The Good The Bad And The Ugly

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

I love westerns. And who do you think of when you think about you think of spaghetti westerns? Clint Eastwood. Of course we like Hang em High and High Plains Drifter, but the best one has to be…

Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably heard that music before. The Good the Bad and the Ugly. The Ugly, a Mexican named Tuco Ramirez, was an ugly bandit, with a list of crimes to long to count. The Bad, a Renegade known as Angel Eyes, that portrayed himself as a decent fellow, but in reality was a greedy scoundrel. The Good, known as Blondie and played by the great Clint Eastwood showed his true character by his compassion for lost lives and soldiers on each side of the war, the Blue or the Grey. And though these three violent men are in no way role models, they give us the opportunity to look at The Good, the Bad and the Ugly examples of fathers in the Bible.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I. The Ugly - Omri

A. Who is Omri?

1. Never Heard of Him

2. He was the seventh king of Israel after the division.

3. Mentioned 18 times in the OT.

4. Father of Ahab of whom we have more particulars recorded than any of the kings of Israel.

B. Why so Ugly?

1. I Kings 16:25 “But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him.”

2. “evil in the eyes of the Lord” is used so much it seems to have lost its meaning. More than those before him lets look at those before him.

a. Zimri - committed suicide , burnt the palace with himself inside

b. Baasha - Murdered the previous king Nadab

- God used him to destroy Jeroboam’s family for his wickedness, but then repeated the same mistakes.

c. Jeroboam - Erected two golden calf idols to keep people from going to Jerusalem to worship. Appointed priests from outside of the tribe of Levi. He was so evil, others that followed him were repeatedly compared to him. “walking in the ways of Jeroboam”

C. His Legacy

1. You can tell a lot about a father by his kids.

a. You may have never heard of king Omri before, but you have no doubt heard of his son Ahab.

b. Ahab considered God’s prophet an enemy.

1) He blamed Elijah for the prophecies of judgment.

2) Elijah always brought bad news.

c. He was the most evil king of Israel

d. Married probably the most evil woman to walk the face of the earth. Sunday school lesson, “What’s in a Name?” anyone named Judas? How about Jezebel?

2. Not only his children, but further down the line.

a. Ahaziah - Ahab’s son

1) Walked in the ways of his father and mother

2) Provoked the Lord to anger just like his father

b. Micah 6:16 speaking of Israel says “You have observed the statues of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house and you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will give you over to ruin.”

c. Micah couldn’t find an upright person anywhere in the land.

D. So, Fathers, how are you going to be remembered? Mean and Ugly?

II. The Bad - Lot

A. Who is Lot?

1. Lost his father at young age.

2. Still had strong role models in his grandfather Terah and uncle Abram, who raised him.

3. Chose good land, pitched tents near Sodom, eventually lived in Sodom.

4. Successful businessman / very wealthy / city official

5. Today we would call him a success.

a. Good family, wife two girls, possible he had some sons

b. Good career, very wealthy

c. Well respected , put in place of leadership, judge

B. Why so Bad?

1. He was a drifter - put off decisions and chose easiest path

a. We are like that. We simply drift through life. When we can muster the will to choose we tend to follow the course of least resistance.

b. Kind off like running over a string with the vacuum. You run over it a dozen times. Reach down. Pick it up. Examine it. Then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance. You think that’s the easier way. But just pick it up in the first place = less work right? Least resistance doesn’t always mean it’s the easiest path.

2. He blended in with society.

a. was a success

b. was respected

c. He blended in with a sinful culture so much that he didn’t want to leave it.

1) Genesis 19:16 “When he hesitated the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city.”