ERRORS OF The FATHERS

[Voiceover] Church and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God utterly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] [background noise] A background of some of the common things we see today in the society. Some common things we see in the society. I've observed very much in recent time that generally it looks as if the depth of walk with God of an average Christian today, I mean those who say they're followers of Jesus Christ, the depth to me today it seems to be getting shallow and more and more. That seems to be the situation. It appears that seems to be the situation that we are facing. And it looks more to me that the average young person today is living carelessly. Carelessly, you sometimes wonder what is the value system of our young people today. You just wonder that, "Are these believers?" in terms of their orientation to life, in terms of their philosophy to life, in terms of their goals, in terms of their priorities in life. You sometimes you just wonder that what actually is the problem. Now, it is over this backdrop, this background that I am discussing the topic, "Errors of the Fathers." And what I'm trying to look at why I said "Errors of the Fathers," I'm trying to make particularly our young men see today that see, why it looks as if you are living your life the way you like, why it looks as if your life is your life, you need to recognize that the life you live may come back to have serious consequences on your generation. And I want to show you the mistake that some men made at some points in their life, and how those mistakes became a complication for later generations after them. And so, why it looks as if they were living their life, they were doing their things, they were doing what they want, they were living their life, the truth was that they were not just living their life. The truth was that they were also laying foundation for what will happen to generations after them. They were doing something that had direct effect. And because there are so many examples of this in the Bible, my focus today particularly is on just two people. I would want to look at two people in the book of 1 Samuel. We want to look at "Errors of the Fathers," a consideration of the life of Jonathan and Abiathar. We want to consider the life of Jonathan and the life of Abiathar. Jonathan happened to be the son of King Saul, the first king in Israel, while Abiathar was the son, something like the great-grandson, of Eli the priest. We want to look at these two men. And we want to reflect on how the errors of their fathers became a complication for them in life. The carelessness of their fathers, the nonchalant attitude, some errors, some mistakes, some misgivings in the life of their fathers, how it became a complication for them in life. And we are using that to look at your life today as a young man, as a young person. That while it looks as if it is your life, some of the things you are doing today, some of the things you are giving your life to today, some of the things you are spending your time on today may eventually have serious consequences on those that are to succeed you, on those that are to be after you. Jonathan was a young man. I want to begin with Jonathan. We just want to reflect on these two lives very briefly and then we close for today. Let's first look at the life of Jonathan. I want us to look at certain things about Jonathan. And I want you to look at his life as an individual before we now relate it to the life of the father. And you'll see how the life of the young man Saul became a complication for the life of the young man Jonathan in later years. I pray for you that may your life not be a complication for your generation. May your life not build complications for your generation. May your life not be what will lay a foundation for weeping and tears in generations to come. May your life lay a solid foundation for people to climb on and become better people later in life. But you need to watch how you are living today as a young person. Let's just look at the life of Jonathan in 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 14 thereabout. Let's look at 1 Samuel 14:1-16. Let's look at that scripture. The Bible says something about Jonathan. It says, "Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul," I'm reading from verse one, "the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison that is on the other side.' But he did not tell his father. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about 600 men. Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know when Jonathan had gone." "Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh. The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Geba. Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.' So his armorbearer said to him, 'Do all that is in your heart. Go then. Yes, I am with you according to your heart.' Then Jonathan said, 'Very well, let us cross over to these men and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, "Wait until we come to you," then we will stand still in our place and not go over to them. But if they say, "Come up to us," then we will go over, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand. And this will be a sign for us.'" "So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, 'Look, the Hebrews are coming out of their holes where they have hidden.' Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer and said, 'Come up to us and we will show you something.' Jonathan said to his armorbearer, 'Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.' And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees and his armorbearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. The first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about 20 men within about half an acre of land. And there was trembling in the camp and in the field. And among all the people, the garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling. Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude melting away as they went here and there." Then Saul said to the people who were with him, "Call the roll now and see who has gone from us." And when they had called the roll, surprisingly Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. And Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here." For at that time, the ark of God was with the children of Israel. Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand." Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle. And indeed, every man's sword was against his neighbor, and there was great confusion. Moreover, the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise, all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven. Now, we are looking at a very important story here. There was a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. And of course, both sides to the battle were gathered at the battlefront. And the Bible began to make us see something about the life of Jonathan. If you look at the reading that we read just now, you will discover that Jonathan as a young man is a man who ordinarily has a walk with God. Jonathan was somebody whose life was a life who can sense the leading of God, who can sense the hand of God. He was somebody through whom God brought victory to Israel this day, in this incident that we are reading. He told his armorbearer, "Come, let's go over to the enemy's camp. If they say this, God has gone ahead of us. If they say that, we stay." He was a man of great faith. A man of great focus. A man of great character. The Bible talks about the relationship that came up between Jonathan and David. Between Jonathan and David. David finished with the battle with Goliath. The battle was over. And of course, David killed that champion in the battle. And you see that David and Jonathan came knitted together. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 18:1, "Now when he had finished speaking to Saul," that was David, "the soul of Jonathan was knitted to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Are you seeing something about Jonathan? Jonathan was not an envious person. Jonathan was somebody who, unlike his father, when David began to shine, began to come out as a shining light, something about Jonathan was that the soul of Jonathan was knitted to the soul of David. Such that in the verse three, Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. Are you seeing something? David was rising. Jonathan had been the one through whom God gave victory to Israel in chapter 14. In chapter 16 and 17, God gave victory to Israel through David. Look at Jonathan again. Jonathan was somebody who was not envious of David. He wasn't envious of David. Instead of being envious of David, he loved David. He made a covenant with David. David became his pal that, "Ah, this is somebody too that God can use for victory for Israel." And so Jonathan loved David. And the love between Jonathan and David was such that Jonathan did everything at different situations, even when Saul began to envy David and was seeking how David will be killed. Jonathan was somebody who stood with David and said no. In fact, at different point, he went to address his father that, "See, why must David die? David must not die. David is somebody that God is using to bring victory for Israel. David should not be killed." Instead of Saul appreciating David, Saul began to envy David. But Jonathan was not envious. Look at chapter 19. It say, "Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants that David should be killed." That is 1 Samuel 19:1. "But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David. So Jonathan told David saying, 'My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. And I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you.'" Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, because his work had been very good towards you. For he took his life into his hand and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought great deliverance for Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood to kill David without a cause?" The Bible says in 19:6, Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, "As the Lord lives, David will not be killed." Then Jonathan called David and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in the presence of his father as in times past. What am I trying to make you see? I'm showing you Jonathan. Look at the quality of this boy's life. Look at the quality of his life. At one point, he brought victory to Israel. At another point, he saw somebody else that God was using. He was not envious. Rather, he promoted that person. He gave, in chapter 18, he gave David even his armor. He gave David his weapon. At another point, his father was envious of David, wanted David to be killed. Jonathan became a peacemaker. He went to his father to tell his father that David should not be killed, David should be allowed to live. Why should he die? He became a peacemaker. I'm showing you the life of Jonathan. Jonathan was a rising star. Jonathan was somebody who ordinarily should go on and on and on and on like this. But things didn't go this way for Jonathan. It did not go that way for Jonathan. I want to show you something about why things did not go that way for Jonathan. Why things went the other way for Jonathan. Let's see that in the same 1 Samuel. In the first 1 Samuel, we see chapter 28. I first want us to see chapter 28 before we go to 1 Samuel chapter 31. Let's see something there about Saul in chapter 28. Now it says, chapter 28 from verse 3, we'll now relate it to chapter 31. It says, "Now Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. Then the Philistines gathered together and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together and they encamped in Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets." "Then Saul said to his servant, 'Find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her.' And his servant said to him, 'In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.' So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and he went. And two men were with him. And they came to the woman by night and he said, 'Please conduct for me and bring up for me the one I shall name for you.' Then the woman said to him, 'Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life to cause me to die?' And Saul swore by the Lord saying, 'As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.' Then the woman said, 'Whom shall I bring up for you?' And he said, 'Bring up Samuel for me.' And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, 'Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.' And the king said to her, 'Do not be afraid. What did you see?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.' And he said to the woman, 'What is his form?' And she said, 'An old man is coming up and is covered with a mantle.' And Saul perceived that this was Samuel, and he stood up with his face to the ground and bowed down." "And Samuel said to Saul, 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' And Saul answered, 'I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines make war against me and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophet nor by dream. Therefore, I have called you that you may reveal to me what I should do.' Then Samuel said, 'So why did you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy?'" Now, look at what Samuel now said particularly in this place. He said, "And the Lord has done for himself as he has spoken by me, for the Lord has turned the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute his fierce wrath against the Amalekites upon the Amalekites, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." What am I trying to make you see? Is the very thing that will make the son of Jonathan that was rising gradually in his life, coming up brighter and brighter, that sunlight that was coming up. I'm trying to make you see why that light will not tarry till the night. Why that light was suspended. That light has to set before it was night. Jonathan could not endure till the night. Jonathan could not endure. That rising light was cut short. Why? Because of an error in the father. The reason why the sons of Saul will die with Saul was the error of Saul. The reason why Jonathan will not be the one to take over from Saul was the carelessness in the life of Saul. Look at Jonathan as an individual. Look at his life. Do you know that there are young men like that? Rising sun. Coming up in their youth. But because of some useless things that their parents did, some stupid thing that their parents did, some misgiving in their parents, suddenly there'll just be a strange happening and the boy is cut down. What am I trying to make you see is that when these men were living their life in their errors, the errors of the father, as a young man, you need to understand that you need to carry your life in such a way that will not be talking of the error of your own life becoming a matter for your generation. Look at how that young man Jonathan, look at what we have said about him. Look at the pedigrees of Jonathan. Look at how that young man was coming up. Look at how he was coming up. But suddenly we came to a point where we are receiving a message that Jonathan, Saul, because when God sent him to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites—you'll see that in 1 Samuel chapter 15—I skip that story because I'll still make mention of it here. The Bible says Saul went. Instead of totally killing everybody, devastating everything, because of the people, Saul left some animals for sacrifices. He even spared the life of the king. And because of that error, Saul had what I call partial obedience. And I'm telling you today, how are you living your own life? How many partial obedience are in your own life? You say you're a Christian, but you're not totally a Christian. You say you're a young man, you love God, you are walking with God, you are doing this for God, but you are not fully following God with all your heart. You are not serving God with the whole of your heart. You will notice that this was exactly what was in David, why God chose David. And when David was handing over to Solomon, David had to warn Solomon about this thing. If you look at 1 Chronicles 28, when people want to serve God and they don't serve God with all of their heart. Look at 1 Chronicles 28:9. David warned Solomon about this same thing. 1 Chronicles chapter 28 verse 9. Because that was why God departed from Saul. Look at what David told Solomon at the point of his, when he was old and he knew that he would soon die. Look at what he told Solomon. 1 Chronicles chapter 28 verse 9. He said, "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind. Serve God with a loyal heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and he understands all the intent of the thought. If you seek him, he will be found of you. But if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever." David knew that that was what God did to Saul. When you are serving God and you are not serving God with the whole of your heart. As a young man today, let me tell you, you are laying a foundation, you are putting things on ground that may become a problem later for you in life, a problem later for your own generation. Your nonchalant attitude today towards God does not only have consequence for your life, it may have consequence for those after you. The errors of the father. Jonathan should not have died the way he died. It was because of the error of a father. Jonathan should not have been wasted the way he was wasted. It was because one father did not live right. As a young man, he did not live correctly. How are you living your life today? How are you wasting your strength? What are you spending your time on? What are you doing with your time? These are very crucial things to ask yourself as a young person. Jonathan should not have died the way he died. And I'm telling you, many young people today should not have been the way they are if not that some fathers too did something, some men too when they were young lived their life carelessly and foolishly, and now they're becoming a problem for their own generation. And how are you living your own? You may be saying something that, "I will not be like this from my father." But what are you doing about your own life? These are very serious things to consider. What pained me in this story is that Jonathan should not have died the way he died. Jonathan should not have died the way he died. Jonathan was a promising child. He never got there. He never got there. He never got there because of the errors of the fathers. And I also show you another similar story. I said I'm looking at just two people in this same 1 Samuel. We are looking at Abiathar. That's another young man again. You will see again that this was another promising young man. But somewhere, somehow, there was an error. There was an error somewhere. There was an error. I'm begging you as a young man, watch how you live your life today. Watch how you live your life today, for whatsoever a man shall sow, he will reap. Watch how you are living your life today. Don't put an error somewhere that will become a matter for your generation. Errors of the father that became a matter for the generation. Carelessness. Nonchalant attitude. Not being deliberate in their walk with God. Not being conscious of their action. Living carelessly. Living irresponsibly. Are you like that today as a young man? Are you like that today as a young person? I said I'll be speaking particularly to the young men. How are you living your life today? Jonathan should not have died the way he died. It was because a father did not live right. Look at how it ended for Jonathan as we look at the life of Abiathar. Look at how it ended in 31. Look at how it ended in chapter 31 of that 1 Samuel. Look at how it ended for Jonathan. It was not a good ending. 1 Samuel chapter 31. I read from verse one. "Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan." Look at what the Bible says. "And the Philistine killed Jonathan. They killed Abinadab." One after the other like that. They killed the sons of Saul. Of course eventually too, Saul had to fall upon his own sword and later he died. Although later we noticed that in 2 Samuel, the armorbearer said when he noticed that he was dying, he killed him. But what am I trying to say? The Bible says that Saul, look at it in the verse 31. It says, "So Saul," in verse six of chapter 31, the Bible says, "So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together the same day." That was how Jonathan was wasted because of the error in a father. Because of the error in a father. Because of the error in a father. He died with that father, in shame in the same day. That rising star. That man of character and strength. That young man that was coming up. The sunlight of that light suddenly stopped and it suspended before it was evening. It could not endure till the night because an error was in a father somewhere. Young man, how are you living your life today? What are the errors in your life now? I want to beg you, make haste to correct them. Make haste to be deliberate with your life. Make haste to be conscious of how you are living. Make haste to be deliberate to live right, to live for God, to serve God with a willing mind, to serve God with the whole of your heart, because the Lord understands the thought. And you see, when God was to take the throne from Saul, he gave it to a man that will serve God with all his heart. And that was why David was warning Solomon. Be careful. Be careful the errors of the father. Look at the second person I want you to look at. Abiathar. And looking at Abiathar, I want you to look at it. We have some readings too to do there. But I will also skip some because I will talk about them later. Look at when David began to run away. He fled from Saul because Saul has determined to kill him. Jonathan came and told him that, "Look, my father want to kill you, so run away, just you can't be here because you will die." So David fled from Saul. And the Bible says in 1 Samuel 21, in running away from Saul, the first person that David went to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one is with you?" So David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has ordered me on some business. Do not let anyone know about the business on which I sent you or what I commanded you. I have directed my young men to such and such place. Now therefore, what have you in your hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand and whatever you can find, whatever can be found." And the priest answered David—I want you to look at this story. The priest knew nothing that David was running away from Saul. He knew nothing. So the priest answered David and said, "There is no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread if the young men have at least kept themselves from women." Of course, David said the men have kept themselves from women. So Ahimelech gave him the bread, the holy bread to take. And then, but if you look at the verse 17, the Bible say, "Now a certain man of Saul, a certain man of the servant of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul." He was there. He was watching the whole thing. Then David said to Ahimelech, "Is there on hand a spear or a sword? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste." So Ahimelech said, "The sword of Goliath, the Philistine whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it. Give it to me. Give it to me." Then David arose and fled that day before Saul and went to Achish, the king of Gath. So you see the incident in this place. Ahimelech was not aware of what was going on. It was David running away from Saul and looking for how to gather some things to himself. So David fled. Now, if you look at the chapter 22, the next chapter, the Bible says in chapter 22 verse—I want to take it from verse six. When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah with spear in his hand and all his servants standing with him. Then Saul said to his servant who stood before him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites, will the sons of Jesse give every one of you field and vineyard and make all of you captains of thousand and captains of hundred? All of you who have conspired against me and there is no one who reveal to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveal to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait as it is this day." Saul later got to know that it was Jonathan that made David to escape. I skip that story just to save time. Of course, Jonathan told David that, "Look, my father want to kill you, so you must escape before you are killed." So Saul later got to know that, and that was why he's making this statement. But look at what happened in this place. The Bible says, "Then Doeg, the Edomite," don't forget the Edomite that we just read about in the last chapter, "who was set over the servants of Saul. He answered and said, 'I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub. And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provision and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.'" So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub and all his father's house. Please note what is going on here. He called the priest, all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob, and they all came to the king. And Saul said, "Hear now, sons of Ahitub." He answered, "Here I am, my lord." Then Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the sons of Jesse? The son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise up against me to lie in wait as it is this day." So Ahimelech answered the king and said—of course in all sincerity, in all openness and truthfulness, he was not aware of what was going on. "And who among all your servant is as faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, who goes at your bidding and is honorable in your house? Did I begin to inquire of God for him? Did I begin to inquire of the Lord for him? Far be it from me. Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or more." And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech. You and all your father's house." Then the king said to the guard who stood about him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord because their hand was also with David and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me." But the servant of the king would not lift up their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. And the king said to Doeg, "You turn and kill the priest." So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priest and killed on that day 85 men who wore the linen ephod. Also Nob, the city of the priest, he struck down with the edge of the sword. Both men and women, children, nursing infant, oxen, donkey, and sheep with the edge of the sword. Look at what happened in this place. Please, we are going somewhere. We are looking at the story of Abiathar. So where does Abiathar come in this story? Abiathar came up in the story in the next verse. Look at the next verse. "Now one of the sons of Ahimelech," so Abiathar was one of the son of Ahimelech, "of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord's priest. So David said to Abiathar, 'I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all of all the persons of your father's house. Stay with me, do not fear, for he who seek my life seek your life, but with me you shall be safe.'" So I'm showing you a link. Abiathar was linked to Ahimelech. Ahimelech was linked to Ahitub. Now let's look at how it ended for Abiathar. He escaped in this place, he did not die. Let's look at 1 Kings. 1 Kings. We'll be looking at chapter one and chapter two. In chapter one, Adonijah was trying to be priest, some men joined Adonijah to make him was trying to be the king in Israel after David. But luckily for Bathsheba, Nathan gave her support, and eventually Solomon was anointed as the king in Israel. So the people that went with Adonijah as against remaining with David, one of them was Abiathar. Abiathar went with them. Abiathar joined that revolt alongside with Adonijah. So you will see that around the early, the early part of that chapter. You will see that in between verse five and verse seven. It says, "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself saying, 'I will be king.' And he prepared for himself chariot and horsemen and 50 men to run before him." The Bible says in verse seven, "Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest." So don't forget, Abiathar was the priest of David. The priest that came to join David, who escaped from Ahimelech, who escaped when the father's house was destroyed. Now, Abiathar followed David all through when David was in the—until David became king. David was with David all through. But when Adonijah was to become king, Abiathar defected alongside with Adonijah. David was not aware of this. And so the priest and they followed and helped Adonijah. That was where Abiathar came with Adonijah. So how did it go? But eventually Solomon was anointed king, and Adonijah had to step down. And then we move to chapter two where I also want us to see something. So to chapter two from verse one. "Now the days of David drew near that he should die. And he charged Solomon his son saying, 'I go the way of all the earth. Be strong therefore and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgment, and his testimony as written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you go, wherever you turn.'" So he told, he was giving charge to Solomon. He gave Solomon charge about Joab what he should do, and all of that. Who to show kindness to and all of that. So all of that went. Verse 10, "So David rested with his father and was buried in the city of David." Now look at what happened. From verse 12. "Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David. His kingdom was firmly established." Then something happened between Adonijah came up again this time, made a request. Requesting for Abishag the Shunammite to be given to him, which is like asking for the kingdom. He made that request through Bathsheba. Through Bathsheba. Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her and sat, and he sat on his throne and made a throne set for the king's mother. So he sat at his right hand, she sat at his right hand. Then she said, "I desire one small petition of you. Do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask, my mother, and I will not refuse you." So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife." That was the lady that was taking care of David towards his, before the, before his death. And the King—King Solomon said to his mother, "Now why do you ask for Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him too the kingdom also, for he's my elder brother. For him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab the son of Zeruiah." Then King Solomon swore by the Lord saying, "May God do so to me and much more if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, who has established a house for me as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today." So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and he struck him down and he died. And to Abiathar, I hope you remember what Abiathar did. Those are the supporters of Adonijah. And to Abiathar the priest, the king said, "Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you are deserving of death, but I will not put you to death at this time because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted." So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord. But look at the matter in that place, and that is what I want to show you. "That he might fulfill the word of the Lord which he spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh." That was the thing that interest me. That's what I'm trying to point you to. Abiathar was another line. So you can see something again about Abiathar. Another life that was rising, but there was an error in the fathers. In fact, this was father, father, father. There was an error in Eli. It was the error in Eli that led to Ahimelech being wasted. Ahimelech was wasted by King Saul. Abiathar still escaped. But the matter on that house—there was a word of God that look, that their line, God is putting out that their line from being priest. That nobody will stand before him again in that line as priest. That look, in that line, nobody will grow old. If they grow old, they will be beggars. That word, that thing that was flying from Eli, the winds that was carrying that thing. Look at it again in the life of another young man, another man again called Abiathar. There was error somewhere. Young man, how are you living your life? How are you living your life today? How are you spending your time? What are you doing with your life today? I'm showing you how some young men could not continue because some men, when they had opportunity, they did not live correctly. They lived wrongly. Today you have an opportunity to get it right. You have an opportunity to live right. You have an opportunity to live correctly. You have an opportunity to live right. You have an opportunity to move away from carelessness. Look at what Paul encourage us to do as Christians. Colossians chapter 2. Paul gave an encouragement on how we should live as Christians. What should we do as Christians? Colossians chapter 2, as we close the meeting today. Colossians 2. Colossians chapter 2. I read verse six to nine. "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of this world, and not according to Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him who is the head of all things, all principalities and powers." What am I trying to say? You can see the admonition of Saul—of Paul in this place to us. The word of God says, "Look, if we have received Christ, what should we do? What should we do? As we have received him, let us walk rooted and built up in him." What is the way forward for you as a young person? Don't be a life waster. Don't begin to carry errors upon your own life. Start today. Rooted and built up in Christ. Rooted, rooted, begin to root yourself. Begin to go deeper and deeper into Christ. Get out of uselessness. Get out of carelessness. Get out of shallowness, artificiality and superficiality. Get out of unrighteousness and unholiness. Get out of all these things and live correctly. Rooted and built up in Christ. That's instruction. Let us, as you have received Christ, don't waste your time on useless things. It says don't let any man deceive you by vain philosophy, wasting your life on useless things, wasting your time on things that do not, that will not contribute positively to your spiritual growth. Instead of living having a shallow Christian life, root—be rooted, be built up. Go deeper and deeper. Be solid in Christ so that you don't become an error for your generation. You don't become an error. You don't become an error so that young men and women that are supposed to rise, you will not be the reason why the sunlight of their life will not tarry till night. It does not happen that there is an error about you that will make strange things to be happening in the life of those that are after you. Look at the strange things in the life of these two young men. In the life of Jonathan. In the life of Abiathar. Strange happening. Somebody have endured with David all his life and just few minutes to enter into the benefit for his life, he was wasted. He was wasted. Why? Because there was something that was flying from his father's father. Some man did not live right. Hophni and Phinehas, they were living uselessly. Their father too did not say anything about it. Some people live wasted lives. How are you living your own life today? And because issues for generations to come. Young man, young woman, look into your life today. I said as time permits me, I'll make reference too to women in the course of this meeting. But my point today was just about this errors in these fathers that wasted, that make, ah, somebody endured all his days with David and just close to the end of David's life when he was supposed to sit down and be enjoying, when he was supposed to enjoy the benefit of his labor, suddenly, suddenly, suddenly, the useless life that some men lived become a matter in their life. The errors of the fathers. All of these errors accumulated the way they lived their life as they were growing up. What are you accumulating today? Are you accumulating errors or you are building a solid life in Christ? The Bible says, "As you have received Jesus," as you have received him, "be rooted in him. Develop root in him. Be solid in him, built up in him." That is what it ought to be. Rooted, rooted. Living consciously and deliberately. Following the way of righteousness, holiness, and uprightness daily, in secret and in open, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, almighty God. Blessed be your name, our father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. [Voiceover] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission heat. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM, Adolescent and Singles Club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM. Marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM. Family life seminars, regular school outreaches and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Idanre Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles, familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.