The Sins Of Our Fathers

Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their punishment. Lamentations 5:7

And the Israelite’s separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. Nehemiah 9:2

The family is God’s government on earth with one mandate ‘to restore God’s lost dominion’, it has has a chain of command that if broken, leads to anarchy, confusion and a platform for sin to enter our homes.  Paul describes the reporting structure of the family in Ephesians 5

God the Father >> Jesus Christ >> Husband >> Wife>> Children

To have authority one must be under authority. It is this principle which governs relationships within the home. When the husband is under the authority of Christ, he has the authority of Christ. When the wife is under the authority of her husband, she has the authority of her husband in the home. But if the chain of authority is broken at any point,
then authority breaks down in the home. Here is the major problem of many homes today – Derek Prince

The number one cause of Generational sin is confused or undefined family roles and responsibilities, consequently it is the father’s responsibility to create and enforce healthy family dynamics, on behalf of God. To do this, he first has to understand himself, or be in a process of understanding himself. A man who is unsure of himself, or does not understand who he is, is a danger to himself, family and society , because he is unable to lead.

There is a common saying ‘A Fish Rots From the Head Down’ .  

This means that bad leadership is the root cause of a family’s failure and demise. This is true whether it is an organization a country, a company, or a church. The buck always stops with the head of the home the father. Below, I describe the biblical role of husbands/fathers and how if these roles are broken, it introduces pain and suffering into a family.

1. A Man after God’s Heart

 “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me 1 Kings 2:2-3

a. First things first, Be a Man

David instructed his son Solomon, to act like a man. What does it mean to act like a man? To be a man? What defines a man?

For many years I have pondered and researched on this issue, from philosophy, African culture and all major religions. The answer is very clear to me, the 2 attributes that define a man and differentiate him from every other species, is his ability to face fear and to take responsibility for his life and those under him.

David was a fearless man, he had killed lions, bears and Goliath when he was still a young man. By the time he was enrolling in Saul’s army, he had a string of personal victories. He was no stranger to battle, and unlike today’s generation, David relished a good fight. In the African culture the rituals associated with circumcision demonstrated the need for this virtue, to have strong fearless men.

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” -G. Michael Hopf

Men, if you want to be strong and fearless, face your fear!! Relish conflict emotionally, spiritually, in your career, family and destiny.

b. God’s Heart

The command to be fruitful, multiply and have dominion was given to Adam and all His children, the man is the custodian of this command. God’s heart for family is described more clearly in the New Testament

“Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”

In short, a man after God’s heart will establish by example and instruction the values, habits and rules of the kingdom of God in his family and society. He will lovingly and forcefully extend the dominion of heaven and bring it to earth, creating an atmosphere and culture of heaven against the backdrop of ungodly cultures that reflect the ideas,customs and behaviors of the kingdom of darkness. Creating the right environment requires time, sacrifice and dedication.

2. The Vision and Purpose

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18

Men, if you don’t have a clear plan or vision for yourself, and a family, you have no business dating.. it is a simple as that. Fix yourself first.

A man who has no vision or has given up on chasing His vision is lost. He will subsequently find something else to keep himself from facing the emptiness that comes with lack of purpose.Women instinctively know this, and will follow a broke men as long as they have a vision and the forcefulness in character to follow it.

All men are born with a vision, of how they want their lives to be. I have never found a young boy who when asked ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’, has no answer. The normal response is a barrage of responses e.g pilot, president, business man, to be a rally driver, this God given ability to visualize the future and the determination and drive to see it happen is what great men are all about.

In a home where the man has no direction or does not sell his vision convincingly and inclusively, the result is always rebellion. Fore mostly from the wife, and later the children , because the former was created to be a helper, if she is unable to play this role ..she will find another man’s vision and follow it. This could be her boss, father, brother, friend or pastor. The children will also rebel, because there are no clear boundaries and responsibilities to be enforced in order to see the vision come alive.      

3. The Teacher

Fathers are to teach and train the family in alignment with the vision they have. Jesus Christ was known as rabbi – ‘master, teacher —used by Jews as a term of address: a Jew qualified to expound and apply the Jewish law’

Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. . . .You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18

God places the responsibility on fathers to teach His word and His ways to our children at home. This responsibility cannot be relegated to some special religious institution—temple, church or Sunday school. Nor can it be delegated to some special professional class—priests, preachers or Sunday school teachers. As parents, we must instruct our children at home in the words and the ways of God. This are not a question merely of setting up a “family altar” or holding “family devotions.” To be effective, spiritual instruction and discipline must be continuous. God says, “When you lie down and when you rise up.” This covers all our waking hours. It is our business to interweave the teaching of God’s Word with all the daily activities of our home life. The late Dr. V. Raymond Edman, one-time president of Wheaton College, once wrote:

“Looking back on the way I brought up my children, if I had to do it over, I’d spend more time with them in simple, nonreligious activities.” He had found that the things the grown children remembered most were the informal times of just being together. Real communication with a child is not achieved in five minutes. Often the most important things are said with a child at the time you would least expect it—in a casual or offhand way. If the casual contact is not there, these things will never be said.

– above text from a Derek Prince Sermon

God noted something about About Abraham, that as men we should internalize

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised. Genesis 18:18-19

The verse uses a strong word i.e. command: – ‘An authoritative direction or instruction to do something’. This means men should teach by example and authority, fully expecting their children to follow the ways of the LORD.

4. The Judge

Fathers are responsible and accountable to God for the discipline of everyone who is under their jurisdiction, including his wife and house assistants. This not only means that God requires us to discipline, but also that we are to be judged if we don’t discipline. When a father/husband turns a blind eye to the sins of members of his family, it is a grim sin, Eli’s story brings this home

Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord…Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting 1 Samuel 2:12 & 22

God judged Eli, for his failure to take action. Adam’s silence when Eve sinned, is a good comparison.

At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering. 1 Samuel 2:13-14

God expects fathers/husbands to judge their family and simulate consequences if necessary. The Head of the home is God’s representative on issues discipline.  God himself, disciplines without impartiality, he models this and expects all men to follow suit

Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. Revelation 3:19

..because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:6

4. The intercessor

The First Adam when caught in sin, refused to take responsibility for his or his wife’s sin, in fact he blamed his wife, and the wife in turn blamed the devil. This pattern still repeats itself today.

As men we are uniquely positioned before God to take responsibility for our sins and the sin of our families, the buck stops with us NO EXCUSES. Where there is no responsibility and acknowledgment of sin there is no forgiveness, God in his wisdom knew that families would sin..in response he modeled atonement through Jesus Christ.

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45

The last Adam Jesus Christ although without sin, died for the sins of his bride the church.

Whenever we refuse to take responsibility for our mistakes or sins we miss the chance to receive Grace.I have always wondered what would have happened if Adam would have manned up. Think about it!!

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:34