World’s Best Dad (Genesis 18:16-19)
Shortly after Tammy and I married, we moved about 15 minutes from my hometown. Tammy adjusted to married life easily, but I had a hard time adjusting. Honestly, it wasn’t so much that I wasn’t adjusting to marriage as much as it was that I’d lose my temper easily and blow up at the smallest things.
I blew up one Thursday afternoon; I don’t remember what it was about, but I can assure you it was small and inconsequential. The argument got ugly, and I said a bunch of stuff I should never have said. Tammy decided she was going to drive two hours and go see her parents for the weekend.
I had an enjoyable weekend playing bachelor, and when Tammy came back Sunday afternoon, we started moving in the right direction. I was ready to forget the whole thing. However, on Monday morning, Dad showed up at my office to talk. Unbeknownst to me, Tammy had stopped and talked to my parents before she left town and told them everything I had said and done. Dad sat in a chair across from my desk and set things straight; he told me in no uncertain terms how I was going to behave differently going forward. And I’ve never forgotten my father’s words that Monday morning.
What advice do you remember from your father? Maybe you knew your father expected you to live up to a certain standard, and if you didn’t, you’d be in a world of hurt. On the other hand, maybe you went to your father for advice about a problem. Perhaps you remember your dad spanking you or discipling you in some other way.
In this morning’s text, God revealed his plans for Father Abraham. On this Father’s Day, let’s learn from Abraham, the father of the faithful, that “God has chosen fathers to command their children.”
Yet, since not everyone here this morning is a father, we’ll look at how we can apply this passage broadly to all of us.
Scripture (Genesis 18:16-19)
verse 16:
Some angelic beings, whom the text calls men, came to Abraham and informed him that within a year Sarah would conceive a son. With that mission accomplished, the men headed to Sodom to investigate its wickedness. Abraham kindly went with them part of the way and started them on their journey.
verses 17-18:
The Lord spoke to himself here; Abraham wouldn’t have heard any of this.
God asked if he should hide from Abraham what he was about to do concerning Sodom. Abraham would, just as God had promised, become a mighty nation; one of his descendants would be the Messiah who would bless the whole world.
verse 19:
“I have chosen him”
The Hebrew literally reads “I have known him” and indicates a close, intimate relationship. God initiated that relationship; Abraham, after all, was an idolator before God called him (cf. Josh 24:2). There was nothing special about Abraham; instead, God chose him.
“That he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD”
Abraham was to command his children and his household—slaves and servants—to follow God’s will. God mapped out Abraham’s role without input from the patriarch; Abraham’s role was commanding his family to follow God.
Abraham was to command his children and household to keep the way of the LORD “by doing righteousness and justice”
The root of the Hebrew term for “righteousness” means “straight.” The word was used of judges who impartially decided the case before them according to the law. The word was also applied to accurate weights and measures. The idea is to do the right thing. Specifically, in this context, the idea is doing the right thing regarding God’s commands.
“Justice” means to govern others properly, and the word came to mean treating people with respect and dignity.
Abraham was to command his family “so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
Notice that God’s promises to Abraham—to give him a son, to make from that son a mighty nation, and to give that nation the Promised Land—were conditional on Abraham’s obedience.
Application
“God has chosen fathers to command their children.” How can all of you live that truth?
One: Chosen
God chose Abraham to be the father of many nations. God hasn’t chosen any of you for that role. But he has chosen men, not women, to lead the church (1 Tim 2:11-14) and the home (Eph 5:22-24; Eph 6:4). Men must accept that divine calling.
Yet, each of you are Chosen by God. The Corinthian church asked Paul some questions about the family, and the apostle answered those questions in 1 Corinthians. In a context of the family, Paul said, “Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (1 Cor 7:17). Whatever your role in your family—child or father or mother or grandmother or grandfather or sister or brother or aunt or uncle—God has placed you there.
Whatever role you have in the family, God has chosen you to do his will in that role. In a context about the church, Paul said, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Cor 12:18). I’m convinced we can apply that same principle to the family. God has placed you where he needs you in your family. Thank God for doing so, and honor him by fulfilling your role in your family.
Two: Command
Abraham was to Command his family to follow God’s law. Fathers today must do the same: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).
But each of you must call others in your family to follow God’s will: “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Js 5:19-20). You cannot simply turn a blind eye to sin in your family, for heaven and hell hang in the balance. If you really love your family, you will do everything possible to help your family avoid an eternal devil’s hell!
Is there sin in your family? Do you need to Command family members to follow God’s law?
Three: Captain
Abraham, as a Captain, provided his family with a powerful example of obeying God. He left Ur when God called him to set out for another land, he trusted God when Yahweh promised to give him a son, and he then sacrificed that son when Yahweh called for him to do so. Throughout his lifetime, Abraham left his family an example of what keeping the law of the LORD “by doing righteousness and justice” was really all about.
What if you were a Captain and provided your family with an example of keeping God’s law? I fear that we often forget the power found in an example. Peter told wives: “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives” (1 Pet 3:1). How many family members have been won to Christ by powerful examples?
What example are you setting in your family? Do you have sin in your life preventing you from setting the right example? Do you need to come this morning and begin setting the right example?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.