Oh there is so much that I would like to write about this week. One could talk about Ukraine and what is happening there with the Russian takeover of the Crimean Peninsula. Let me just make a comment. Russia has her Black Sea Naval Port there in the Crimea, much like we have a naval port in Cuba. Because of the political unrest going on in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, resulting in the overthrowing of the Russian-backed government there, Vladimir Putin was concerned about his naval port and decided that he needed to protect his interests there. The big question is what will he do now that his troops are in the Crimea? Will he continue on to restore order in Ukraine? He does have aspirations of bringing Ukraine back under Mother Russia. But Putin also knows that Europe and America will realistically do nothing to stop him. He knows that America does not want another war. We do not want "boots on the ground" in Ukraine. And economic sanctions probably will not be as effective as the West might imagine. So, Putin, after graciously receiving the world at Sochi for two weeks, is now saying to the world that Russia will get what it wants. Teddy Roosevelt once said, "Speak softly but carry a big stick." That was the way he saw the world and America's role. Today we could say the model is "Make a big stink with words, but leave the big stick in the closet." Just doesn't seem to have the same ring, does it?
What I would like to share with you this morning is a passage of Scripture that I noticed for the very first time while reading the genealogies in First Chronicles. I know you are saying, "Can anything of value come out of reading genealogies? They are just full of names you can't pronounce." Let me share the passage with you, then seek to answer that question. "Here are the men who served, together with their sons: From the Kohathites: Heman, the musician, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, the son of Elkanah" (1 Chronicles 6:33). Let me share the background. In this section of the genealogy, the writer is describing those men David had put in charge of the music program at the tabernacle. The first musician mentioned was Heman. We read in 1 Chronicles 15:16-17, "David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel..."
I know what you are saying, "This is about as interesting as watching paint dry, Max. So, what's the point?" Do you know who Heman's father was? Well, the text tells us his name was Joel. So, there were a lot of Joels in the Bible. What was so special about this Joel? Do you know who Joel's father was? Well, the text tells us his name was Samuel. Now, that name should ring some bells hopefully. But, let's go on for one more generation. Who was Samuel's father? The text tells us his name was Elkanah. That does it. Heman's grandfather was Samuel, the prophet and judge of all Israel. You can read his story in First Samuel.
Now what kind of a man was Heman's father? The Bible tells us, "When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice" (1 Samuel 8:1-3). Heman's father and uncle were so bad that the people told Samuel that they did not want those two men leading them any longer. They wanted a king instead.
Yet, Heman is placed into an important position of musical leadership during the time of David. How did that happen if his father, Joel, was such an immoral, dishonest person? What God shared with me this morning was the role his grandfather, Samuel, must have had in Heman's life. Perhaps Samuel realized that as his sons were growing up, he had missed so many opportunities to minister into their lives. After all, he was busy with ministry. He had to travel from place to place because people were depending upon him. But, as he grew older, he saw that he had lost those precious moments to share with his sons and made a determination that he would not do that with his grandson. Now I know I am just speculating. The text does not tell us what Samuel's role was in Heman's life. But something happened to this young boy who later would become one of the great musical leaders of Israel. In all likelihood his father did not have a positive influence in his life, so it had to come from his grandfather.
As grandparents we value our grandchildren. Yes we poured our lives into our children. And, yes, as we look back, we probably could have done many things differently. Yes, there were times when our careers caused us to be away too often, or we had too many nights when we missed those bedtime stories and prayers. But, grandchildren are almost God's way of saying, "Here, you can do it over." I think Samuel availed himself of that opportunity and because he did, the worship within the family of Israel was blessed.
As grandparents, I know that Marlys and I want to be an influence into the lives of our grandchildren. We want to help them to understand the values that have guided our lives together for nearly 45 years. We want to help them to understand the biblical truths that have motivated us as a family. We want to help encourage them in their personal walk with the Lord. We want to challenge them when we see them getting off that pathway. We want to be "Samuel" to our grandchildren.
At our church we have adopted a new philosophy of ministry called Faith@Home. Really, it is not something new, but a rediscovery of something that is very old - as old as Adam and Eve. We want to help families to become the dynamic homes that God would like them to be. And, as we are discovering, the role of being a grandma or grandpa is very important. Samuel's skills as a father might have been lacking, but his skills as a grandpa resulted in fruit that impacted many lives.
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