Grandparents/ Forefathers Appreciation Day By
Capt. Kelly Durant 9-8-13
Gen. 47: 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years
of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of
the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of
the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.10 And Jacob blessed
Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.11 And Joseph placed his father and
his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of
the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.12 And Joseph
nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with
bread, according to their families.
2. No wise person ever wanted to be any younger than what
they are now, so we must be happier when we get older, boast of our families
behind us and before us, and especially show off our grandchildren. Want to
know the difference between young and old? Listen to this story…
A lady noticed an old happy man sitting on his porch. “Excuse
me” she said “I just couldn’t help noticing how happy you look. Tell me, what
is the secret to your long happy life.” “Well, the man responded, “I eat fatty
foods, never exercise. I also smoke packs of cigarettes a day, and drink about
a bottle of whiskey a day”. “Oh my!” the women said “and how old are you?” Twenty
eight, he said!
Do you want to hear something even more shocking? Years ago
this was the age that most people became grandparents! In almost all the
cultures people married and reproduced by age 14, so their children marrying at
the same time means they could be a grandparent at age 28! In Roman times and
for millennia to live past 30 meant you were old, but it wasn’t always that
way.
3. Who do you think of as the father of fathers in history
that everyone respects? When you consider the ultimate grandfather of all time
Abraham, the father of faith, comes to mind, right? In the history of all of
our families usually we all can name a forefather that was outstanding in his
influence, wisdom, and skills bearing the family name. Who comes to your mind
from your family? You recall good things about them, but you too will leave a
legacy to those after you.
Did you know most of today’s religions claim Abraham as a
forefather? Here is a chart that shows this. Fascinating, right? …that half of
the world’s people claim him? He is a major part of our Christian family and heritage
as well.
4. All of us must look to those forefathers who have gone
before us. Christianity has a great heritage and history of the great people
who founded it with their own suffering and blood. Jesus chose the 12
disciples, and going back further to when God chose his people in the Old
Testament, we have the 12 tribes, all sons of Jacob who had Abraham as his
grandfather.
In heaven, the 24 elders we deduct are comprised of these ‘old
and new’ contributions as described in Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts
said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that
liveth for ever and ever. The founders honored God, and their place in heaven
is forever.
Respect for the ones that were before us in all cultures has
always been foundational. They worshiped God, worked, learned, and sacrificed
all and prepared a better piece of the world for us by their radical deeds and
deep wisdom and for that we can be eternally thankful! I can’t imagine how lost
you and I would be in life without having read the wisdom of the great holy men
of God who produced it for us for generations comprising the divine scriptures
of the Bible!
5. When we consider the relationship of young people with the
elders or their grandparents, many of them respect them as they know they held
the keys of knowledge to a better way of life by their experience and maturity.
Consider what Timothy, who was young, wrote: 2 Timothy 1:3a I thank God, whom I
serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have
remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
God created families and the respected positions within the
family bloodlines and over time the ones that chose to be closest to God end up
as the heroes. The Bible is full of examples of this pattern that if you honor,
you will be honored.
Today, sadly, many foolish people young and old, influenced
by Satan through destructive media and music, boast that they can’t change
their ways, that you can’t touch their lifestyle, and if you have a problem
with their sins then, to speak up means you get crucified as an old fogy
irrelevant racist, bigot, judgmental –fill-in-the-blank-phobe, that deserves
hell and harassment to make you shut up! Such disrespect to the wise aged
elders reveals that are very far away from practicing the honor the forefathers
taught us. (which was Biblically inspired)
6. Whether we like it or not, the world keeps progressing
into further degeneration, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It all
started back in Genesis, and imagine, reflecting on verse 9 of today, Jacob expresses
his disdain that he was old at 130, and that his life is not near as good as
his past forefathers who lived a lot longer.
God created man to live for a millennium, and when you look
at the years of the first descendants of Adam they lived up to 900 years plus.
(Methuselah, 969 years!) After the great flood is when the radiation of the sun
arrived in full force, or some change occurred, and man’s years were shortened
to what they are today.
The irony of today is many young people never even reach old
age due to their lack of seeking wisdom and out-of-control lifestyle. You
should “google” how many singers and actors died at age 27 in the recent years,
and if not in their 20s, not many years afterward. Imagine, the complexity and
amazing bodies and minds we are given at birth by our Father, and then the bodies
get destroyed before their time due to pride and sin, won’t God the creator
Father be angry?
It’s like giving a son or daughter a brand new car but he/she
is unthankful, dishonoring, and careless and crashes it and then doesn’t care!
I fear for the punishment of the souls of those who answer to God for their
foolish premature destructions and short years on earth because they chose it
willfully and spitefully in rebellion. Satan reaps souls into hell forever, but
Jesus frees them in heaven forever!
7. Back to verse 10 where Jacob blessed Pharaoh? Wait, stop!
Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, the one who worshipped the One and only true
God Jehovah, is blessing a pagan king that worships Ra, the sun God along with
dozens of other deities? How does this happen?
Here you can see the wisdom of Jacob, Joseph’s father, who
really is at his mercy for survival. God’s children can recognize the good in
others in the world and because this particular pharaoh honored Joseph, we can
conclude he was not a fully corrupted polytheistic zealot at heart, but rather
one who deep inside respected the true God of Joseph. We all need more wisdom
dealing with others.
The strange part is Jacob gave honor, and honor was returned
back to him exponentially in the form of protection, provisions, and position.
To be wise in this life, you must discern who to honor, and most of all submit
to the God of your forefathers and his son Jesus Christ in order to be honored forever
in return.
8. The fathers of heritage and grandfathers leave us
spiritual wisdom but also they may leave physical things as well. Proverbs
13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the
wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
The first part of this verse implies it is important to leave
your children with a way to get a head start in life and an inheritance but not
everyone has that to give. In the case of Jacob, he had nothing to give as he
was discouraged and impoverished becoming an immigrant leaving behind the land
where he once was since it became a dessert and there was severe famine. Egypt
was his new home.
So it was Joseph, the son, the immigrant son that rose from
slave to ruler that brought blessing and honor to the family despite the
horrific treatment and dishonor he received from his brothers as a youth. Out
of the 12 sons, he was the most spoiled and most persecuted by his brethren, but
he did not let that defeat him, he worked so hard and pleased pharaoh so much
as a slave that he was honored to becoming his right hand man. He was the
governor of Egypt during a famine: he was in essence the most powerful man in
that whole region!
Wise young men should learn from this, no matter the home you
come from, no matter if your parents were immigrants, no matter if you as a
youth had to fend for yourself with others against you, you can make the right
choices to honor God and the right people! If you do you will experience seeing
doors open to you to have a honorable and blessed life.
9. Today we have focused in on the honor that should be given
to the elders, fathers and grandfathers. Leviticus 19:32 Thou shalt rise up
before the hoary (grey) head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy
God: I am the Lord. Don’t forget that in the Old Testament to dishonor your
father, or to curse him, meant that you should be stoned to death!
Lev. 20: 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days
may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
It is interesting that this verse of a “thou shalt not” has a
promise attached to it, that “that thy days may be long upon the land which the
Lord thy God giveth thee.” This implies that people who honor their parents,
those that follow in the ways of God copying their forefathers, will live long.
This is synonymous to many years of blessings in a secure place. We all want
that, right?
10. The forefathers in the Bible, plus the ones of your
family who have honored God and passed down a heritage of discerning right from
wrong with wisdom, are the ones we must continue to honor. The culture of today
mocks the elderly, treats them terribly in rest homes, and tries to shut them
up when they impart Biblical knowledge contradicting their lifestyle. As a
Christian you and I must fight to uphold the moral standards passed down from
millennium from our forefathers who loved and honored God.
You and I must learn from the recorded lessons of history of
the consequences that result from dishonoring the fathers, how death and short
years are reaped by those who disrespect. The Bible is full of lessons of
disobedient kings that did not honor God and their families were destroyed, Jehoahaz,
Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, are just a few that were idol worshippers, and terrible
destroyers.
I hope today that you will start a new life honoring your
father and mother and your grandparents if they are still alive. It is for you
own good in obedience to the scriptures to do so loving them as well. The
wisdom they share is invaluable because they know of things you and I may never
experience. Today, love your parents, grandparents, and Godly forefathers with
a new respect! Pray for those who are raising their grandchildren as well!
Prayer…
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