My Father David

1 Chronicles 3:1-9

Introduction.

  1. Being a father is difficult.

    1. Being a parent at all is difficult, but today we are talking about fathers.

    2. The problem, of course, is that it’s very easy to become one, but of course not everyone should.

    3. That’s one of the reasons God instituted certain laws on marriage and procreation.

    4. Regardless, it’s not an easy job, and we must all take it seriously.

  2. Today we are going to look at the example of King David.

    1. 2 Samuel names 17 of his sons, while 1 Chronicles names 19 (2 Sam. 3:2-5; 5:14-16 1 Chr. 3:1-9).

    2. One daughter is named as well.

    3. Regardless of how many children he had (especially since not all of them are named in the Bible) that was a lot.

    4. And with the number of wives and concubines he had, that’s not hard to imagine.

    5. While David was a righteous man, he was a mixed bag when it came to being a father—there is some good, but there is some bad.

    6. So let’s dig in to what we can learn from David as a father.

  3. Preview.

    1. David Loved His Children.

    2. David Was a Professional.

    3. David Sinned.

Body.

  1. David Loved His Children – Evidence? Sorrow at their loss.

    1. David’s first child with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:13-18a, 20, 22-23).

    2. Amnon and all of David’s children (2 Sam. 13:30-33, 36-37, 39).

    3. Absalom (2 Sam. 14:23-24, 28; 18:5, 33; 19:1-4; Psa. 3).

    4. Solomon (1 Chron. 23:1; 29:1; 1 Kgs 2:1-4).

  2. David Was a Professional.

    1. It is certainly not wrong to be a professional (Eccl. 9:10a).

       

      In 1976, at a writers party, writer Dr. Warren Farrell had his eyes set on speaking with someone else across the room when someone interrupted.

  • “You Warren Farrell?” he said.

  • “Yes,” Farrell said distractedly.

  • “I joined a men’s group you formed, but never met you ‘cause the guys said you form a lot of groups and leave as soon as they get underway…. I just wanted to tell you the group had a real impact on my life. It led to my decision to raise my son full-time.”

  • Farrell was no longer distracted: “Full time? Had you been working?”

  • He smiled, “Yeah, 24/7. That’s why I had neglected my first son and lost my wife. I got remarried, but I’m still working 24/7.”

  • Farrell asked, “Was your wife okay with that?”

  • This man goes on to say that she was, and that he had so regretted not being there for his son. His wife was pregnant with a boy, and he wanted to do it right this time. He wasn’t sure about it, but after quite a bit of discussion with his wife he took the plunge. He had been doing it for a year and a half up to that point.

  • “Is it going well? Are you glad you’re doing this?”

  • “Warren, raising my son is by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”

  • “How so?”

  • “It’s like I discovered a whole new different type of love. I didn’t even know that type of love existed. Here and there I had had little glimpses of that with my first son, but never knew what would unfold until I immersed myself.”

  • He went on to describe some of the things that included, like turning his crying into a smile, getting his arm through a sleeve, listening for his first words.

  • “It all became everything because he was everything. You know, Warren, until then I had talked about love, but never really knew what it meant to totally immerse myself in someone else’s well-being with no expectation of getting anything back. Everything follows from that. I never knew what I was missing.”

  • After an hour of discussion, a young man came up to ask for an autograph.

  • Warren had just gotten back from a book tour, so he took out his pen to sign.

  • Come to find out the young man wanted the autograph of the other guy.

  • After the young man got his autograph, Warren said, “Wow, sorry for assuming he meant me. I rarely watch TV. May I ask who you are?”

  • “I actually preferred it the way it was! I’m John.”

  • “John, it’s been a great conversation. John who?”

  • “John Lennon.”

     

  • From that encounter, Dr. Farrell learned some things, one of which is pertinent for today: Had John attended to his first son, Julian, the way he attended to Sean, we would never have heard of John Lennon (Farrell 57-60).

 

    1. There must be balance in our lives (Prov. 22:29; Eccl. 4:8; 5:10-14).

  2. David Sinned.

    1. David’s reign went downhill after his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:7-12).

    2. We must be a good example to our children (Rom. 2:17-24; Eph. 6:4).

Conclusion.

  1. Fathers are an incredibly important part of the family!

  2. Let us learn from the problems David had with his family and do better (Rom. 15:4).

  3. Follow Jesus today!