These verses tell us everything we need to know to ensure our children live long lives receiving peace, health, respect, and success.

 

Just as you follow the directions on a GPS navigation system to reach your destination, all you need to do is follow the directions given in the Bible. Even if you miss a few along the day, you can always circle back and find your way again.

 

Resolve to raise your children to love and revere God, no matter what. If your children do not believe wholeheartedly, there is nothing they can receive. Do not treat this task lightly; teach them to truly be in awe of Him.

 

 6. After Moses, Joshua declares to his people:

Joshua 24:15

“15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”

 

And it was Joshua’s family that received great blessings and became a family of leaders of faith.

 

7. Psalm 37:25 also says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” The righteous, in other words the faithful, will not be forsaken.

 

Pledge to raise your family in faith like Joshua did. Even if Earth were to split in half, stand strong in the Lord. Those who revere and are in awe of Him will never fall.

 

B) Raise Them to Have Clear Calling, Mission, or Purpose in God

 

1. Going back to the scripture, what were Eli and his son’s jobs? They were all priests. What is the mission, purpose, and calling of a priest? It is to lead services and guide the people to God with the Word.

 

But how did Eli’s sons live? Verse 29 tells us that they “scorned [God’s] sacrifice and offering” and honored themselves more than God. Verse 17 says that they were, “treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.” They were contemptuous of of their most important duty of respecting and honoring God.

 

In verse 22 we see that the sons “slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting” and became a mockery to the people.

 

But why do these men, who are supposed to be priests and servants of God, have no sense of mission, calling, or purpose? We are told it is because they did not know God. In other words, their father Eli did not raise and teach them properly.

 

Take a look at verse 12: “Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.” How shocking is this? How can a priest have no regard for God? Priests worship and lead services, day and night. They pray for the people at all hours of the day. But how can they not know the Lord? Regardless of whether he didn’t or couldn’t, Eli neglected to teach his sons to revere the Lord.

 

2. We need to constantly check on the spiritual state of our children. Check on their faith again and again. Merely coming to church is not the answer. You need to see if they have accepted Christ, received salvation, love Him and changed the direction of their lives.

 

This is why Sunday School teachers have such a great responsibility. Our sons and daughters need to know God and the salvation Jesus offers with certainty. They need to be thankful, moved, and touched by the forgiveness of their sins. They must live each moment fulfilling their mission, purpose, and calling from God.

 

3. Jonathan Edwards was a preacher during the 1700s, and he lived being certain of his mission and purpose. His family house still remains today. It is said that in front of his small wooden house is a sign that reads, “This is a small house, but it is a great house. This is a small house, but its descendants made America what it is today.”

 

Pastor Jonathan and his wife Sarah had 12 children. one of them died young, but the remaining 11 lived healthy and successful lives. Over 5 generations the family produced 1 vice president, 3 governors, 3 mayors of large cities, 13 university chancellors, 139 lawyers, 33 judges, 116 pastors and missionaries, 75 businessmen and entrepreneurs, 25 inventors, 68 doctors, 66 professors, and 82 high-ranking officials.

 

This is what happened to the family of a pastor who was dedicated to God’s calling for him. Hallelujah!

 

4. Look at Jesus’ confession: “It is finished.” How great is that? God gave us and our children a clear purpose, mission, and calling to fulfill. We all share a common goal: We must build the church, comfort our brothers and sisters, lead His missions, shine the light of the Gospel, and be the light and salt to the world. No one is exempt from this shared mission.

 

 

5. English millionaire Edmund Carey raised two sons of whom he was very proud. His sons, George and William, both graduated from the UK’s prestigious University of Oxford. one day, Carey called for his two sons and asked them about their dreams for their futures.

 

His son George’s reply made him very happy. “My dream is to continue your legacy father and become a millionaire like you.” Unfortunately, his son William’s answer brought disappointment. “Father, my dream is to become a missionary in India. I want to save the souls of the people there.”

 

Hearing his son’s answer, Carey scorned his son and told him he was incredibly foolish.

 

Time passed and the two brothers lived completely different lives. George became a millionaire and a politician, gaining honor and a reputation. William became a missionary in India.

 

In the generations that followed, the names of both brothers would appear in the Encyclopedia Britannica. The encyclopedia held 2-pages worth of details about William Carey, the missionary. George, the millionaire, was also included with the description, “William Carey’s brother,” and nothing else.

 

 

There are 2 ways to ensure prosperity for your children:

1. We must teach them to revere and be in awe of the Lord. Then, and only then, will they find success and their futures be ensured.

2. We must teach them to have a clear sense of their calling, mission, and purpose in life for God. Teach them to live as children of God, glorifying Him each day. Sacrificing and serving Him will bring them prosperity. Hallelujah!

 

By pastor Ahn  050116