Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Instead Of Their FathersRev. John McMillanPastor of Coldenham, New York R.P. ChurchThe time had come for the Patriarch Jacob to die,and for his sons to replace him as princes in the covenantcommunity on earth. Reuben was the Patriarch's firstborn.Already in his career there had been flashes ofbrilliance — evidences that he was facing his responsibilitiesas eldest son and eldest brother. Once during abitter family feud he carefully planned to protect onebrother from the fury of the others; and he wept when hisplan failed. On another occasion he offered his father hisown two sons as surety that he would safeguard the life ofhis youngest brother, Benjamin.Yet when the time fully came for Reuben to standand live as a prince of the house of Israel, his characterwas marred by a basic streak of instability. It stood as aserious stumblingblock to excellence in his adult life."Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel" (Genesis 49:4).The Bible does not excuse Reuben for his instability.On the other hand, neither does it hide the handicapswhich were a part of Reuben's family background. God'sWord- strongly enjoins husbands to love their wives —even as their own bodies. Yet Reuben had a mother whofelt keenly her husband's failure to love her. How mucheffect this would have on Reuben's development as theoldest son of that marriage we cannot say.This familiar illustration from Old Testament historyshows some of the realities of preparing sons eventually to"rule" in the stead of their fathers. This may not be aprecise and physical descendency. In Isaiah 56:6 Godmakes a beautiful promise to the "Son of the Stranger"who takes hold of God's covenant, who loves His name,and keeps His day, and joins himself to the Lord to serveHim. Psalm 45 assures us that the King, Jesus the Christ,will have a spiritual progeny, a godly seed who will makeHis name live from generation to generation. There is noquestion, however, as to the primary responsibility thatrests on parents to train their own children to replacethem — as adults who serve the Lord.A son in the process of growing up should have twooutstanding questions to ask concerning his parents' faithand worship: First, How important is it? and second,What does it mean? (These two questions are suggestedby a study of Deuteronomy 6.) He spends his formativeyears watching his parents, separately and together, asthey answer the first question. He watches their faith inGod within the context of their total lives. He notices thetimes they worship, and the spirit in which they approachit. Moses does not put this first question into words, orsuggest that it will be asked verbally. It does not need tobe.The question of meaning, however, is pictured as astraightforward, verbal question from son to father: "Andwhen thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying. Whatmean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments,which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Thenthou shalt say unto they son . . ." (Deut. 6:20,21). Thisquestion may come up naturally at unexpected moments,or particularly in connection with the Lord's Supper, orsome other specific part of the life of faith.When it comes.it must be answered in terms of God Himself — thegreatness of His power and the grace of His redemption.Obedience gradually fades where the meaning — the realsense of it — has never been grasped; where there may bereligious rules and forms in abundance, but the Gospelitself has been omitted. The power and grace which thelittle Hebrew boy "witnessed" in the Passover thecovenant child today must see preeminently in the birth,life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Finally, the youngster who one day must be toughand responsible enough to take an adult's place in a realworld needs now to be comforted. I mean it. He can welldo without pampering and mollycoddling, but throughoutthose early years he is in sore need of comforting. Heshould discover while he is growing up that real disciplineand genuine comfort both come from the same source —a wise father and mother, and, over them, a just and lovingGod. If a fellow is not going to flinch and run in the faceof the hardness and meanness and disappointments of theworld, he must be established in the assurance of anenduring source of comfort. (II Cor. 1:3,4)•••To get we must give, to accumulate we must scatter;to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy;and in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seekspiritual good of others.—Charles H. SpurgeonElizabeth Barrett Browning once questionedCharles Kingsley, "What is the secret of your life? Tell methat I may make mine beautiful, too."Kingsley replied, "I have a friend."An Indianapolis, Indiana automobile dealer placesa New Testament in the glove compartment of every newor used car he sells. During a period of a little over nineyears he has given out more than 7,000 New Testaments inthis way and has received letters of appreciation from allover the United States.IUNE 16, 1971 5