The Bible is rather interesting in that in many of the stories there are the stories of two children. Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Eliab and David, Absalom and Solomon. The list goes on. In each of these stories the first one is not treated kindly by Scripture and the second one is the one God chooses. While the Bible often emphasizes the rights of the firstborn, why is it that in many cases the firstborn never seems to pan out?
Eric Ludy is the one who caught my attention on the issue of the ‘twos,’ though he is not the one who inspired this particular post. He takes the tale of twos even further. It’s not just brothers which showcases the issues here; so did King Saul and King David. In each case there is a pattern of behavior. The first one tends to be about self and man’s efforts and the work of sin and the flesh. The second one tends to be about the Spirit and God’s work.
Cain gave an offering of his work, but it wasn’t his best. Abel brought the best of his flock. Ishmael was produced out of the impatience of Sarah and Abraham and his line has been a thorn in the Jews’ side ever since. Isaac was the child of promise. Esau was a hunter who despised his birthright. Jacob, while being a deceiver and supplanter, sought God with everything he had, even by not so great means. Eliab, the first son of Jesse, looked the part of a king: young, handsome, and yet God rejected him because David was the one who sought after God’s own heart. Absalom had serious problems. He murdered his brother due to the rape of his sister (not a good response to a bad deed), and then nearly pulled off a coup of David’s throne (2 Samuel 13-18). Solomon walked and followed in the ways of David until his wives pulled him away. As king, Saul started good but demonstrated how life lived in the flesh and without God often turns out. David, despite his flaws, became the greatest of Israel’s kings because of his longing for God.
There is another pair in Scripture worth noting: Adam and Jesus. Jesus is known as the Last Adam. Jesus came to do what Adam failed to do. Adam disobeyed God instead of believing him, while Jesus was perfectly obedient, even to the point of death on a criminal’s cross. All these stories of siblings and kings are pictures and snapshots of the ultimate comparison between Adam and Jesus. Much can be said about this comparison, but this is just the set up for my main point: Which child are we? Are we of the firstborn who walk in the ways of the flesh, or are we of the second-born who walk in the ways of Christ?
When Jesus confronted the Jews in John 8, he was straight up and accused them of being children of the devil. How could he say that? Simple. He saw they were talking and living according to their sinful flesh and not after the ways of God. They wanted God’s miracles and his provision and his protection, but they didn’t want HIM. In fact, Jesus revealed they were seeking to trap and kill him. Jesus said that our father is the one we listen to. Do we listen to God or do we listen to the devil? How can we tell?
A few weeks ago I wrote about nine different tests offered in 1 John with how we can examine ourselves to see if we are indeed in the faith (Part 1 and Part 2). I want to offer two more tests which are not in 1 John but help us see where we stand.
The first test is: What do you like? A child who loves his father will generally love what the father loves and hate what the father hates because he wants to be like his father. If you claim to be a child of God, do you love what God loves? I am not merely talking about morality here. God loves the downtrodden and the lowly. Do you? Do you hate what he hates? God hates sin and particularly six forms of it including pride and lying.
Does obeying give you the joy of being with the Father, or do his commandments give you the dread of a slaver? The firstborn finds the commands of God to be a loathsome reproach. The second-born loves them because they know they protect him. The firstborn sees God’s commands as though they come from a totalitarian dictator who cares nothing for them and just wants to damper their fun. The second-born see the commands as preparing them for matrimonial unity with Christ and spending eternity with him.
The second test is this: Does God discipline you? He will not discipline someone else’s children like a father. He punishes them as a criminal. Each one of us has done things we should not have done. Let’s say I broke a window by throwing rocks at it as a child (I never actually did this). If the window was in my house, my father would deal with this in house, likely spank me, and I would have to do something to rectify the situation. However, if the house was not mine, the father of that home would have every right to bring me to civil court and to press charges.
Children do not respond to disciple or correction from those they do not acknowledge as having authority over them. I remember being with a missions team years ago and a kid on the team got in trouble, a man on the team got in the kid’s face, and I could see the kid’s almost defiant face because the man was not his father. Children will respond to parents they respect, to coaches and teachers they respect, or to whatever they give honor to. Who do you respect enough to let them tell you what to do? Is it the proper authorities, or is it those who tell you that you can do whatever you want, especially in defiance of God’s established order?
I understand many people have a great difficulty seeing God as a Father because the relationship with their own father was sour to say the least. If that is you, please hear that God wants to play the role of father that you never had, and he always does it right.
How does God discipline us? So few have articulated it as well as Eric Ludy does in this sermon in distinguishing the difference between the saint and sinner. His main point is there are two types of sin: “Sin” (big S) and “sin” (small s). With Sin, it is outright rebellion and defiance and that is what is to be addressed first and foremost. With sin, it is not rebellion but rather childish foolishness. God is patient with sin and will work with us to correct it and cleanse it out. However, when it comes to Sin, that is when he needs to take us behind the woodshed and give us a spanking. Many fathers do know how to play this role with their children, yet they are getting harder to find today mostly due to the destruction of the family structure in society. How does God discipline you? Or does he at all? Can you sin and get away with it without feeling the guilt of offending God?
We are a child of God or we are a child of the devil. We are of the firstborn living after self and with no regard to God, or we are of the second-born longing and striving after God. Which one are you?
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