TOPIC: THE SEED MAKES THE TREE
MEMORISE:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
READ: Judges 13:1-14
1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
MESSAGE
My father, who was a farmer, would always separate the best fruits after a harvest so he could plant their seeds in the next planting season. This is because the quality of the seeds a farmer plants is a major determinant of the quality of his or her harvest. A seed may seem small and insignificant, but it decides the kind of fruit a tree will produce. In the same vein, a child may seem small and unimportant in the scheme of things at the moment, but the kind of adult the child becomes will shape the future of the family’s lineage. Therefore, how parents raise their children matters much more than the material things they give them.
In today’s Bible reading, an angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her she would give birth to a son. Her husband was not with her at the time; however, when he heard what the angel told his wife, he prayed that God would give him his own encounter. God answered his prayer, and when he saw the angel himself, he asked an important question:
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? Judges 13:12
Manoah was a very wise father who wanted to know how to order and direct the child that God was about to bless them with so that everything God had said concerning the child would come to pass. Every parent must ask God for direction if they want to raise their children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Some parents train their children the same way they were trained and complain that the children are not responding to their training. There is a way to ‘order every child, but parents cannot find it without getting acquainted with the One who made the child. Farmers know that some soils are best for some seeds, but if you take that same seed to another type of soil, it will either not bear fruits or grow at all. For instance, a plant like the cactus can thrive in the desert, but if you plant a water lily in the desert, it will dry up.
God knows the best way to train a child in the way he or she should go. If you are a parent, ask God for the manual on how to train your children so you won’t raise them in a way that is contrary to how He made them.
KEY POINT
Only God knows the way to order and raise every child.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 12-13
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
28 GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH!
1. Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah!
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven! Bread of heaven!
Feed me now and evermore (2ce)
2. Open Thou the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow:
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer! strong deliverer!
Be Thou still my strength and shield (2ce)
3. If I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside:
Bear me through the swelling torrent,
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises! songs of praises!
I will ever give to Thee (2ce)
4. Saviour, come! We long to see Thee,
Long to dwell with Thee above;
And to know in full communion,
All the sweetness of Thy love.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Take Thy waiting people home (2ce)
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