Yahweh’s Focus on the Family
Have you ever seen the rippling waves created by the impact of a stone hitting the water surface in a pond? The ever expanding waves created by the ripples, demonstrate the influence each family has on society. Society is composed of many families, the dynamics of each family has an impact on the society. Like the ripples on a pond, the family impact spreads wide touching other ripples and eventually interlock with enough current and force to form waves. Depending on the volume and intensity of each wave, the family’s experiences and reactions to success, joy, peace, separation, death, divorce, disobedience, incarceration and brokenness can affect the stability and values of our society, causing waves of emotional pain, anger, confusion and depression that overpowers the positive family experiences. As these waves come in contact with each other they can create different degrees of turbulence in society resulting in hybrids of pain and distress in various pockets where innocent families and their dependents are severely affected leading to self medication, prescription addictions, and even death. To add fuel to fire, the dim economy compounds the situation creating poverty, frustration, hostility, turmoil, and stress as unemployment and loss of life savings rob the peace of the family.
On the sixth day of creation, our God, YHWH made the man, Adam, in His image and His likeness. Adam was YHWH’s son (see Luke 3:38 says, “The son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God”). As a good Father, He spent time in the Garden of Eden with Adam, teaching him and answering his questions. God gave Adam dominion over all creation on earth (Gen1:26) and taught him how to care for the garden and the animals. Adam learned about the vegetation and the dangers and benefits of the plants and animals. Adam named the animals and plants (Gen 2:16-21) and obeyed God’s rules. In return, Adam had a place to live, and all his needs were provided for; but most importantly Adam lived in the presence of God and enjoyed frequent communication with his father. God and Adam became a family of Father and son. The concept of the family was YHWH’s invention.
As time went by the animals multiplied and had offspring after their kind and in their likeness but Adam had no way of producing offspring after his kind and likeness. When God saw that man was lonely, He made a female companion for him; now he had the ability to produce offspring after his kind and his likeness so Adam developed his relationship with his companion and she became his helper and someone with whom he could share ideas. He imparted the knowledge he received from YHWH to her. Adam named her Eve. Now God’s family grew to three.
Once the serpent deceived Eve and caused her to break the rules of the Garden with Adam following after her, the dynamics of God’s family changed creating pain and sadness on both sides and Adam lost his dominion and close relationship with his Father due to sin. They were removed from the Garden and were no longer entitled to Yahweh’s protection and provisions. and Yahweh could no longer have close interaction with them because sin kept them apart from Him. Adam and Eve turned to each other for comfort as they learned together how to survive and support each other in the harshness of the land outside of the Garden. But before sending them away, Yahweh extended His grace towards them by killing an animal that provided blood for tempoorary atonement of their sin and animal skin for clothing them so they would not be naked. Eventually they had offsprings of their own kind and in their own likeness, growing Adam’s family. Adam taught his children the lessons he learned from his father, Yahweh as seen from teh story of Cain and Abel. The eyes of Yahweh were constantly watching over them.
Like all families, Adam’s children were individuals who chose to exercise their God given right of freedom to choose and while not perfect, some made the choice to please Yahweh; while others exercised their free will to choose what was pleasing to them. Eventually the society became wicked and Yahweh chose Noah’s family to build the Ark that would save anyone who would listen to the message warning them of impending judgment of a worldwide flood that would destroy the whole world except for those who heed the warning. Yahweh’s hope was to repopulate the earth from a righteous family that would honor, worship and obey Him.
But, as the society grew, unrighteous families turned into unrighteous societies, creating the need for Yahweh to call Abraham through whom Yahweh would start a new righteous family in the land of Caanan. Yahweh had promised Abraham that his aged wife would have a child and their descendants would be so many they could not be counted and from Abraham’s descendants, Yahweh would raise up the Messiah. Abraham brought his family ( father, wife and nephew) when he answered Yahweh’s call. From Abraham’s descendants, Yahweh targeted one family, the tribe of Judah, through which He sent the Messiah.
When sin multiplies in the family it increases exponentially in our offspring for future generations. Should we continue to surrender our minds to the deception of Satan like Eve did? When parents stop teaching Godly values to their children, the family is overtaken by secular or popular values that are contrary to Godly values. The absence of the teachings of God’s laws in the church and in the homes have resulted in broken and hurting families. Since children live what they learn and learn what they live, we expect these children to repeat the acts of their parents and multiply those values in the next generations, increasing the effects of the pain, recklessness, lack of patience, lack of love, need for instant gratification, selfishness and lack of concern for others.
Let us watch and pray without ceasing over our children and grandchildren that their families will become aware of the dangers surrounding and creeping into their homes, of the lurking danger of prayerlessness, compromise, cold heartedness in love and lack of diligence in parenting standards. We are the watchmen (Isaiah 62:6 and Ezekiel 33: 2-4), so let us not become distracted and passive allowing the enemy to take deep roots in our culture to attack our family.
I hope this post was encouraging to you and that you will share it with someone who needs encouragement in righteous living.
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