This devotion is for everyone who has the responsibility of training up someone of the next generation. Whether parent, grandparent or believer, because we all own this responsibility.
As each new king is introduced in these chapters, it is interesting that after they are introduced, by their point in the timeline, reign and ancestry, we are told simply how they were perceived in the eyes of the Lord. Some followed while many did not. Most “did evil in the sight of the Lord.”
As you read, you will know what characterizes each king’s reign solely by the single statement of how their actions were viewed by God. That is all that matters to us today. Our legacy. No matter how much emphasis the world puts on legacy or how the world defines it, our true legacy is how the Lord will see our entire existence, the reign of our lives over this earth.
The kings are also portrayed for how they followed the king (their father) before them. Many followed their father in his sin and walked in their earthly father’s ways. This should strike parents at their core! It is inescapable that we will leave a legacy to our children. What “ways” are we training them up in? Where will the loyalty of their heart rest? Will they continue in our sin and commit the evil we commit? Will our idols be their idols?
Unfortunately, I find that training up is much harder than teaching. Training is not defined by what we tell them to learn, but by our example, our personal actions and daily living. And while 1 Kings is written more as a recording of history and happenings, we can glean a lot of insight into the importance of training the next generation from what we read.
We are all commanded to train up others and will, even if it is unintentional. We all leave a legacy somewhere to someone. What’s yours?
Nathan Rogers, Iberia, Mo.
Extended Scripture: 1 Kings 15–17 (NIV)
