"The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all" (1 Chronicles 7:3-5).
Fathers, especially in a nation (and world) that seems to daily and exponentially descend into absolute moral depravity, need to understand deeply in their heart of hearts the solemnity of their calling and responsibility. I'm a father myself--a proud one at that--and looking at society's current incurable ailment with spiritual eyes I have come to understand the present state only by aligning these horrendous events with the immutable judgments of the Holy Scriptures. I have come to understand the current state of affairs as the tangible workings of an intricately constructed and efficiently conducted system that functions by harnessing very real energies, and I need not remind anyone that no system, machine, or procedure exists without having a very meticulously crafted purpose. And to determine the purpose of this immensely powerful and diabolical invisible system we need only look at its superfluous visible effects.
One of the most damning indicators of the sway of an unseen sinister machine is evidenced by the pervading culture of incarceration and recidivism in the United States. The rampant plague of imprisonment is ravaging tens of millions of homes across the country leaving tens of millions of children fatherless as the overwhelming majority of felons are male, many of whom are fathers.
The media colossus, at every turn, seeks to fill our homes and our minds with scenes from programs such as Family Guy, American Dad, Modern Family, and various "reality" television shows, all carefully designed to portray husbands and fathers as weak-willed buffoons with little to no moral fortitude. Yes, in popular culture today, the women rule the home. One must ask, however, is the art simply imitating reality?
A debilitating American welfare system encourages irresponsible sexual behavior, and a public school system skews the perception of young boys and girls of what real men, husbands and fathers are like as a whopping 82% of all public school teachers in America are female.
Hip-Hop music is dominated by misogyny and the portrayal of young Black males as empty-headed, threatening fools more concerned with jewelry and fashion than fatherhood (see The Brutal Execution of Hip-Hop). Even the public airwaves, mainly in highly urban areas are daily polluted with profanity-laced lyrics with many of which not even being discreet in their coarse descriptions and soliticitations of lewdness and various sexual acts.
I have three daughters, and my blood literally boils when I imagine anyone propositioning any one of them in the way that some of the most popular songs are indirectly propositioning females today. It is outrageous that this has become an acceptable form of music.
In the city of Chicago, especially in the summer months, the news reports come in almost daily of multiple shootings, many of which are fatalities as the gang culture on our streets sucks in more and more boys who become enslaved by illicit drug use, violent crime, and death. These gang members are overwhelmingly the tragic results of fatherless homes, or fathers who have not come to truly understand their God-ordained duty.
I could obviously go on for several days tabulating not even one percent of the tragedies that daily occur in America that are directly the result of godly fathers not powerfully carrying out their charge, but I would much rather even in the shadow of death and suffering present the solution to these problems. In the Bible verse that precedes this post from I Chronicles, it speaks of a man named Uzzi who had just one son, Izrahiah who in turn, had four sons of his own. Most often, when we read over the multiple genealogies contained in Scripture our eyes glaze over and at times we skip over these precise records (and I speak from experience) but I believe that they're there to teach some very practical lessons about how influential and world-shaping fathers can be in this sin-filled world.
Without tabulating the entire history of the conquest of Canaan, I will just say that those were days of constant struggle, war, and vigilance. Successfully inheriting the land required just what Uzzi produced: "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war." I find it astounding that from this man came these incredibly brave, stout men ready for combat. Obviously, there was a message and teaching that went from Uzzi to his four sons that was retaught at least forty thousand times bringing to birth a mighty division of the great army of Israel.
Within the land were peoples of tremendous violence, perversion, and wickedness. The Bible says that the Anakim were in the land (Numbers 13:33; Joshua 14:12) these were the giants of old (the most notable being Goliath whom King David slew). They dwelt in massive cities surrounded by well-fortified walls. Their enemies had weapons and chariots of iron. They had been skilled in war from fighting each other. The Israelites were former slaves and the children of slaves but when men align themselves to God's program and cast down fear, inadequacy, and their own concepts of leading their families and communities then we can see radical transformations of said families and communities. Instead of multiple thousands of boys and men to wreak havoc on society, imagine forty thousand men of God, committed to doing God's will without equivocation! The Scripture also says that all thirty-six thousand were ready for war!
I think there is a reason that the mothers and wives are not named, as we can identify other Scriptures where the women are specifically named with purpose. Uzzi obviously was raising his sons with the goal of making them like he was, because it clearly says that "All five of them were chief men." Uzzi was a chief man, a prominent, strong, brave, choice man, and for his sons to be ascribed the same modifiers reveals what is not explicitly mentioned--he was daily, diligently teaching his sons to be chief men, and not only that, but by his godly fatherhood his sons produced thirty-six thousand more duplicates of their father all ready to unhesitatingly carry out the will of God Almighty. What a marvelous testament to the long-range effects of just one godly father!
In 2012, God is not asking his men to raise sons to pick up swords to physically fight against His enemies. He is sending His men out armed with the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to tear down every one of Satan's strongholds (Proverbs 21:22; II Corinthians 10:4) that are crushing the lives and spirits of millions--billions--around the globe. Uzzi was showing through his conduct how mighty men of valor behave, because you can teach with words how to do something, but for the techniques to stick, you must show how to do it regular modeling.
I am more than proud to say that I belong to a church that is a family church, one that exalts the office of Fatherhood and equips men through teaching, preaching, and placement of good fathers into places of authority and responsibility. The Apostolic Church of God has teeming in its halls and sanctuaries men who are literally following the example of Uzzi, and perhaps most preeminent of those Uzzi-like men has been Bishop Arthur M. Brazier who by his own teaching and conduct [over a 48-year pastoral ministry] produced a mighty man of valor from his own loins, Dr. Byron T. Brazier, current pastor of the Apostolic Church of God. Dr. Brazier is, by his effective leading reproducing men not unlike his own father. I could go on with other examples: Elder Ronald E. Smith, Sr., Deacon Steve Small, Bro. Radford Smith, Min. Dwight Lewis, Elder Wendell Kendricks, and on and on.
As fathers understand the state of war that exists in our homes and communities, and the empowerment found only in Christ (as Uzzi and his sons did) we will, when led by the Holy Spirit, use the proper spiritual weapons to wage unending, merciless war against all of the institutions, practices, and schemes that are destroying our nation. Yes, fathers are the God-ordained difference!
Yes, the raising of the "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war" proceeds in earnest at the Apostolic Church of God. The kingdom of Satan will be shaken and toppled to ruins.
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