A Study on Love - Edition #12

Sunday, January 15th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #12

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Deuteronomy 21:15-17
15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, 16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. 17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

This is crazy. I guy has two wives and one of them he doesn’t love. This is something I don’t think I will ever grasp… being married to two women (one) and (two) it being acceptable to not love someone. But I believe this was put in the bible for a reason. I understand that the firstborn is a huge deal. And to me, it still is a huge deal. I have a firstborn son and I pray daily for him to be not just a man of God, but a strong man of God. You see, with David, he spilled blood and couldn’t build the temple. That was Solomon’s job. And with me, I feel there has been “blood spilled” on my watch, per se. I mean, I have done some horrible things in my day. Some may say that the things I have done are nothing in comparison to what they themselves have done… and maybe the world would view it as the case… but I see it, my sins have been great… many people still see me as the “old Johnny” and I don’t really think I am going to shake that. But my son isn’t known by anyone as an old this or that and that gives him a better chance. I pray that I am able to give my son a double portion. Hopefully my brother will get a double portion as well. He’s definitely got more strength than I… his strength could arm-wrestle even the best into submission. When he plays “pass-the-pigs,” he actually picks up two hogs and throws them around. He was the stunt double of the baby Clark Kent in Superman and actually picked up that car. OK, well maybe not… but you know, he’s a strong guy. Now, preschool kids have actually made me yell uncle. I won the Mr. Weak Man competition in 2003, 2004, and 2005… so being a sign of my father’s strength isn’t much of anything for me. Pretty much out of that running… the right of the firstborn son is huge to God. Jesus was a firstborn son. Esau was very upset about Jacob taking his birthright. Many times God commanded the people to redeem the firstborn son. And one dictionary I found says to redeem is to save from sins. My duty as a father, and I won’t simply stop with my first son, is to save that child from sins. So not only do I bear the responsibility to present my wife before God as clean and holy, I have to redeem my children. I don’t have that kind of strength. But God can give it to me… if I ask of him for that kind of wisdom.