Consecrate Them

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. (Job 1:1-5 ESV). We’re back in the Book of Job today; however, I have chosen a verse that is rarely used. We are told about the righteousness of Job and his wealth; we are given the information about his children and his servants. All of this background serves to set the stage for the accusation of Satan before God that ultimately leads to the severe trials in Job’s life. We should not miss the reference to Job’s further description as a parent. We are told how he rose early to offer sacrifices for each of his children on the off chance they might have sinned. That description is a bit foreign to us in that we don’t abide by the sacrificial system of that day. However, we should see it as a consistent lifestyle of modeling the godly life of a believer and continuous prayer on the part of this righteous father for his children. We can never underestimate the influence we have over our children in these two areas. I recently read a story about a young Jewish family. The young Jewish boy asked his father, "Why must we surrender our Jewish faith and start to attend Lutheran services here in Germany?” The father replied, "Son, we must abandon our faith so that people will accept us and support our business adventures!" The young boy never got over his disappointment and sorrow. His faith in both his father and his religion were crushed in the name of expediency. When left Germany he went to England to study at the British Museum where he formed his philosophies for life. From those intensive investigations he wrote a book that changed the world called, "The Communist Manifesto.” From that book one-third of the world fell under the spell of Marxist-Lenist ideology. The name of that little boy was Karl Marx. He influenced billions into a stream that for 70 years ruined, imprisoned and confused many lives. The influence of this father's hypocrisy multiplied in infamy. Commit yourself to a godly example and consistent prayer for your children. It is a part of a “blameless and upright” life. This is how we lead them in consecration.