Job: A Great Father. Job 1:5.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted infamily, Father and High Priest of the Home, Parenting, sacrificeTags:, , ,

What do think of when you think of dads? A man tossing his baby in the air? A daddy-daughter dance? Little league? Learning to ride a bike, use tools, do chores?

What about Biblical fatherhood? Joseph adopted Jesus as his own, Abraham took Isaac to the altar and put God first. Jacob moved to Egypt—with 69 family members—to be taken care of by Joseph…. There are so many stories. One that’s easy to overlook, falling as it does in the opening lines of a report of overwhelming suffering, is the story of Job. You hear a lot of talk about “the patience of Job.” And he did endure. But he was also an exceptional, extraordinary father. 

“When the days of [his kids’] feasting were over, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose in the morning and offered burnt offerings for each of them…. Thus did Job continually.” Job 1:5

That’s amazing. Why did he do that? TEN burnt sacrifices? Regularly? But this is a BUSY, BUSY man, with 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, and hundreds of servants to manage it all. Job is a KING with an EMPIRE to run, yet he takes the time to make sacrifices for each child—”continually”?

And, by the way, they’re NOT children! They are grown, living in ten houses of their own, with their own adult responsibilities. Can’t they worship God on their own? 

But this is between the Lord and Job. He loves God, and loves his children, so he intercedes on their behalf following every party thrown by the rich young men and women. He knows they were drinking and thinks, “It may be that they have sinned and cursed God in their hearts” v.5. He has no evidence, of course, but just in case, Job goes before the Lord and presents a sacrifice on behalf of each adult child.

That strikes me as incredible fatherhood: this super-busy man makes time to regularly come to God on behalf of his adult children. Job truly embodies the phrase “high priest of the home.”

May we all take our faith and the spiritual health of our loved ones that seriously.

Pray for the energy and passion to serve God & your family with all your heart!

ΑΩ

Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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