2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children...
God is not calling us to be perfect, but to be faithful. One of those elements of responsibility is to take hold of our call to be parents - which involves knowing the truth, sharing the truth, and...living the truth. The Bible teaches us about how God touched the lives of imperfect servants who were willing to be used by Him. Now, that doesn't mean that we are indispensable in the plan of God, but it does indicate that we have wonderful opportunities to serve Him and to reflect His glory.
Today, as we continue our journey, with the ultimate destination of a stable in Bethlehem where the Christ Child would be born, we find that the road actually passed through Bethlehem hundreds of years before. Naomi was actually from Bethlehem, apparently, and her deceased son had married a Moabite woman named Ruth, who refused to leave her mother-in-law's side and travelled with her back to Bethlehem. Ruth and Boaz gave birth to Obed, whose son was Jesse, father of David.
Jesse had a number of sons, and in 1st Samuel 16, we read that God had told the prophet Samuel that the future king of Israel was to be chosen from his household. We read about the clandestine
selection process beginning in verse 6...
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him."
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Samuel went through seven sons of Jesse, before Samuel said to Jesse, in verse 11:
11 ..."Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here."
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"
The keeper of the sheep would be the one to be the ancestor of the shepherd of the world. The one who wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd" would know and follow the Father of the Savior to come. It was written that Jesus would actually reign on David's throne. The life of David was incredibly important in the plan of God!
David is part of the "stem of Jesse," referred to in Isaiah 11. Part of that prophecy reads:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Brad’s brother, Doug, reportedly told NBC’s Today show, “I think moms and dads and kids agree to disagree all over the world. So why would our family be any different?”
Doug said the family members air their disagreements in an “open discussion” without “venom and negativity.”
“We can learn from each other and, if anything, it solidifies your point,” he said. “Or maybe you learn something.”
Within the next few weeks, people across our nation will be gathering with family members for the Christmas holidays. And, while those occasions have the potential to be warm and affirming, there is also the potential for conflict in the mix. Like it or not, God has placed people in certain families - with family members - there is a purpose, and there may be a special opportunity to display the light of Christ. And, for some inspiration, you can look to the Pitt family, who apparently has developed a way to air their differences and adopted an attitude of learning from one another.
Brad admits that he has rejected his Christian upbringing and become an atheist, yet he has adopted some lessons from his parents. And, I have to identify with his father, who I don't know much of anything about, but who apparently tried to bring Christian principles into his home - maybe he was misguided in his approach, maybe not, but don't we all miss it as parents, at least some of the time?
+++++
Today, as we continue our journey, with the ultimate destination of a stable in Bethlehem where the Christ Child would be born, we find that the road actually passed through Bethlehem hundreds of years before. Naomi was actually from Bethlehem, apparently, and her deceased son had married a Moabite woman named Ruth, who refused to leave her mother-in-law's side and travelled with her back to Bethlehem. Ruth and Boaz gave birth to Obed, whose son was Jesse, father of David.
Jesse had a number of sons, and in 1st Samuel 16, we read that God had told the prophet Samuel that the future king of Israel was to be chosen from his household. We read about the clandestine
selection process beginning in verse 6...
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him."
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Samuel went through seven sons of Jesse, before Samuel said to Jesse, in verse 11:
11 ..."Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here."
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"
The keeper of the sheep would be the one to be the ancestor of the shepherd of the world. The one who wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd" would know and follow the Father of the Savior to come. It was written that Jesus would actually reign on David's throne. The life of David was incredibly important in the plan of God!
David is part of the "stem of Jesse," referred to in Isaiah 11. Part of that prophecy reads:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
And, it's interesting that Jesse, the father of David, the grandson of Boaz and Ruth, brought his other seven sons to meet the prophet, but not David? It could be that he was overly protective of this youngest son. Jesse sent David to take supplies to his 3 of his older brothers as they fought the Philistines - this is what led to David facing the giant Goliath. But, God's hand was on this young man's life, and nothing could hold that back...
Even what seems to be the misguided actions of a father.
I was reading a piece on the Fox News website the other day, referencing an interview with a leading Hollywood actor conducted by the U.K. publication, the Telegraph. This 51-year-old actor was raised in a strict Southern Baptist household in Springfield, MO. The story reports that the actor is now a proud atheist.
The actor, Brad Pitt, linked his lack of faith to his dad, who raised him “with all the Christian guilt about what you can and cannot, should and shouldn’t do.” But, as the report points out, Pitt took other aspects of his father’s lessons to heart when it comes to raising his own six children.
“One thing my folks always stressed was being capable, doing things for yourself. He was really big on integrity — and that informed a lot of what [we] try to do now.”
The actor, Brad Pitt, linked his lack of faith to his dad, who raised him “with all the Christian guilt about what you can and cannot, should and shouldn’t do.” But, as the report points out, Pitt took other aspects of his father’s lessons to heart when it comes to raising his own six children.
“One thing my folks always stressed was being capable, doing things for yourself. He was really big on integrity — and that informed a lot of what [we] try to do now.”
Pitt's wife, Angelina Jolie, as the article reports, has a different take on faith: “We’re not alone in the world,” Angelina Jolie, 40, told People last year. “I don’t know if there’s a name for that — religion or faith — just that there’s something greater than all of us, and it’s uniting and beautiful.” That interest in spirituality was apparently inspired by Louis Zamperini, the subject of her film, Unbroken.
Angelina's father was featured in a faith-based film recently, playing the role of Bear Bryant in Woodlawn. And, an interesting aside: LifeSiteNews.com reported back in 2012 that Voight defended Brad's mother, Jane Pitt, who had received death threats since publishing her views supporting the rights of the unborn and traditional marriage—and opposing President Barack Obama.
Brad’s brother, Doug, reportedly told NBC’s Today show, “I think moms and dads and kids agree to disagree all over the world. So why would our family be any different?”
Doug said the family members air their disagreements in an “open discussion” without “venom and negativity.”
“We can learn from each other and, if anything, it solidifies your point,” he said. “Or maybe you learn something.”
Within the next few weeks, people across our nation will be gathering with family members for the Christmas holidays. And, while those occasions have the potential to be warm and affirming, there is also the potential for conflict in the mix. Like it or not, God has placed people in certain families - with family members - there is a purpose, and there may be a special opportunity to display the light of Christ. And, for some inspiration, you can look to the Pitt family, who apparently has developed a way to air their differences and adopted an attitude of learning from one another.
Brad admits that he has rejected his Christian upbringing and become an atheist, yet he has adopted some lessons from his parents. And, I have to identify with his father, who I don't know much of anything about, but who apparently tried to bring Christian principles into his home - maybe he was misguided in his approach, maybe not, but don't we all miss it as parents, at least some of the time?
We can be encouraged to live the life, share the Word, and, as Ephesians says, don't provoke our children to anger - those are tall orders, but God gives us the capacity and responsibility to teach our kids. But, there will be those instances where they decide to go in a direction other than what we would wish or intend. In those times, we can be encouraged to be devoted in prayer and faithful in allowing God to live and speak through us.
So, back to Jesse - and David - part of a line of imperfect fathers who gave birth to other imperfect fathers, under the hand of the one perfect father, our Heavenly Father. I certainly don't want to call out Jesse - for all we know, he was an annual "father of the year" candidate. But, in one instance, he blew it, attempting to hold his son back from the prophet - but, you know, God was greater! David was certainly not the model dad - he in fact fathered a son with a woman who was not his wife; the woman who gave later gave birth to another son, Solomon. His son, Absalom, rebelled in a huge way. But, God was greater than it all, and used Jesse, David, Solomon, and so many others, to carry out His plan. God is not looking for perfect people - fathers or mothers, or sons or daughters. He is calling each of us to trust Him, to be obedient, but to recognize that we're not the most important ingredient in the furtherance of God's plan - He is!
So, back to Jesse - and David - part of a line of imperfect fathers who gave birth to other imperfect fathers, under the hand of the one perfect father, our Heavenly Father. I certainly don't want to call out Jesse - for all we know, he was an annual "father of the year" candidate. But, in one instance, he blew it, attempting to hold his son back from the prophet - but, you know, God was greater! David was certainly not the model dad - he in fact fathered a son with a woman who was not his wife; the woman who gave later gave birth to another son, Solomon. His son, Absalom, rebelled in a huge way. But, God was greater than it all, and used Jesse, David, Solomon, and so many others, to carry out His plan. God is not looking for perfect people - fathers or mothers, or sons or daughters. He is calling each of us to trust Him, to be obedient, but to recognize that we're not the most important ingredient in the furtherance of God's plan - He is!
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