The Good Father

Every king has a kingdom. The father-king’s wife and children are part of his inheritance as a joint heir with Christ. As king he rules over a domain – his household; as priest he has access to the throne room of the King of kings, his model, seated in a far-above place. What may hinder him from being effective at his God-ordained leadership assignment? Scripture indicates two things: weakness and wickedness. Against God’s injunction not to marry from among the Canaanites, Ahab, king of Israel took Jezebel, daughter of the Phoenician king, as wife. She turned his heart to the worship of her god, thus provoking God to anger Exd.34:15 . More abominations were committed during Ahab’s reign than at any other era: a step in the wrong direction often advances to taking giant leaps into destruction. A zealous propagandist for her religion and persecutor of the people of God 1Kgs.18:4 , Jezebel was a bold, precocious woman. She wielded such great influence over the king, there was no do...

A friend asked me recently: What can be done about the incidence of rogue behaviour worldwide? My answer was simple: read the book ‘ The Good Father’ ! There is no solution to degenerating moral, social and cultural values outside of a return to the prescriptions of the One who created the family unit as a cocoon to inculcate Godly values in children and pass on relationship with Him to next generations. It is my belief that the fundamental reason our societies are experiencing a high incidence of failure is the lack of strong, focused, visionary leadership, resulting from man’s insistence on dissociating from God. Dearth of leadership begins in the family, the place of foundational development of an individual, where he learns that without relationship with God he cannot impact positively on his life, community or nation. Every life on earth is purpose-driven, every creature has a mission on earth: to fulfil the purpose of He who put eternity in his heart, as well as all he needs t...

Solomon, king over Israel and Judah after his father, David, took many wives and concubines, and worshipped their gods and goddesses against the injunction of the God of his father. God's judgment: ‘… I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant…' 1Kgs.11:11-12 . Thus the kingdom was shared between Rehoboam, Solomon's son, and Jeroboam, his rebel servant, 'a mighty man of valour' 1Kgs.11:28 . Solomon multiplied the art of procuring wives and concubines learned from his father; his error cost his generations the kingdom. In this one thing, David, the beloved of God had passed on a shameful legacy which marred what should have been a glorious exit for the wisest man of his time. Every father determines, by his words and actions, if to bring glory or shame to his children. The king is custodian of the culture and traditions of the people, yet Godly values, tried and tested universally to work for man’s progress Ps.12:6 , seem to be incr...

God appoints leaders over His people Dan.4:17 . A father, like a king, is neither elected nor can enthrone himself. His appointment commences when he establishes his own home and finds a wife. He is secure as husband before becoming a father, progressively taking on the responsibilities of leadership. The finger of God is upon fathers; He looks with favour upon them and blesses them with children. The receiver must be willing to learn from the Giver how best to excel at all the assignments the gifts will task him with, in order to enjoy the blessing. The man who desires to be taught is poised to benefit immensely from instruction for fathering at the mouth of the One who made him a father, by His grace. God expects a father to fit His prescriptions for the man He appoints king over His people. He puts His Spirit upon him, anoints him, and prepares him for leadership, providing strength and guidance 1Sam.16:12-13 . The father who wields authority over his household must himself be un...