Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. – Proverbs 17:6 (NIV)
Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. – Proverbs 17:6 (KJV)
52 Proverbs in 52 Weeks – Week 21
This week’s theme: Godly Families
God designed the family…and His designs are perfect.
This week we start a new theme, Godly Families, and the statement above sets the stage for the next couple of weeks on this topic. Families aren’t perfect…but God’s design for them certainly is. And family is critically important–it is literally the fundamental building block of our society. That was even more true in the days of King Solomon when these Proverbs were written (more on that below), but it’s still true today. Just think how strong, productive and joyful our society would be if it was solely built upon Christ centered families who honor our God.
Before we dive into this week’s Proverb, let’s take a quick look at family today vs family in the times of King Solomon. A typical American household today consists of 2 to 4 people (and often a pet) and usually just two generations (parents and children). Our households form into towns or cities, which then further align into states and ultimately into our nation. In comparison, a typical Israeli household in Old Testament times would consist of 50 to 100 or more people and would include multiple generations living together. The leader of the household was the patriarch, usually the senior male relative, and the household consisted of more than just blood relatives–it included workers, debt servants, livestock and land holdings. Groups of households would loosely align to form clans or villages, and those clans or villages would group into tribes (e.g., the twelve tribes of Israel), which could align to become nations. The point is this–although society today looks considerably different than the society of ancient Israel, it’s worthy of note that both societies were/are built upon the same foundation: family.
With that as context, let’s look at our first verse on this theme, Proverbs 17:6, which highlights two sources of joy associated with family: “children’s children” (aka grandchildren) and our family heritage. Anyone who’s ever walked into the home of a grandparent and looked at the pictures on the wall or seen a grandparent’s Facebook posts knows that grandchildren are a source of great joy to their grandparents. The equivalent in King Solomon’s day would have been the patriarch of the family, who would likely be a grandparent, hosting a great meal and beaming with pride while surrounded by his household. But, as the second part of the verse points out, joy runs both up and down the family tree. Godly parents, grandparents and the rest of the family lineage are a sources of pride for children as well (ignoring, of course, the children’s teenage years, when parents are just embarrassing). In short, Godly families should be a source of joy and pride.
In closing, it’s important to note that God’s plan for every family is not the same. Some households will be large and some will be small. Some will suffer adversity (just look at Job) and some will not. Some families will have children and grandchildren while children will not be part of God’s plan for others. Whether we’re a family of 50 or a household of 1, the crucial part is to make sure we’re a Christ-centered household that honors our God. That’s how Godly nations are built.
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