Commanding Your Children.  Today, we have many parents, and particularly fathers, who do not intend to exercise any control over their children.  Some claim that they want their children to grow up and find themselves, without breaking their spirits, or being punished by their parents in any way.  In contrast to some modern thinking, God told Abraham precisely how to raise his children.  In fact, God chose Abraham for the purpose of Abraham to command his children to obey God.  God commanded Abraham to command (“יְצַוֶּה“) his children.  This term does not mean plead with or suggest to.  It means to give orders as a farmer speaks to his laborers (Ruth 2:9), as Jesse directed his son David to take supplies to his brothers facing Goliath and the enemy (1 Samuel 17:20), and as a king commands his subjects (2 Samuel 21:14).  This same term also described Moses conveying to the people the commandments of God (Exodus 34:34).  In its broader scope, God created the world from nothing through His command (Psalm 33:9; Isaiah 45:12).  God commanded Abraham to command his children.

       Keep the Way of the LORD.  God commanded Abraham to command his children to keep the way of the LORD.  Let us focus for a moment upon this phrase the “way of the LORD” (Genesis 18:19).  The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity (Proverbs 10:29).  While every man views his own way as right, the LORD provides the good way, and weighs the hearts (Proverbs 21:2; Jeremiah 6:16).  In the New Testament, we know that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and life, and no man comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6).  Righteousness guards the way of the blameless (Proverbs 13:6).  In essence, the way of the Lord means the path provided by Him as He leads the way down the path of His righteousness.  A man may choose to follow the way of life with the Lord Jesus, or turn to the way of death (Jeremiah 21:8).

       Doing Righteousness and Justice.  God always focuses more upon actions than words.  Jesus said that faith without works is  dead  (James  2:17).  We know that we walk in the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice (Genesis 18:19). In this verse, God highlights righteousness.  This term for righteousness signals that even Abraham found righteousness with God by faith alone (Romans 4:9-15).  The application here means that fathers must teach their children about salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and the spiritual life based upon faith righteousness.  Righteousness refers to a quality of Yahweh that means upright, morally and ethically perfect.  Notice the verse speaks of “doing.”  We walk in the way of Yahweh by doing righteousness.  Fathers teach their children by doing, that is, by example, and also by teaching with words.  In addition to salvation, and the entire spiritual life of righteousness based upon faith, God also commands fathers to teach their children about justice.  The righteous rejoice in justice and it refers to doing the correct thing before God (Psalm 32:11).  You can wear justice as a robe (Job 29:14; Isaiah 61:10). God repeatedly placed a duty upon fathers, as spiritual leaders of the family, to be sure their children followed Christ.  In the New Testament, God included even Gentiles in the promise of salvation made to Abraham: “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, and heirs according to promise” (Galatians  3:29).  Just as God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, so we Gentiles have been brought into the family of God (Romans 4:16-18).  As children of Abraham, we should do the works of Abraham, including the obligation to learn righteousness and justice at home, from our fathers (John 8:39). 

       The Duty To Command Adult Children.  In Genesis 18:19, God commanded Abraham to command his household.  When we think of household, we may be thinking of just a few people, such as minor sons and daughters.  The household of Abraham, however, included his son Ishmael, all the servants born in his house, all who were bought with his money, and all of their children (Genesis 17:23-27).  In fact, when Abraham had to rescue Lot, the number of his trained men, born in his house, numbered three hundred and eighteen (Genesis 14:14; compare the household of Esau, which included more than his wives, his sons and his daughters, Genesis 36:6).  In fact, the households of Jacob and Esau had been so great, they were unable to live together (Genesis 36:7; see also Genesis 46:26–the sixty-six people who “belonged” to Jacob when he went to Egypt).  Although sons may have their own households, to the extent they still live with their fathers, they remain in a sense part of the household of the father.  In any event, we see that the fathers had a duty to command everyone who lived in their household to walk in the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice.

       So we learn more about fathers and their role in daily devotions.

     ●  Being a father in Christ means that we have a duty to command our children. 

     ●  Being a father in Christ means that we deliberately influence everyone in our household to do righteousness and justice, and so walk in the way of the LORD.

    ●  Being a father in Christ means we exercise spiritual responsibility for every person who lives in our household, even adult children with their children.  Fathers must be strong spiritual leaders for Christ in the household.

Application for Today

        God chose Abraham to command his children to walk in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Family devotions present a great daily time for fathers to read the Word of God and teach their household the commands of God, and then back it up with the father’s command to follow God’s command, by walking in the way of the LORD.  We see that God has long-range plans for His people, and He uses fathers to influence their entire households.  Fathers set the spiritual tone in the household.  Although I have no physical children, I appreciate the role God has set for all fathers.  All of us have a duty to fathers, to encourage them to command everyone in their household to walk in the way of the LORD, doing righteousness and justice.  Will you live as a spiritual father today and command everyone in your household to walk in the way of the LORD today?  Will you encourage a father to command everyone in his household to walk in the way of the LORD today?