I believe at the heart of every parent lies the desire to protect their little girl or little boy. I have also learned that no matter how old you get – you are still someone’s little girl or boy.
Good fathers/mothers make sure that everyone understands - No one messes with my children! Parents will do everything in their power to make sure their kids have a successful future and to that end, we make sure our kids are:
1. Well fed
2. Safe and Protected
3. Well educated
4. Get a good night’s sleep
5. Wear their seat belts
6. See the Doctor/ Dentist/ etc. on a regular basis
Believe it or not, the Bible doesn’t have any of these rules listed, but the Bible does tell us about one of the most important protections we can offer our children. Don’t get me wrong, family rules are great and children should honor their parents. But all the rules you create will not accomplish what this one simple rule can accomplish for your children.
So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
I Kings 11:1-13 NIV
Solomon had sinned. Solomon had deliberately disobeyed God. Solomon had turned his back on his God. Within the very sad tale of Solomon’s failure to obey God is a key to how we can protect our kids – not only while they live with us but even until the very day they die.
Certainly, David set out to provide the best for his son Solomon. And certainly he provided every measure of protection for him, but all those things could not protect Solomon from his own poor choices. The result of those poor choices should have brought punishment from God (consequences for poor behavior).
“Nevertheless (says God) for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." 1 Kings 11:12-13 NAS
Nevertheless, says God. Nevertheless?
God withheld his hand of punishment during Solomon’s lifetime. And even Solomon’s son Rehoboam (who would lose over half of his kingdom because of Solomon’s sin) would not lose everything. How come? Why wasn’t the entire kingdom ripped away from Solomon and his family? It was because of the promise given to David. One of the most overlooked blessings in Scripture is the blessing of the UMBRELLA EFFECT OF FAITH or what I will call the Mother Hen Effect:
Have you ever watched a hen with her chicks or seen them on TV? They are really interesting to watch. The little chicks follow their mother everywhere she goes. She leads them all over the barnyard showing them where to find food and watching over them. The little chicks know not to wonder far from her. Whenever the mother hen thinks there is danger she lifts up her wings and the little chicks all come running for cover. She protects them from the wind, and rain, and heat of the sun by covering them with her wings. She keeps them warm with the heat from her body. She keeps them warm like a great big blanket. She keeps them dry like an umbrella. And she protects them from danger.
Remember Jesus said: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” Luke 13:34 NIV.
The Bible tells us that God is a lot like a bird or hen who protects and watches over her chicks. He watches over us and protects us so we don't have to be afraid.
Psalm 91:4-5. "He will shield you with His wings. He will shelter you with His feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night . . ."
In Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments) God gives this warning and promises this blessing:
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6
Most often, people focus only on the CURSE in that commandment: “God will punish the children for the sin of the fathers to the 3rd & 4th generations of those who hate me those who turn their back on God as Solomon did. HOWEVER, this commandment assures us that God “desires to show love to a thousand generations of those who love God and keep His commandments.” People who show love to God receive the blessing of God’s love to their children and their children’s children. David understood this. That’s why he wrote in Psalm 103:17-18:
“But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.”
In other words, when we fear God, when we keep His commands, when we obey His precepts, we create an umbrella of protection over our children that will bless them until the day they die!
David had a personal relationship with God. He loved God, feared God, and built his life around God. Now David stumbled in his faith. David sinned. But unlike Solomon, David repented and changed his life. As far as David was concerned there was no other relationship as critical as his relationship with God. And once he realized he had jeopardized that relationship, he struggled to put God back in his life. By contrast, Scripture tells us that Solomon’s heart: “… was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been” 1 Kings 11:4.
People, we are not perfect. We will make mistakes. We will fail, But God will not!
Do not let the mistakes of your past and/or present limit you, your children, or your future. Of all the rules and all the things that you can do for your children, the one single, most important rule, precept, precedent . . . the one simple rule for protecting your family – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength.
That’s a rule that need not be broken and God promises that this one simple rule can and will protect your family for generations to come.
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