HOW NOT TO BE A FATHER

King Henry IV, having seized the throne of England, from the equally pathetic Richard II and had him murdered, was having trouble sleeping and wondered, according to William Shakespeare, why other men (who had done worse!!!) could sleep while he – Henry IV- could not. Shakespeare then quoted this famous line “Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown (Henry IV, 1597).

The offspring of Royalty are usually a bunch of spoiled brats, whose fathers were too busy being “King” and denying themselves nothing – whether it is the beautiful women of other men; gold and jewelry or lands and tribes to conquer. We don’t have to look to Bible history for an example – look at Prince Charles of England. Not happy with Diana as his wife, he had to go after Camilla Parker Bowles – then married to another man….all in plain view of his sons and the world.

Romans 15:4 NLT tells us “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled”. This is why we look to the examples which the Lord provided for us, as to how we should or should NOT live! Hence the reason we look at these two great kings of Israel. What these men did, as fathers, have affected the Middle East and history for 3000 years now. Kings David and his son (by Uriah the Hittite’s wife, Bathsheba), Solomon, are exhibits A and B of fathers whom God will never want us to be like! If you wish to learn to be a true worshiper and live in repentance, then David is your man! For Proverbs to live by, Solomon is your man. For advice on Fatherhood, run the other way from these men!

Here are some of the sons of David:

 ¹ These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron:  The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel.  The second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel.
² The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.  The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith.

HOW NOT TO BE A FATHER

Let’s go back to the Exodus and the first High Priest of Israel – Aaron.  His sons Nadab and Abihu were just killed by God (Numbers26:61). They, as priests of the Most High, decided on their own to offer up strange incense fire to the Lord which He did not ask for. Where would these men learn to just do whatever they wish and think it would be acceptable to God?

They learned it from their father, Aaron, the golden calf maker. Exodus 32 recalls the horrifying incident of the Israelites confronting Moses’ brother Aaron. Moses had gone up the mountain to talk with God and receive the Ten Commandments.  Apparently the Israelites thought he was up there too long and complained to Aaron. He promptly told them to give up their golden jewelry and then made a golden calf – a worthless pagan idol – for them to worship.

Instead of standing up to the pagan-loving mob, Aaron went along. His sons noticed this about their dad. He would not stand up for what is right. So, in front of the Holiest of all time, on the day of the very first Complete Worship Service in the Desert Tabernacle (or Tent of Meeting), Aaron’s oldest sons – Nadab and Abihu went off on their own. They paid with their lives.

Eli was both the High Priest of Israel as well as the Judge who succeeded Samson – called Shimshon- in the Hebrew language. He was well loved by the people and was in office for 40 years. Eli had two sons who are not named on purpose.