“Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father” (Proverbs 17:6).
When God called Abram out from his father’s house, three important promises were made to him if he obeyed God’s command. “I will make you a great nation…make your name great…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). Holy Scripture teaches us that Abram “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham’s faith in God brought forth the fruition of these magnificent promises, but God did so in a way Abraham never expected. If closely examined, all these promises Abraham received from God have one thing in common; Abraham’s legacy. God would seal His friend’s legacy by blessing him with a son. A son with whom God would create an “everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” to insure that His promises would never be forgotten. In processing this revelation, let us make the observation that God solidified Abraham’s legacy by giving him a family. One must also carefully notice that before this could take place, it was necessary for Abram to grow into Abraham. His name change is symbolic of his growth and transformation from being an “exalted father” to a “father of a multitude” (Strong, H87 and H85). The significance of this is that from this point on, Abraham had to understand that his decisions were no longer exclusively for him, but rather now the security and progress of his family depended on them. Hence, the important role a father carries in the household and why his children are commanded to honor him! In our proverb above, king Solomon explains Abraham’s success as a father. In Hebrew culture, the father was also viewed as the leader, or “chief,” of his household. It was his responsibility to protect, provide, and progress his family onward. He was not only the leader of his clan, but he was also the guidance counselor to his children. In Abraham, God establishes the many wonderful blessings that are achievable in a family that is ruled wisely by its father. According to Solomon’s proverb, he not only secures his “crown” of being blessed with grandchildren, but he also achieves the blessing of witnessing his children follow his lead in their upbringing (Proverbs 17:1-6). The son honors the father by imitating him in leading his family on the path of righteousness, as he was led. The writer of the proverbs describes this achievement by stating that “the father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him” (Proverbs 23:24). Once more, this is possible because the father is able to find peace in learning that he was able to lead wisely. Like father Abraham, every man must first learn that if God has granted him a family, it is because God has no doubt that this man has the capability to “command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19). It is for this reason, that a wise son will seek to emulate his father in his ability to lead a family. Acknowledging his father’s wisdom as the essence to his righteous upbringing is what makes the son wise as well (Proverbs 1:8-9). A son then honors his father by following his example, therefore establishing an enduring legacy. In Hebrew culture, these men were greatly revered because they viewed a large, united family as a symbol of wise leadership. Truly, their grasp of the value a wise father had to their culture is one that we, as a church, must keep close to our hearts as well. The nation of Israel held Abraham in high esteem because they never forgot that God had chosen him to bring forth their existence. They understood that God had chosen one man because of his devotion, faith, and obedience. Abraham was able to remove himself and his family from the erroneous belief of idol worship passed on to him from his father, and steer his family into the path of truth (Joshua 24:2-3). The apostle Paul had been enlightened by God that this was the wisest way to measure a man’s ability to protect and guide. Hence, why the apostle stated that for a man to be able to serve as an elder, he must be able to first serve his household as a father (1st Timothy 3:4-5). Once more, the name change God performed on Abraham was to make him aware that his priority and mentality had to switch from serving himself to serving his family. God was teaching His friend that the key to being a wise father is to put aside pride and embrace humility to be able to serve and guide his family. An honorable father is one who always puts the needs of his home before his own. His life becomes his family’s and quite literally gives himself up for them. It is for this reason, that God reveals to Paul that in this way a man can be determined eligible to serve as a guardian to His church. Like a father who is honored for his loving dedication to his family, the same should be true to an elder who gives his life over to his brethren. Because Abraham was able to govern his family wisely, he was blessed with a nation that will never be erased, given a name that has endured all time, and became a blessing to every nation in the world. He was able to achieve this in his seed and became the endearing “Father of faith” (Galatians 3:6-9, 15-8, 26-29). A father who rears his children in God’s divine path of truth while they are under his command will create a legacy that will withstand time. Perhaps every father’s dream is to always be remembered by his children with fondness, but it is even more satisfying when he is blessed to see them grow into parents themselves. Especially if they honor them by raising their children the same way they were raised. In a way, it becomes the son or daughter’s way of saying “thank you for raising me correctly.” It is a child’s way of telling the father that even after leaving home, they still trust in his guidance and seek to ensure that it is never forgotten. Therefore, for those who have been blessed with wise fathers such as Abraham, let us never forget that they are our glory as children. Let us then be grateful with them by accepting their instruction to become wise and become their reason for rejoicing (Proverbs 23:15).