Proverbs 17:6-7

⁶Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. ⁷Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

Eliam

         King David was the father of King Solomon. The father of King David was Jesse. Jesse was the grandfather of King Solomon. The mother of King Solomon was Bathsheba, and Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam. Eliam was the grandfather of King Solomon on his mother’s side. Here’s a narration in 2 Samuel 11:3, ³She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam.

         This is the only record in the Scripture about the father of Bathsheba, Eliam—the grandfather of King Solomon while his grandfather Jesse, the father of King David was mentioned multiple times in the Scripture. Maybe, Eliam the father of Bathsheba had chosen to silently live in obscurity. Or, his accomplishments were not very significant to recall. Or, he died early.

         Did the wise King Solomon personally observed his grandfathers? Probably when Solomon became king, both Jesse and Eliam may have exceptionally took care of him. Strangely, most grandparents treat their grandchildren more than they treated their own children. They show to their grandchildren the extra care they failed to give to their very own children.

         Grandparents take care of their grandchildren more than their own children, why? Maybe, they learned parenting mistakes, and they adjusted their care for children to reduce mistakes. Grandparents cheerfully discuss about their grandchildren. Isn’t that amazing? Most often when children are born into this world, their parents sense some sort of pride and honor.

1.  Honor

           ⁶Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

         Respected Bible versions translated the term “Pride” as “honor or glory.” Children: Are you gloriously honored for your parents? If parents treated them well, children may sense some sort of glorious pride for their parents. And respectful grandchildren are a great honor to grandparents.

         Who are your spiritual parents? Our spiritual parents are Christians who discipled us. They are disciples who helped us grow spiritually. Do you personally sense glorious honor for your spiritual parents? Taking care of disciples is spiritual parenting just like parents taking care of their children.

         When disciples are making disciples, it’s like children having their own children. That’s a great honor like grandparents to their grandchildren.

         The phrase “crown to the aged” is properly interpreted as symbol of honor, authority, victory, achievement and also reward of grandparents.

         Grandparents may sense like they have achieved great victory when their grandchildren excel. Properly, grandparents should rejoice in the Lord for grandchildren’s achievement. King David exemplified how we rejoice in the Lord in Psalm 21:1-3, ¹The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! ²You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. ³You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

         King David properly expressed when he gloriously rejoice for victory. He gloriously honored God, instead of taking pride for his achievements. He gladly recognized that it was the Lord who gave him victories. The Lord chose David to lead in their military campaigns, and he was victorious. It stated in 1 Samuel 18:13-14, ¹³David led the troops in their campaigns. ¹⁴In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.

         Great success happens because the Lord lets it happen. Parents feel proud of their children’s excellence. It’s natural. But we should be quick to realize that all perfect and good things comes from the Lord. Properly, we praise and thank God gloriously for his good gifts. It says in James 1:17,

         ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  

         To praise and thank God for his gracious goodness practically shows trust in the Lord. The Lord blesses us even more when we seek his help for all things we need, our plans and decisions, whether great or small matters. Always be conscious that actions and behavior have eternal price. Reflect on 2 Timothy 4:8, ⁸There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

         The crown of righteousness is awarded to all who eagerly wait for the return of Christ. The crown symbolizes honor, authority, victory and reward prepared for believers. As we yearn for Christ’s return, how do we behave? We seek to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. He helps us behave honestly.

2.  Honesty

           ⁷Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

         Honesty is best policy. Rulers or not, nobody is appreciated for lying.

People may verbally speak eloquently, but dishonesty and falsehood reveal foolishness. Why would people swear that they are telling the truth? If you are very sure that you are telling the truth, you don’t need to swear about it. Listeners can choose to believe what you say or they interpret it differently.

King Saul

         Let’s learn from the mistake of King Saul. Prophet Samuel instructed King Saul to annihilate the Amalekites, but he interpreted it very differently. Together, let’s reflect on what it narrated in 1 Samuel 15:17-21, ¹⁷Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” ²⁰“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. ²¹The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

         King Saul was anointed to be the first king of Israel. His interpretation of complete obedience is different. He completely destroyed the Amalekites except for their king. He completely destroyed the worst sheep and cattle except for the best for sacrificial offering to the Lord. He interpreted that it was his duty to sacrifice to the Lord, but the Lord was not impressed with it.

         It warns us in 1 Samuel 15:22-23, ²²Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

         The terrible mistake of King Saul was recorded for us to learn from. Rulers or not, leaders or not, the Lord is watching our behavior. We need to learn how to impartially obey the Lord, and not partially. Responsibilities should authorize us to perform to the best of our ability, not mediocrity.

         What others prioritize should not bothered us. We should be more concerned of how the Lord may evaluate our priority. If we honestly perform our responsibilities, we expect crowns and rewards from the Lord. May the Lord increase our faith in him to follow his instructions carefully. Amen!

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