The Father and His House

Trevor S. Ferguson
June 25, 2010

Joshua 24:14-15 (KJV)
14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.


The Father in Jewish Society
The nation of Israel was a patriarchal society. The father was the dominant family member. He was the head of the house and, along with his wife, he was to be respected and honored by children and other members of the household. The father was responsible for the temporal and spiritual well-being of the family unit as well as for its discipline. Although his temporal role was important, the father's prime responsibility was religious. He was the “priest” of the family and a teacher of the faith. One of his main objectives was to transfer the principles of faith to the next generation. The bible contains several examples of successful transmission of faith across multiple generations as we see in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Adam, Seth and Enos. The father then had primary responsibility to model the worship of God before his family and pass this on to his children.

Joshua’s Example
The scripture text above illustrates one father’s dedication to model worship before his household and provides an example as to how fathers ought to manage and lead in their households.

Joshua was the leader of Israel who had taken over after Moses’ death. He is well known for many great feats such presiding over Israel as the walls of Jericho came tumbling down and commanding the sun to stand still so that he could complete a victory over the Amorites. His most often quoted statement however, comes from a much less dramatic scene. In the last days of his life Joshua perceived that Israel’s commitment to Jehovah was waning and some had begun to serve other God’s. In his last recoded speech to Israel, Joshua issued a challenge to Israel which is still relevant to us today. Note Joshua’s instructions to Israel:

1) Serve the Lord
2) Put away false gods
3) Make a definite choice to serve the Lord

Note also that Joshua did not just provide instruction and asked the people to do whatever they pleased. He clearly declared position so that everyone could know where he stood and what he considered to be right: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord”. We also see that his declared position was not just for him alone but he was also speaking on behalf of his entire household. He would ensure that they too chose the Lord. Joshua must have been a faithful and respected father; otherwise we would not expect him to speak with this degree of confidence.

Today’s challenge to the fathers and other household heads is to commit to serving the Lord as leader of our families. What we model before them will have a lasting impression on their lives. Let us remember Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Remember however that training is not just telling, but requires us to model righteousness before our children.