Sacrificing Family for Work

1 Kings 16:34

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

In this day and age we seem to be prone to do the same as Hiel. We don't do it as obviously, but we most certainly sacrifice our families for the work we do.

Parents work long hours, sending their kids to day care for someone else to look after. Mothers literally kill (abort) their babies because of the inconvenience of having to give up work. Fathers work hard all day and come home to do their own thing, not to spend time with their kids.

What impact does this have on our culture? It seems to me that it raises kids to be angry teenagers who don't know or understand their place in the world and have no one to rely on. It raises adults who don't know how best to build their own families. More importantly: it raises up people who don't know the Lord, because their parents either didn't know him themselves or never bothered to teach their kids what it means to be Christians.

But it's s easy just to point the finger. The truth is, I do it too. From the opposite side of the spectrum. This year has been crazy. As my last year of school there have been heaps of work to do, massive assessments and stressful tests. The result? I've spent much less time with my family and my friends then I should have, and the time spent with them has often been spent as a stressed and grumpy teenager.

How are we living? What are we putting first in our lives? What impact does that have on those around us?

But Hiel was doing something more than just sacrificing his family, wasn't he?
He was rejecting God. He was openly disobeying the God who had pronounced a curse on the man who rebuilds Jericho through Joshua:

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: "At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates." (Joshua 6:26)

What is even more important than leading and building your family? Serving God. God is the only way that we can be saved form our sins, he has provided salvation through Jesus and calls us to repent and believe in him.

We all stuff up. The first and biggest thing we need to do to get ourselves right is to turn to God, because nothing we can do can help us. We need God to change us from the inside out. Only then can we truly live how he wants.

Other points from Exodus 1

While looking at Exodus one and how it supports the Pro-life campaign, I made two other observations.

Image source

• God gives families.

Exodus 1:20-21

So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Because the midwives feared and obeyed God he blessed them by giving them families. This tells us that families are a blessing from God, our father.

For me the first point of application is that God knows who I will marry and he has that all planned out. If he sees fit to bless me with a family like he does most people, then all I have to do is trust him and be faithful to him where I am. He can do the rest. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't look for a wife, but it means that I shouldn't get all worried about who I will marry or when that will happen. God has it all planned out and he is more then capable to bring it about. What I have to do is serve him faithfully where I am.

That's both hard and easy. It's much better to trust God and to wait for his timing because it means I don't have to stress about it. But it is hard to give it over to God and to let him take control of that. But it's what I need to do to glorify him.

The other point of application is that children are a blessing from God. Some people get worried because as of yet they haven't been able to have kids. A better response is to pray and serve God faithfully. He can provide children if it is his will, and if it isn't then we need to trust him that his plan is far better then ours.

Families are a blessing from God. Be thankful for them and serve him faithfully at all times.

• There's a massive foreshadow of Christ here.

Throughout the Old Testament there are little snippets f things that point directly to Jesus. In this chapter we see Pharaoh killing all the baby Israelite boys. In Luke Herod does the same thing. In both accounts at least one escapes. Moses escaped and he would later bring the law to Israel, rescue them from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the promised land (though he could not take them in because he sinned).

Jesus survived and bought the new covenant: Grace. He doesn't rescue us physically, he does more then that and rescues us spiritually from sin and God's eternal wrath. He doesn't just lead us to a promised land on earth but secures our favour in God's sight eternally so we can go to heaven and be with him through grace. He didn't sin and he will return to take us to heaven when he comes back to judge the earth.

Those were just two interesting points from Exodus one. My teacher has been encouraging us to read the old Testament and ask where we see Jesus in it, and believe me it's been good to do.

God Bless,
Nat.