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Topic: Train Up Your Child
[DCLM Daily Manna 7 June 2020 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: 1 Samuel 3:11-21
11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17 And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Key Verse: “For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” – (1 Samuel 3:13)
MESSAGE:
There is an adage that says, “the child that we refuse to build up (train) will end up selling off (squander) the house that we built.” This underscores the significance of training children to prepare them to be responsible adults in future.
This was what Eli failed to do. His children abhorred the offering of the Lord. They forced those who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifice unto God to give them the meat that was meant for the sacrifice and took as much as they wanted. God counted their action as a desecration of His sacrifice. They did all this in the name of their father, the priest. And, since Eli failed to take concrete actions to stop them, God held him accountable for his children’s sins.
The world is full of wayward children today. Youths are active participants in vices like drug addiction, cultism, kidnapping, rape, fraud, armed robbery, etc. Sadly, many parents fail to check their children against these vices. For a just, peaceful, equitable and prosperous society, parents have a great role to play. They must train up their children in the way of the Lord so that “when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
Men of God in particular must take all necessary steps to train their children in the way of the Lord so that the name of the Lord will not be reproached through their families. According to Scriptures, the man of God must be one that “ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity” (1 Timothy 3:4). Who is your child? A son of Belial, or a son of God?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A word is enough for the wise.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 8-10
