Title: Familiology
Subtitle: A
reconsideration of the biblical ideal for family
Author:
Christopher Travis Haun for http://rethinker.net
Update: November
2008 (rough draft)
Copyright: This
rethink may be distributed or reproduced freely so long as no changes or
charges are made
Feedback: Please
email any feedback to cthaun[at]rethinker[dot]net
Index:
FIRST
MEDITATION – Turn the hearts of the fathers to their children - Malachi 4
& Luke 1
SECOND
MEDITATION –
Seeking Godly Offspring – Malachi 2
THIRD
MEDITATION – Real Religion = Caring for the Family - 1st Timothy 5
FOURTH MEDITATION – Fathers Bring Children Up in the
Training and Instruction of the Lord - Ephesians 6
FIRST MEDITATION – Turn the
hearts of the fathers to their children - Malachi 4 & Luke 1
5 "See, I
will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD
comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers;
or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
8Once
when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen
by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the
Lord and burn incense. 10And
when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers
were praying outside. 11Then an
angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of
incense. 12When
Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do
not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will
bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you,
and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of
the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be
filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.[b] 16Many of the people of Israel
will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the
spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord."
In a time when
God’s people Israel had turned away from God and most needs a prophet from God
to turn many of them back in repentance and in good deeds in keeping with
repentance, we might rightly expect the repentance to be enumerated as “turning
from idols to God” and “giving mercy and compassion and justice to the widow,
the orphan, the oppressed.” While these
may be good and correct answers, I am surprised by the way the repentance is
described here. The repentance God
wants in Israel prior to the coming (or both comings) of the Messiah to earth
is a turning of the hearts of the fathers to their children. This is so important to God that he actually
sends a mighty prophet (such as Elijah or John the Baptist) to the people for
this purpose BEFORE he will send the Messiah to them. I don’t know the why; I just know the that. It’s a big deal to God. Is it a big deal to us who say that we care
about the will of God?
As I
meditate upon this, I conclude that real change in a people needs to start in
the home. A man who turns from his sins
and his idols to God should not forget his kids in favor of trying to serve God
in some alleged ministry, a seminary education, or a monastery. The man who has truly been changed by God’s
Holy Spirit will focus upon his own children in ways and to degrees that the
natural man cannot.
SECOND MEDITATION – Seeking Godly
Offspring – Malachi 2
. . . the LORD is acting as
the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken
faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage
covenant. Has not the LORD made them
one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because
he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not
break faith with the wife of your youth.
"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of
Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with
his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your
spirit, and do not break faith.
God makes a
man and a woman into one unit when they enter into a marriage covenant. Why? Because God is seeking godly offspring.
Here we see
a huge clue to the meaning of human life.
Why are we made male and female?
Why is a man and a woman made into one unit by
God? Because God is
seeking godly offspring.
I as a man
have entered into a marriage covenant.
Why do I need to guard myself and avoid “breaking faith” with my
wife? I don’t want to thwart God’s
express purpose of producing godly offspring.
What is my
responsibility as a husband and father?
To produce godly offspring. Not just offspring but godly offspring.
What is my
purpose in life? Perhaps my main purpose
in this life is simply to produce offspring and to do my best to train them to
be godly. Something to
consider.
THIRD MEDITATION – Real
Religion = Caring for the Family - 1st Timothy 5
1st Timothy 5
3Give
proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.
4But
if a widow has children or
grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into
practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents
and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and
left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to
ask God for help. 6But
the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
7Give the people these
instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for
his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith
and is worse than an unbeliever. 9No
widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been
faithful to her husband, 10and
is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing
hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and
devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11As
for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.
For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want
to marry. 12Thus
they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.
13Besides,
they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And
not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things
they ought not to. 14So I counsel younger widows to
marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no
opportunity for slander. 15Some
have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. 16If any woman who is a believer has
widows in her family, she should help them and not let
the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who
are really in need.
Q: How is a mother
supposed to put her religion into practice?
A: Clearly it is
accomplished by the mother learning first and foremost to care for her own
family.
Q: Can anyone—male or
female—claim to be a “good Christian” and not take care of the needs of his or
her family?
A: No, he or she
would be denying the faith and would be worse than an unbeliever.
Q: What are the good
deeds that women should be known for?
A: First on the
short list is “bringing up children.”
Q: Should widows
remarry?
A: Older widows
(over sixty years) should not. Younger
widows (under sixty), however, should get married,
should have children, and should focus on managing their homes. To do otherwise could be giving the enemy
opportunity for slander and a form of following Satan. If this is true for young widows without
children, it is also applicable to young mothers with young children.
Q: Should the father and the mother get full-time jobs away
from the home and outsource the guardianship of their children to schools,
daycares, and nannies?
A:
FOURTH
MEDITATION – Fathers Bring Children Up in the Training and Instruction of the
Lord - Ephesians 6
Ephesians 6 (NIV)
1Children,
obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2
"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise—3
"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."4Fathers,
do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and
instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6 (NKJV)
4
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in
the training and admonition of the Lord.
Then they can train the younger women
to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be
busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one
will malign the word of God.
6Similarly, encourage the young men to
be self-controlled.
126.
Luke
11:7
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already
locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you
anything.'
Luke
11:6-8 (in Context) Luke
11 (Whole Chapter)
127.
Luke
11:13
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!"
Luke
11:12-14 (in Context) Luke
11 (Whole Chapter)
126.
Luke
14:26
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife
and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot
be my disciple.
Luke
14:25-27 (in Context) Luke
14 (Whole Chapter)
127.
Luke
18:15
[ The Little Children and Jesus ]
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples
saw this, they rebuked them.
Luke
18:14-16 (in Context) Luke
18 (Whole Chapter)
128.
Luke
18:16
But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children
come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as
these.
Luke
18:15-17 (in Context) Luke
18 (Whole Chapter)
129.
Luke
18:29
"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left
home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the
kingdom of God
Luke
18:28-30 (in Context) Luke
18 (Whole Chapter)
John 1:13
children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a
husband's will, but born of God.
John
1:12-14 (in Context) John
1 (Whole Chapter)
Acts
21:5
But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples
and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there
on the beach we knelt to pray.
Acts
21:4-6 (in Context) Acts
21 (Whole Chapter)