Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81, Acts 26:1-32, Psalm 6:1-10, Proverbs 18:20-21

These are the men who served, along with their sons: (1 Chronicles 6:33)

Relate: Samuel didn’t get to do it. Eli did, but he probably wished he didn’t. Both of these men in the Bible are godly, honorable men who loved and served God wholeheartedly. The problem is, their children did not. Samuel tried to set his kids up as judges, but the people of Israel would have none of it. Eli’s kids inherited roles in the priesthood, but God had to import Samuel to have a godly man in the next generation. I’ve known godly men whose sons have chosen not to follow. I’ve heard the criticism laid against them by ignorant skeptics. It doesn’t imagine the guilt they often feel wondering what and where they went wrong in raising their kids. Even Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, spent years living in rebellion against God.

But this verse today is a cause for joy. The chronicler is highlighting a man and his assistants who all served as worship leaders side by side with their sons. From a few chapters later we actually learn that Heman served along with fourteen of his descendants. While I can’t say much for the names he chose for his kids, the name given to this worship leader, He-Man, is very apropos.

React: I never had the adult opportunity to serve with my father in ministry. His graduation to heaven while I was in Bible college robbed me of that joy. But it is a huge blessing to be able to work with my cousin, Will, and his father, Uncle Wayne, at Two Rivers. I’ve also seen father and son teams like Ton and David, Marsh and Jake, Peter and Peter. I can imagine that there is no greater father’s joy than to serve side by side with his son, knowing that by God’s grace you’ve done well in raising up a voice for the next generation.

To those men reading this who have raised up godly children, my hats off to you. To those with children living in rebellion, my heart and my prayers go out. To those women and mothers reading this, pray for us men. We need it. Because fatherhood is highlighted in the Bible as a mirror to help us understand Father God, I firmly believe it is one of Satan’s greatest areas of attack. To those singles who have dreams to one day get married and raise a family, pray that you will find, and become a man that might help raise up the next generation of God followers.

Respond: 

God, I thank you for the legacy of a godly father. I thank You for the years and the time I have had with him. Help me to continue following You with the love and the character and the generosity of heart that my dad taught me. If some day I am to have a family of my own, help me to be a father my children would be proud to call dad. Until that day, help me to seek out younger men who do not have the privilege of having a godly father so they can learn what true, God honoring manhood is all about.