And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. 1 Samuel 8:3
A fine Christian couple, we’ll call them David and Amanda, raised two children in every attempt to give them a Christian upbringing. The Bible was read in their home, and the children daily presented to the Lord in prayer. The children learned many Bible verses in Sunday school, and regularly sat with their parents to hear the Gospel preached. But the children showed little interest in spiritual things, and left home as early as possible, drifting far away from their parents’ instruction. David and Amanda continued to pray for their children, and always wondered where they had gone wrong in their efforts to have their children come to know and love the Lord. Sadly, these godly folks are not alone. Many Christians are broken hearted as they see the boys and girls they tried to introduce to Christ abandon all interest and live in sin and rebellion. Our text speaks of such a parent, none other than the great prophet and judge Samuel. This mighty man of God saw his sons turn out to be spiritual failures.
Samuel’s sons Joel and Abiah turned out to be nothing like their father. What a disappointment! Where the people could trust Samuel for wise judgments and honest dealings, they found Joel and Abiah to be unscrupulous and untrustworthy. We are not told that Samuel was slack in his efforts to raise them to love the Lord. And we must not allow Christians today to think that they are slack in their efforts with their children. Just as it was not Samuel’s fault that his sons turned out to be spiritual failures, it is not necessarily the fault of today’s parents when their children abandon their upbringing. Parents who do their best can be deeply disappointed, but they should not feel guilty. And they should never abandon hope for their children.
We are not told whether Joel and Abiah ever repented and turned to the Lord. But something must have happened, because we do read of one of Samuel’s grandsons, a son of Joel, who rose to greatness during David’s kingdom. Heman is identified as one of the leaders of the singers (1 Chronicles 6:33), no mean office in those days. He is also identified as the author of Psalm 88, and as one of David’s seers (1 Chronicles 25:5), which means he was one of the king’s closest advisors, a member of David’s inner cabinet, as it were. Samuel did not live long enough to see Heman, but he would have been delighted with him. And many parents today may not see direct fruit of their efforts to raise children for the Lord. But God honours their efforts, and can bring about results in unexpected ways.
Children who turn away from their parents’ teaching are a disappointment, but they should never be the cause of shame or hopelessness. Keep praying. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/7yki2wbj-ts