A Bad Father

by David Shannon

A bad Father who will not change his evil ways often does the best for his family when he dies. Terah the father of Abram seems to exemplify this truth.

In Genesis 12:1 we read about God calling Abram to "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:" In Acts 7, in Stephen's defense, we are informed that Abram was called the first time but did not follow through exactly as God commanded. His mistakes were:

1) He took his father, Terah (Genesis 11:31) and his nephew Lot, even though God had plainly stated "get thee...from thy kindred, and from thy father's house."

2) The land God was to show Abram was Canaan, not Haran, a land of idolatrous worship, yet that is where Abram stopped and dwelt.

Many of these mistakes could be attributed to the negative influence of his father. The Bible says little of his father, Terah, but what is said paints a shameful picture.

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. Joshua 24:2

History records that the land of Ur from which Abram and Terah were leaving was devoted to worshipping the moon deity Nannar and Nin-Galatians Haran, the land in which they dwelt for awhile was also devoted to the same idolatrous worship according to history.

The last few words of the 11th chapter of Genesis are "and Terah died in Haran." The first words of the next chapter are "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country..." This is the second calling of Abram. What went wrong the first time? Apparently, a bad father's influence stopped a good son from doing right. After the father's death, the son did much better! This is a sobering thought for any father. Will your children be more faithful while you are alive or after you die?

Today, fathers might lead their children down the road of "sports idolatry." Their words or actions may say to their children that athletic events are the most important events in life. By watching hours of games, reading the sports page everyday to stay updated and talking of the activities as if they are of utmost importance while at the same time never allowing their children to see them spending even minutes reading the Bible, or moments preparing for Bible class or conversing about spiritual blessings with real enthusiasm.

Fathers, how you spend your time and exhibit your enthusiasm will either lead your children to know God better or move them further away from Him. Which is it in your life?

How sad it is to think that God may be waiting for our death, so He can use our children in His service!

• Men's Ministry -Feb 25, 2007
• Men Come from Boys who are led by Men -Jan 29, 2006
• Especially for Fathers and Husbands -Feb 25, 2001