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There are at least five lessons from five fathers in the scriptures who can teach dads how to walk with God and be the fathers families need them to be. Today we examine what we can learn from these Biblical fathers?
1. Enoch
Enoch experienced a “transformative moment” at the birth of his first child, Methuselah. Enoch made a decision to “walk with God.” Something about the responsibility for a new life transformed his spiritual life.
Genesis 5:21-24 (NIV) reads: “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
2. Abraham
Abraham is often called “our father in the faith,” because when God called him to ‘go where he knew not,’ Abraham ‘charted his path by faith.’
This “spiritual mindset of faith over fear” is what allowed Abraham to navigate the turbulence of life and build his family. His focus was on the unseen presence and power of God. This is well documented in Romans chapter 4 where we see him defeat the negativity of unbelief, to turn his dreams from hope to reality.
Hebrews 11:8 (NIV) reads: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
And Romans 4:16 (NIV) reads: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”
3. Jacob
Jacob was a deceiver as a young man. He was a short-cut artist, who would rather scheme than work. His deceitful scheming nearly destroyed his relationship with his brother and father.
But God saw something in Jacob no one else could see. God allowed Jacob to spend over a decade of his life being manipulated and deceived by a man named Laban, to understand the pain Jacob had inflicted on his brother and father. This humbling experience turned him to God for a “Spiritual Breakthrough.” The pivotal stage for Jacob came in Genesis 30:29-30, when he decided to take responsibility for his own family.
Genesis 30:29-30 {NIV} reads: “Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
4. Moses
Moses was a father with enormous responsibility. He was leading 2 million Hebrews out of Egypt. From what we see in Exodus 18:5-6 he sent his wife and children away, so he could focus on his job. Fortunately for Moses, he had his father-in-law Jethro to teach him to see his family as a lifeline instead of a limit. Jethro summed up his analysis of Moses and his leadership by saying, “What you are doing is not good.”
Exodus 18:17-18 {NIV} “Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”
5. David
One reason David produced such a lasting legacy was his capacity to walk with God and teach others to do the same. The Psalms alone stand as a tribute to his enduring capacity to teach. His conversations with his son Solomon, like the one in 1 Chronicles 28:20 is proof of his devotion to teaching, to training his son how to be a man of God.
What is surprising about all of this though, is by all accounts, David was a failure as a family man. 2 Samuel provides ample documentation of his failures as a husband and father. How could a man with as much failure as David become such a significant influence on the generations who would follow him?
The answer to this question is simple. David mined his life for teachable moments learned from failure, as well as uncompromising principles learned from success. He passed these on through the writing of Psalms, and conversations like those he had with his son Solomon.
1 Chronicles 28:20 {NIV} reads: “David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.”
To God Be The Glory for Five lessons from fathers in the Bible, which if heeded will not only transform families, but entire churches, and possibly the world.
Sister Cathy Black
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