A Contrast of Two Fathers

The job of being a father is never done. It does not end when they leave the home. You are still a source of advice and encouragement to your children. No matter how old they are. And yes you are still an example for them. They are still watching you. And if you have grandchildren, you still have a role to play there. In fact your influence can have an impact for generations. Don’t get weary in well doing when it comes to fatherhood.

Having a child makes you a father but just having a child does not make you a good father.

Take Lot for example.

He was the materialistic father. He set his eyes upon the world. He had his heart in the world. He then got involved with the world. And he then lost his family to the world. Lot gained influence with the world, but he lost the influence in his own family. Lot made choice after choice that made him a lousy father.

Those choices cost him his home, his wealth, and his family. His wife turned back to the world and was turned into a pillar of salt. His daughters did Lot wrong and then raised two heathen nations. Lot was a very poor father, and he is not the only poor father in the Bible. God records many of them and their mistakes that we might learn from them.

The Bible also records some great fathers, that we might learn from them.

Fatherhood is filled with choices. What kind of father you are is up to you. It is a choice. Am I going to ignore or distance myself from my fatherly duties or not. Am I going to keep trying to be a better father and grandfather every day, or will I decide that I have done enough and quit.

We should never quit. Our families still need us, that is not the question. The question is what kind of father am I going to be today and tomorrow. Nothing you can do about the past. You can’t change the past but today you have a choice. What kind of father and grandfather am I going to be today?

Am I going to be a spiritual leader to my family or not. Is my life today showing to my family that the things of God are important? What kind of example am I setting today?

This morning I want to look at someone who the Bible shows to have been a good father. He did not do everything perfect. No body does or can. Only Jesus is perfect. But this man did quite a few things right. Look at what the Lord says about Abraham.

• Gen 18:17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
• Gen 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
• Gen 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

God knew that Abraham would lead his children and his household. That would include his grandchildren. God knew that he would teach them and show them how to keep the way of the Lord. Abraham led his family in many ways.

I. Abraham set the example in family worship:

Gen 12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

No sooner had God spoken to Abraham than Abraham builds an altar

Gen 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

He moves to Bethel and again builds an altar

Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

He later moved to Hebron and again builds an altar.

Abraham was showing to his family, that no matter where we live we are going to worship the Lord.

Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

When he was told to offer his miracle son Isaac to the Lord, he obediently built an altar

An altar is a place where God meets with man. In the Old Testament they would typically make a pile of stones to serve as an altar. We call this area an altar. It is nothing special in itself. It is just carpet with cement under it. It is a place set aside to meet with God.

Abraham was the spiritual leader of his home. He said we are going to worship the Lord. He set the example and provided the leadership in the home to worship God. He did it every time they moved. He did it when God gave him a great promise; he did it when God did not give him a promise. He built an altar when things were going good and he did it when it was hard. I believe that building that altar for Isaac was the hardest thing he ever did.

Abraham set the example to his family in worshiping God no matter what. This is a trait that all fathers should have.

II. Abraham set the example in giving.

• Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God.
• Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
• Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Melchizedek was a picture of the Lord. Some believe that it was an Old Testament appearance of Christ. Some don’t. Some believe that Melchizedek was just a type, a picture, a foreshadowing if you will of Christ. And Abraham gave tithes to Him.

Giving is a form of worship. It is a real practical way to show the love for the Lord that we have in our heart. Not only to Him, by giving to His work. But our families need to see us being faithful to God. They need to see us being generous in giving to the Lord.

Giving is God’s plan. We see Abraham doing it long, long before the law was ever given. You see it all thru the Bible. God’s people providing for God’s work thru giving. That is how they built the Tabernacle. It is still God’s plan today.

God’s work being provided for by the cheerful giving of God’s people. Without giving, we would have no place to meet, no materials for the children’s department. No money to pay the light bill, the pastor’s salary. We would not be able to support missionaries. No giving = close the doors.

We need to understand this principal and we need to set the example in this area for our families.

III. Abraham set the example in Hospitality. In this example to the Lord.

• Gen 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
• Gen 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
• Gen 18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
• Gen 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
• Gen 18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
• Gen 18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead [it], and make cakes upon the hearth.
• Gen 18:7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave [it] unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
• Gen 18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Abraham entertained the Lord and angels in his home. He fellowshipped with the Lord in his home. He was excited to have God enter his home. Is God welcome in your home? Or do you leave God at the church house?

Abraham’s house was also a place of service to the Lord. He had to privilege to prepare a meal for them. And notice Abraham gave them the very best he had. They used the fine meal, the good and tender calf. And notice Abraham’s best was accepted. It says and they did eat. Abraham had a heart to serve the Lord and give Him his very best.

He talked to the Lord face to face in his home. We cannot see the Lord with our eyes. But we can talk to Him in our home. We can’t cook the Lord a meal, but we can give Him our very best. The Lord should be welcome in our home.

IV. Abraham set the example in Compassion.

• Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
• Gen 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
• Gen 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
• Gen 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
• Gen 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] therein?
• Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
• Gen 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
• Gen 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am but] dust and ashes:
• Gen 18:28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for [lack of] five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy [it].
• Gen 18:29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do [it] for forty's sake.
• Gen 18:30 And he said [unto him], Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do [it], if I find thirty there.
• Gen 18:31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for twenty's sake.
• Gen 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.
• Gen 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Abraham knew the Lord’s purpose for going to Sodom. He had a compassion on even the most ungodly of sinners and began to intercede for them.

As long as they were alive there was a chance that they would repent and come to know the Lord. Abraham cared about the souls of others.

Abraham begged God to spare the city if he could find only 10 righteous men in Sodom. If there were 10 saved men in that city, then there is a witness for the Lord there. If there are 10 then they might have an impact on all those lost men. Abraham pleaded with God that they might have time. Time for 10 men to tell someone else about the Lord. Time for sinners to repent.

Abraham had great compassion for the souls of lost sinners. He interceded on their behalf to Almighty God.

Abraham set a great example for his family. He cared about the lost. Do you? Do you go to the Lord in intercessory prayer for the souls of lost men? Do you set the example for your family by putting tracks on doors, or in the grocery cart, or on the car next to you when you are out shopping.

Do you set the example for your family in the area of having compassion on a lost and dying world? A world that greatly needs the Lord? Abraham set a good example in compassion for the lost.

V. Abraham set the example for his family in Faith.

• Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
• Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God. Even when it seemed impossible. He trusted God’s promise. Again and again throughout his life we see Abraham choosing to believe God in spite of what he saw with his eyes.

• Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
• Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
• Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
• Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
• Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

If asked, how would your kids and grandkids rank your faith? Would they look up to you as a man who really believes God and trusts in Him. Are you an example to them of a man of faith.

VI. Abraham set the example of rejecting Materialism.

• Gen 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
• Gen 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
• Gen 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
• Gen 13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.
• Gen 13:9 [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
• Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
• Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

Abraham gave lot the first choice of the best land. He was willing to trust God in the bad land, rather than his own judgment in the good land

Abraham refused to accept the bounty of the wicked King of Sodom.

• Gen 14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
• Gen 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
• Gen 14:23 That I will not [take] from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Do your children see you make decisions that put God and His kingdom first. Decisions that cost you financially or materially to take the moral stand.

Has your family seen you make decisions that choose them and their best interests over your comfort or pleasure?

Do they see your eyes upon things and toys, or upon them? Where do they see your treasure? Luk 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Abraham set a good example to his family.

VII. Abraham set the example in obedience.

• Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
• Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
• Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Abraham obeyed when he could not see the result of his obedience. He went out not knowing where he was going.

• Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am].
• Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
• Gen 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Abraham obeyed God even when it was very difficult. Even when it was something that he did not want to do. Even when he did not understand the why. He obeyed God. Abraham was a father who had character. He was obedient to the Lord. Our families need to see us obeying the Lord.

Abraham was not perfect. He did make some mistakes. But Abraham did a whole lot right. He set a great example for his family in:

• Family Worship
• In giving to the Lord He entertained the Lord in his home.
• In compassion for the lost
• He set the example in faith In rejecting materialism
• In obedience to God

Abraham followed God and was a spiritual leader for his family. Something we should all emulate. Abraham and Lot. What a contrast. A spiritual father or a worldly father. A father who led his family in the ways of God or a father who led his family in the ways of the world.

Abraham’s family went on to serve the Lord. Lot’s family went on to serve the world. Fatherhood is filled with choices. We must choose each and every day what kind of fathers we will be.  Will you be a Lot or will you be an Abraham?

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