Title: The Rise and Fall of the Family
Contents
♡♥♡ The rise and fall of the family
*** Introduction
When I look at the reality of today's society and families, I think, 'The end of the world is not far away!' The pursuit of pleasure has gone too far, making the home an instrument of pleasure. The realization of education has been transformed into a print-out education that ignores the individuality of children.
We are trying to teach foreign languages to children who have not yet learned Korean until they have their tongue operated on, and even change their nationality until they give birth abroad. Children who should be nurtured in their mother's arms and nurture their dreams to their heart's content have to go back and forth between private academies and tutoring so that their parents' vain dreams of gifted education keep them busy.
Children are weary of the ignorance and polarity of parents who do not know what is more important. Parents say goodbye to their children for the sake of their children's education, and they do not choose even corrupted part-time jobs to pay for their children's education. In the end, it is impossible for a child of a good spirit to come out of a family that collapses.
Jesus spent 30 years fulfilling his family duties and only 3 years in public life. God valued the family very much. At the end of the Old Testament era, when society was extremely degenerate, God spoke. Malachi 2:15-16. “Has not the Lord made only one, though the spirit is given? How did you build only one? This is so that you may have godly offspring. Therefore, watch your heart, and do not deceive the wife of your youth. 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I hate divorce and those who cover their garments with abuse,' says the LORD of hosts." God values a married life that fears God and gives birth to godly children through it. A family can be the source of blessings or a breeding ground for corruption and injustice.
One of the lessons from the fall of the Roman Empire was moral insensitivity and destruction of the family. Watching the last twilight of history collapsing with the collapse of Roman families, a philosopher said,
“Patriot, protect your home.”
appealed. And,
“God, restore the family of prayer to Rome.”
He is said to have left a prayer.
In Romans 1:18 it says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold back the truth in unrighteousness.” God's wrath is said to come upon ungodliness and unrighteousness. The destruction of the family, which is the foundation of human community, makes the church sick, the society and the nation sick, and even calls for God's punishment. This fact is clearly shown in the text and taught.
Two assumptions are contrasted in the text. One family is that of Elkanah and Hannah, and the other is that of the priest Eli. One family was a family that grew day by day with God's support, and the other was a family that was perishing under God's wrath. Looking at these two families, I hope you will find a way for our family to move forward.
The two families pursued different paths.
Eli was a priest in southern Judah. His sons were Hophni and Phinehas, who succeeded his father as priests. A priest is a godly office in worshiping God in the temple and offering various sacrifices to God for the people.
However, when the people offered sacrifices to the people, Eli's two sons chose the best parts of the meat and ate them before offering them to God. Verse 17 says, “The sin of these young men was exceedingly great before the Lord, because they despised the sacrifice of the Lord.” In addition, verse 22 says, “I slept with the woman who served at the door of the tent of meeting.” Although Eli knew this, he did not take it seriously. In verses 23 and 24, “… Why do you do these things? I hear your evil deeds from all this people. My son, not so. The rumors I have heard are not good... ” he muttered.
Regarding Eli's attitude and the actions of Eli's sons, God said in verse 13, "I came to him that I will judge the house for ever and ever, because of his known iniquity; It is,” he said. This shows that Eli's family did not live a life that feared God.
On the other hand, Elkanah and Hannah, ordinary families living in the hill country of Ephraim, feared God. When the festivals are set every year, they do not hesitate to travel long distances and go to the temple to worship. And he dedicated Samuel, which he had obtained through prayer, to dedicate himself to God according to his promise. This shows that Elkanah's family feared God.
In Proverbs 13:24 (King James Version) it is said, “He who does not pick up the rod hates his son, but he who loves his son disciplines him at the right time.” Proverbs 23:13 says, “Do not take discipline from a child. don't If you beat him, he will not die.”
Eli's fatal mistake was that he valued his children more than God. In verses 29-30 God says: Let's read it together. “Why do you tread on my sacrifices and offerings, which I have commanded in my dwelling place, and consider your sons more important than me, and make yourselves fat with the best offerings of my people Israel? Therefore saith the LORD, the God of Israel. I used to say, 'Your house and the house of your ancestors will walk before me forever,' but now I, the LORD, will never do so. Those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me I will despise.”
God's chastisement destroyed Eli's priestly family. When the war with the Philistines broke out, Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, carried the ark of God's covenant to the battlefield. However, because of Eli's family, which was angry with God, the war was defeated, Hophni and Phinehas died, and the ark of God was taken by the Philistines. When Eli heard the news, he sat down on a chair and fell in shock, broke his neck and died. One day, Eli's family was destroyed.
Aren't you afraid? If you really want your children to do well, you must teach them to fear God.
What about Hannah? Hannah was childless for a long time. Peninnah, the husband's other wife, had troubled Hannah over this because she had children. Hannah took her aching heart and went to the temple to pray to God with tears, and even vowed to dedicate herself to God if she gave her a son. God heard Hannah’s prayer, and a year later, ‘Samuel’ was obtained. For Hannah, she was a very precious child who would not hurt even if she put it in her eyes.
However, after weaning as promised to God, young Samuel was offered up as a dedicated person in God's temple. God received Hannah's heart and gave birth to three sons and two daughters according to verse 21. Samuel became a judge and brought about a great revival in spiritually depressed Israel. As such, Samuel became a faithful servant of God and became a joy to God and became the spiritual leader of Judah because of the strength of his parents' prayers. Samuel's parents were people who feared God, obeyed God's will, and prayed.
It was said, ‘The children of those who pray are not destroyed.’ Even if we face hardships and adversity and sometimes we fall, God will surely make us rise and lead us to live a victorious life.
We have seen two families serving the same God in the same age, in the same nation. I looked at it in a brief summary, but I heard what God was trying to express. If you want to be a prosperous family, your parents must truly fear God. And we must teach our children with the word of God, discipline them diligently, and set an example. Now, as we are approaching Advent again, I pray that you will take a look back at your family and build a revival family with a life that truly fears God.