'Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed'.
Here is the story of a man of God who had the Lord's genuine calling upon his life. The calling was backed up with covenant. As he was serving God, the Lord gave him a home with wife and children. Having a home, good as it may have been proved to be his undoing. He could not govern his home. He neglected to train his children neither did he teach them the statutes of the law.
That was a direct disobedience to the commandment of God. We are expected to teach our children the word of God, talk about it while at home, write it upon the lintel of our homes and sing it as songs to them. Eli, the man of God could not meet up with the demands of child training. He was busy with the work of the ministry. Every year, he hosted pilgrims who wished to meet with God at Shiloh. He never failed in his ministarial duty. He was so concerned and busy that he totally failed to impart the fear of God in his children who grew to be blasphemers and adulterers. It was so bad that they made love with women right in front of the terbanacle even in daylight.
God never spared him. He judged him for this neglect and withdrew his covenant of generation past from him. He incured the wrath of God and sudden death. His generation after him suffered premature death too as a result of his sins.
What are you doing in the vineyard of God now? Do you know that you must not neglect the training of your children inspite of your ministerial duties? Give your children the priority they deserve. Honour God with their lives and bring them up in godly living. Teach them to memorize the scripures and instill the fear of God in them from their childhood. Train them while they are young and when they are grown up, they will not depart from the path you have set for them. This is the simplest way to succeed in child training.
Text: 1 Samuel 2: 30-37
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