I Samuel 4:17-18

“He brought the news to Eli and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.”

There is no happy ending to the story of Eli and his two sons. This is not a fairy tale but a real life account of a real father and his two rebellious sons.

So what can I learn? What can I do differently? How can I be a ‘glad dad’ and not sad, mad or bad?

Proverbs 10:1; “A wise son makes a father glad…”

Again, in Proverbs 15:20; “A wise son makes a father glad…”

But how does a father help a son become truly ‘wise’?

Proverbs 29:17; “Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.”

We don’t know Eli’s sons when they were younger, but the seeds of rebellion were likely already brewing. Eli was busy, busy, doing the Lord’s work and may have missed moments. Like many dads, he might also have been thinking that if he simply raised his sons in the faith community – that they would stay strong in their faith.

Ephesians 6:4

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

If I want to become a ‘glad dad’, then I must be intentional to train and discipline and instruct my own children. No one can do the job that God has assigned me as their father to do.

Prayer. Dear God, I pray that each of my children would be wise and follow you every day. In Jesus Name, Amen.