The God of Family

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)

1. We are intended to love our children, parents, siblings, and spouses wholeheartedly, but always in the context of our primary and foundational love for God

Jesus made this startling and shockingly clear when he spoke these words: 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:15-16) [Parallel Passage – Matthew 10:37]

1. Biblical examples where people faced the challenge of the god of family.

1. Eli and his Sons

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:12)

Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. (1 Sam. 2:17)

Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. (1 Sam. 2:22-24)

id I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” (1 Sam. 2:27-30)

1. King Asa (1 Kings 15, 2 Chron. 15).

God sent him the prophet Azariah with these words: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” (2 Chron. 15:2)

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. (2 Chron. 15:8)

16: Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. (2 Chron. 15:16)

1. The testing of Abraham

God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen. 22:2)

As Abraham raised his knife to kill his son, God’s voice from heaven stopped him, saying: “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Gen. 22:12)

III. Is your love for your family in a right relationship with your love for God.

1. When it comes to your happiness and sense of well-being, are you looking to God first for those things, or are you looking first to a spouse, children, parents or friends.

2. Who are you more interested in keeping happy, your parents, spouse, children, friends, or God?

3. If there is a conflict between what God wants you to do or what your parents, spouse, children or friends want you to do, whom do you obey?

4. Are you trying to get from others something that you should only be getting from God?

IV. Our family relationships should be characterized by love.

1. When we love God first and most, it doesn’t mean we don’t love our families, it just means we love them differently.

2. In reality, the most loving thing we can do for anyone in our lives is to have God be in His rightful place in our life.

3. When we make others the center of our lives, rather than having God at the center, we don’t do anyone any favors.