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Men of the Old Testament: Samuel – 1 Samuel 8  Poor fathering hangs over the Old Testament like a funnel cloud in the area of West Texas known as tornado alley. Many if not most of the fathers of the Old Testament have an incredibly difficult time discipling and passing on a legacy to their sons in particular. There were exceptions to be sure but more often than not fathers in the Old Testament seem to fail much more than they succeeded. The amazing thing about so many of their failures is that they seem to pass along the same sins and weaknesses that they saw God judge in previous generations. Rather than resolving to at least make sure that they do not make the same mistakes they just seem to repeat them almost exactly. Of all of the fathers that grace the pages of Jewish history you would assume that the mighty prophet and judge Samuel would be one of the exceptions. First, he had seen the result of bad fathering. He had lived with Eli the high priest and seen how his sons were completely out of control. In fact, it was to Samuel that God said, “I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering” (I Samuel 3:13-14). Second, if there was anyone in those days that was known for character and taking God’s word seriously it was Samuel. Consider that Samuel was the one that, “hacked Agag to pieces,” (I Samuel 15:33 when King Saul refused to put him to death. Obviously Samuel was committed to God and His commands. Given everything that we know and think about Samuel as an individual and as a leader of the Israelites we are incredibly surprised to read the beginning of I Samuel 8, “In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.” The result of Samuel’s fathering is eerily similar to that of Eli that God judged so harshly. Now the Scriptures do not tell us anything at all about Samuel’s style of fathering, and it is important to remember that at some point children grow up to make their own decisions. So having children that did not turn out the best cannot be completely laid at Samuel’s feet. However, with Samuel’s decision to appoint his sons as judges we can readily see that they do not share their father’s ways. They made a conscious decision not to follow Samuel’s path of pleasing God, and for a father there is nothing sadder. Questions for Discussion/Reflection 1. Think back to your own father and the mistakes he made in that role. Have you forgiven him and learned to love him despite his blind spots? 2. If you are a father what can you do to intentionally pass on your faith to your children? Further Study on Gideon Bible Dictionary Entries on Samuel Samuel: The Prophet – E-book download from Olive Tree Staff Writer: Aaron Sharp |
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