FATHER’S DAY
by David M. Griffis
FATHERS OF THE BIBLE
a tiny infant in his arms and to be over- whelmed by the sudden realization, This
child is part of me and all that I am!
Adam experienced all the “firsts” of fatherhood: the excitement of first steps, the sound of first words, and the pride of first accomplishments. He was the first to experience the heartbreak only a father can feel when he saw what sin can do to one’s family (vv. 3-16). We are not privy to Adam’s reactions to the events of his life as a father, but we do know Adam lived to see several genera- tions of descendants, and died at 930 years of age (5:5).
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18 EVANGEL • JUNE 2010
HE FIRST CREATED human being, Adam, also became the first father (Genesis 4:1). He was the first man to know the joy of holding
The same Adam who was promised a life of hard work and sorrow because of his sin (3:17-19) was the first to hear God’s promise of a Redeemer who would rectify the human condition (v. 15). So in the first father we have blessings and sor- row, hope and despair, birth and death, and the eternal promise of redemption. Many centuries later, the apostle Paul observed, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corin- thians 15:22). The vast chain of human lineage finds all of us part of Adam’s fam- ily, and from this lineage is found the humanity of God’s Son, Christ Jesus. As we move past Adam to survey the list of fathers found in the Bible, we quickly see that volumes could be written on the subject. Let’s consider six fathers who stand out for various reasons.
ABRAHAM, Father of the Faithful
In Romans 4:11, Abraham is called “the father of all them that believe.” At God’s leading, he left his home in Ur of the Chaldees at 75 years of age. Repeat- edly God told him that he and his wife, Sarah, though both were old, would produce a son through whom the entire world would be blessed as a result of his descendants (Genesis 12:2; 13:16; 15:4-21; 17:7, 19; 18:14; 21:1; 22:17-18). Of all the events in the life of Abra- ham, his test regarding his son Isaac stands out. God commanded Abraham to go to the land of Moriah and offer up Isaac, “thine only son . . . whom thou lovest,” as a burnt offering (22:2). Can this be fathomed? Could any man be expected to act against all instincts of love
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