2 Chronicles 33:9 (ESV) — Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the
people of Israel.
NOTE: Manasseh is an
example of an ungodly offspring who is raised by godly parents. It is true that
Manasseh will return to the Lord late in life and so the proverb' "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when
he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov 22:6)" is applicable.
Some versions use "and" instead of "even" which seems more
true. Proverbs are general truths and are not promises. Manasseh was a very
evil king. It takes 7-8 verses to fully describe his evil, including the
sacrificing of his sons to the gods of the land. He had one of the best Fathers
of all the kings, outside of David, but it did not prevent his free will from
choosing evil over good. Like Adam and Eve rebelling from God or the prodigal
sons (yes, there were two prodigals) turning from their father, godliness is no
promise of children choosing to walk in the faith of their parents (and
vice-a-versa). So what is a parent to do when their offspring choose a
different path? It seems to happen a lot in Chronicles. We can only do what God
has called us to do. We must be faithful to do the right thing, despite the
results. And we must pray. Who knows if the person will come back. God knows,
and we must be faithful. We must not blame ourselves. All parents can find some
fault to blame themselves. Likewise though, parents of children who do follow
God should not take pride in their parenting. The freewill choice of their
children is a cause for rejoicing and certainly not pride.
PRAYER: Thank you
Father that my children have come back to you. But either way, I am called to
obedience to you first. I do not stand for my children. We all stand before you
on our own. And hopefully, we stand on the merit of Jesus Christ, because we really
have no merit ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment