Published by There is what I call “Between Children, Parents, God and Earthly Purpose Pursuits“. I read a professor’s autobiography and he said that he wanted his children to study professional course because his study of single subject gave him the impression that they are abstract and they had to find something impressive from nothing. This was when he was working on his PhD. Then his children were born and raised. When they were considering what course to pursue in the university, he tried to contribute his opinion and a family friend scolded him for daring to behave like older generation of parents who choose course of study for their children. Fortunately for him, they all chose professional courses despite that they decided on their own. The first important point here is that he was seeking to guide the children based on his own experience as a literate parent.
Without necessarily digressing, it is most likely that Mordecai taught Esther to conceal her Jewish identity because he had learnt from both history and experience that other nationals readily hate them as Israelites or Jews. We know how well Esther’s obedience to Mordecai’s counsel paid off for her, Mordecai and their fellow Jews. It had been since the time of the Pharaoh that cared less about Joseph’s contributions to the economy of Egypt previously.
This family friend did not care to confirm what informed this professor’s desire to help his children decide what to do with their lives. Also, he had this idea before he married and had these children. This means that a desire he had since he was a young man this woman came to challenge it because she believes that civilization dictates that children should be left to determine their destiny, so to speak.
Now to the crux of the matter, I Samuel 1 says that before Samuel was born his mother Hannah and God had settled what he must do with his life as long as he lived in the place of prayer at Shiloh. He would serve as God’s representative to the people or an intermediary between God and the Israelites. He fulfilled this purpose as long as he lived. Judges 13 says that God had confirmed the reason He was letting Samson be born. Jeremiah 1 says that before Jeremiah was born God had determined that he would serve as a prophet to the nations during his lifetime. I Kings 13:1-3 confirms that God decided, designed and declared what Josiah would do during his lifetime before he was born and Bible historians say that this was some 257 years before he was born.
Luke 1 confirms that God already determined and indicated to his father Zechariah that John the Baptist would be a prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah. Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4 and John 1:23 confirm that God ordained him to operate from the wilderness though his father had been a priest who had operated from the Temple in Jerusalem. Would it have been right for John to insist that he would remain in the temple in Jerusalem to succeed his father as priest? Would have been right for these persons to insist on doing any other trade that seemed to have been in vogue in their generation other than the purposed and planned pursuits of God for them? Galatians 1:11-20 says that Apostle Paul was glad that he discovered God’s will and purpose for his life and pursued it with vigour. This means that he would have been most sad if by the end of his life he discovered that he had missed it. It is important to understand that he was learned yet he was humble enough to consider his fulfilment of divine purpose as the best thing that ever happened to him in life.
There is what I call “Generational and Dispensational Vain and Vicious Vogue”. Let us assume that it was because David’s male siblings wanted to pursue their own chosen profession and careers that left their father with no choice than to make David the baby of the family to succeed him to tend his flocks in his very old age. Interestingly, it was David that God found worthy to choose to rule Israel on His behalf. As a result, David became the most illustrious member of his father’s household. It seems that God concluded that since Jesse’s older sons could not do their father’s bidding, He too could not use them because, if they could not obey their father, without whom they would not have been born to live, then he cannot trust that they would obey Him whom they cannot see with naked eyes. The three eldest Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah who joined Saul’s army of Israel were still non-commissioned officers when David came to kill Goliath and was made an officer immediately. That is one of the key differences between those that sponsor themselves in their profession and careers and those that God chose for. It usually turns out to be a case of the first and the last or best and worst swapping position.
In view of this civilized generation’s claim to the child’s right to decide what he or she wants to spend his life to do and be happier, should any of these persons had dispensed with God’s will and purpose and pursue their own agenda in life? Should children find out what agreement their parents and God had over them before they were born or when they were born and pursue it accordingly? Should children find out what God meant for them to do and align with it? Should they insist on what they know God meant for them if that of their parents is different and pose inherent danger to God’s? Should the children disregard both parents and God’s will and pursue their own heart desire particularly if they do not have the flair for theirs?
Isaiah 26:12 says that every achievement of man is enabled by God or that He is the one that can help any man to achieve. This means that if a man decides to do something which God is not favourably disposed towards, He would not help such a man to succeed. Since God’s help is a necessity for success it makes more sense to confirm His preference for us and follow through knowing that He would supply his grace to succeed in it. Another sane reason is given by Ecclesiastes 11:9 as follows:
Young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart’s desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do. (TEV-GNB)
That sounds like what I commonly refer to as “Factored Freedom” to the youths, and, actually to mankind. Tailored freedom rather than total freedom – it is the key to optimizing one’s freedom. Since individuals would give account to God later on, and there is no assurance that anything would be enough excuse to have flouted God’s will, it seemed wisest to confirm and follow God’s will, ways and words as long as one lives. Parental wishes and personal desires prompted by generational culture would not be considered enough reason to disregard God’s will and purpose on the dreadful day of the great white throne judgement. Despising God’s pre-planned purpose and pursuits is like a product insisting on dictating to its manufacturer the purpose it should serve. You cannot tell God what you want to spend the privilege He gave you to do on earth. After He created the universe he created man to serve His purpose on earth rather than man serving his own purpose as against God’s herein. Your employer cannot sponsor you abroad and you desert his purpose upon arriving there. It is remote rebellion.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Jeremiah 32:38-39, Romans 14:12, I Peter 1:17-19 and Revelations 20:11-15 lends further credence to the fact that God would judge whatever a man does on earth at the end of the age. It makes a lot of sense for an employee to do the bidden of his or her employer who would assess and reward him or her at the end of the business season.
As the story goes in II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles 17 let us say that David had prompted God to decide and indicate why Solomon should be born to live before he was ever born as the last born child of his mother Bathsheba to David. Then, prior to his father’s death he told Solomon to take note of some significant points as follows:
1. His God ordained purpose is to build the Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He should not waste any time in commencing and concluding this task. (I Chronicles 22:6-10)
2. He should ask God for wisdom and understanding to rule the Israelites. (I Chronicles 22:11-12)
3. He must obey the Lord faithfully so that the Lord would gladly help him to succeed throughout his lifetime. (I Kings 2:1-4 and I Chronicles 22:6-11-13)
4. He should help him to punish Joab for killing Abner and Amasa whom David considered to be better than Joab in character and loyalty. (I Kings 2:5-6)
5. He should continue to show kindness to Barzillai’s son named Chimham on his behalf because of Barzillai’s kindness to him while he lived outside Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion. (I Kings 2:7)
6. He should punish Shimei who added to the sorrows that Absalom’s rebellion caused him (I Kings 2:8-9)
Solomon understood David’s prayer for God to give him wisdom and understanding to rule appropriately and he asked the Lord for it. I Kings 3:3-14 and II Chronicles 2:1-12 say that he was given wealth in addition. As for the things that God and David did not intend for Solomon that he dabbled into later on in life included –
a) Many wives and concubines and worse still heathen ones
b) Getting horses from Egypt
c) Alliance with Egyptian and other heathen kings perhaps except King Hiram of Tyre who had been David’s ally and God had used him considerably for David and the building of the Temple.
d) The appointment of governors to tax the Israelites to provide for the prodigal and lascivious lifestyle of Solomon,
e) The building of another palace that Solomon more befitting for his generation and dispensation.
f) The idolatrous lifestyle he degenerated into in his later life.
g) The killing of his elder brother Adonijah because he asked for Abishag their father’s virgin widow.
h) His negative response to God’s two time effort to make him repent of his disobedience.
i) The defilement of Mount Zion by keeping the daughter of Pharaoh there.
Every time children disregard God and their parents admonitions it ends in their own peril. Interestingly, the fact that God loved Solomon did not immune Solomon to the regrets that accompanies such disobedience. It is like hijacking someone’s idea and wanting to use it as if it is your original idea, you would surely get into trouble somewhere along the line. If a parent had asked God for a child for a particular purpose and that child rebels against that God approved wishes of the parent(s), it may seem that all is well but he or she would surely suffer the consequences. One of the reasons is that it is the parent that asked for such a child that would cherish the reason he asked for the child and would naturally do everything possible to protect that child. The parent would be looking at the future with the aim of averting any likely action that would afflict the child to terminate the fulfilment he is deriving from the presence and performance of the child in the world stage.
There is what I call “Generational Idiosyncrasies” and “Generational and Dispensational Pride” that are the bane of every generation. Despite that II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles 17 say that the splendour of David’s palace prompted him to think of building a Temple to thank God for helping him, I Kings 6 says that Solomon decided to build another palace that he considered befits a king in his own generation. I believe that it was the leftover materials from the building of the Temple that he used to build a personal palace. I Kings 12 says that Solomon’s son King Rehoboam and his generational contemporaries rubbished his father and his counsellors’ generation altogether. They claimed that the previous generation was surely inferior to them in their own estimation. Isaac was Abraham’s chief inheritor though he was his second son. Jacob was Isaac’s chief inheritor though he was second son. Joseph was Jacob’s chief inheritor though he was the eleventh son. Only for Genesis 48:-5-23 to say that when it was the time of Joseph’s two sons, he tried to stop the tried that he had benefited from but Jacob told him that he could not. Usually, the next generation believe that they are smarter than the previous.
Emmanuel Oghene, Paper Pulpit Pastor
