Introduction: some of the best fathers in the Bible were never named. It would be impossible to list them all, but every one of them can take comfort that if their children lived and died as believers in the LORD, they did not live in vain. Here’s a tribute to some of them:
1 The fathers of the priests
Priests, not least the high priest, were all descended from Aaron (Exodus 28:43, e.g.) and any man who could not prove he was a direct descendant was barred from the priesthood. This happened to a number of priests after the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity (Nehemiah 7:63-65). It goes without saying that most of the priests were good but some may have truly been evil. This goes for the Levites, too. The good thing is that there were so many good priests, Levites, and high priests during the Old Testament.
With that in mind, how many people remember Aaron’s father? Amram is another of the unsung heroes in the Bible who endured slavery in Egypt, saw his own son Moses cast into a basket and left to float on the Nile River, and possibly died without seeing his sons reach their potential. The fact that Moses stayed true to the God of Israel, and Aaron did the same—except for one incident—shows that Amram must have gotten some good stuff into his sons. He’s only mentioned a few times, but Amram deserves a salute as a true unsung hero.
But priests weren’t the only men to have godly fathers. The same could be said of prophets, some whose fathers are named; others, not named. Let’s take a look at some of them.
2 The fathers of the prophets
How many prophets can you name? Some that come to mind might be Nathan, of David’s time; Elijah; Elisha; the “writing” prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, et al.) and others. There were also a number of prophets whose names are not recorded in Scripture, such as the prophet, also called a man of God, who preached against Jeroboam’s altar in Bethel (1 Kings 13). Another would be the prophet sent by Elisha to anoint Jehu king over Israel (2 Kings 9).
Whether or not we know the names of these and other prophets, each one of them had a father. For some, it may have been relatively easy to raise a child when Israel (the united nation under Saul, David and Solomon) was honoring God and living for Him. But there were times things were tough, and in the northern kingdom, idol worship was the official state religion. One wonders if the fathers worried (let’s call it like it is) if their children would remain true to the faith of the faithful ones or, like so many, abandon the true faith to worship false, pagan “deities” such as the golden calves or even the Baals of other nations.
But seeing their sons become prophets of and for the LORD, God of Israel, had to be payment enough for these unsung heroes. Never give up hope, fathers: that boy of yours could grow up to be one of God’s preachers someday. I for one hope so—we’re going to need them!
3 The fathers of the apostles
Now, some of us know the names of a few of our Lord’s twelve disciples: Peter and Andrew were sons of “Jonah” or “John (there are various translations and renderings)”. James and John were sons of Zebedee, and Judas Iscariot was the son of a Simon. The various lists of the apostles in the Gospels and Acts give a number of other names of fathers.
Of note is that there is no record these fathers objected to their sons leaving homes, jobs, or anything else to follow Jesus. Oh, sure, mothers and fathers can sure lay, or try to lay, guilt trips on sons (and daughters, too) but we can be grateful they apparently did that here.
And yet one apostle—Paul—never gave the name of any of his parents, or any other relative for that matter. He was named Saul, for Israel’s first king, but when Saul became Paul the apostle, that may have changed every family dynamic ever (not counting his nephew who warned him, and the Roman commander, about the plot to kill Paul as recorded in Acts 23!)
There were only a few apostles, but again, all of them had fathers, and if these fathers were believers in Jesus, too, then I’m sure they’ll be rewarded for their efforts.
And not only then, but now, is there a need for godly fathers!
4 The fathers of future believers
Sermon Central has posted my message, “A Message for Father’s Day 2023” where I list some of the expectations and enemies which every father will face. As we get closer and closer to the end of the age—and every day takes us one day closer—we need Christian men to become fathers and raise these children for God. I won’t go into too much detail here, as every father needs to seek the Lord for guidance on how to do this. Tough? Absolutely, but the reward, of seeing your child or children follow Jesus is the greatest thing any parent could expect.
Besides, pastors, evangelists, teachers, and others were all children at one time. Could your child become a worthy vessel for the Lord? There’s no guarantee, but at the very least, you as a father could provide them with a good example of a Godly man.
I hope you’ll be encouraged to be the kind of father your children need, and the kind of father whom our Lord blesses.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
