Living in the Image of God M05S12
Several examples from the bible convey an understanding that God assigns to the head of household the responsibility for spiritual commitment and prayer on behalf of the household and grants the prayers for members that believe. We discuss examples from Paul-Silas evangelism in Philippi, with a cloth seller Lydia and with the Philippi jailer. Additionally, we recall that Abraham accepted the covenant on behalf of himself and household, descendants, and all people on earth through the Messiah promise; Jacob accepted the renewed covenant at Bethel on behalf of himself, descendants, and all people on earth through his offspring; and Joshua led representatives of Israel to renew the covenant at Shechem, where he emphasized the responsibility of the head of household through his famous declaration: “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Prayer by head of household is exemplified by Abraham’s prayer for his servant that travelled hundreds of miles to get a wife for Isaac. The servant believed in, and anchored his prayers on, Abraham’s prayer. God granted his prayers exactly on two occasions.
This study begins a three-part series on household interactions and relationships. We discuss examples from the bible to understand that God assigns to the head of household the responsibility for spiritual commitment and prayer on behalf of the household and grants head-of-household prayers for members that believe the prayers. Subsequent studies in the series discuss the individual responsibilities in household interactions and relationships, anchored on Paul’s letter to Ephesians. The current study focusses on spiritual responsibilities of the head of household, beginning with examples from the evangelism of Paul and Silas in Philippi: their interactions with Lydia, a cloth seller that accepted the Gospel message from them on behalf of herself and her household; and with the Philippi jailer that was moved by Paul’s compassion to commit to Jesus on behalf of himself and his household.
Next, we discuss the covenant with Abraham as establishing the responsibility of the head of household to make spiritual commitments on behalf of the household. For the covenant, God demanded commitment from Abraham on behalf of himself, his household, and descendants. Further, we discuss renewal of the covenant with Jacob at Bethel and Joshua at Shechem, both of which underscore the responsibility of the head of household. Jacob accepted the renewed covenant on behalf of himself, his descendants, and all people on earth through his offspring. Joshua led representatives of Israel to renew the covenant, where he emphasized the responsibility of the head of household in his famous declaration of promise to serve God: “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Prayer by head of household is exemplified by Abraham’s prayer on behalf of his servant that travelled hundreds of miles to get a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. The servant believed in Abraham’s prayer and anchored his prayers on Abraham’s prayer. God granted his prayers exactly on two occasions. The events convey a clear message that God grants head-of-household prayers for members that believe in the prayers.
The study begins with a review of our previous discussion of the family leadership structure (M04S12, Individual Responsibility to Honor-Support Family Leadership: Shunammite Couple) to recall that the husband is the overall leader, that is, head of household. His wife is the spiritual gateway and occasional leader in specific matters, when delegated explicitly by her husband or implicitly by circumstances such as husband being unavailable. The role of a wife in family leadership is based on examples such as the Shunammite woman (previous study) and Lydia of Philippi (current study).
Head of Household
Based on our previous studies regarding the family leadership structure (e.g., Individual Responsibility to Honor-Support Family Leadership: Shunammite Couple), recall that the husband is the overall leader, that is, head of household; and his wife is the spiritual gateway and occasional leader in specific matters. The wife represents her husband as head of household, when delegated explicitly by her husband or implicitly by circumstances such as her husband being unavailable. The role of a wife in family leadership is based on examples such as the Shunammite woman (previous study) and Lydia of Philippi (current study).
Recall that God uses the family leadership structure to communicate his will to the family, relies on seamless husband-wife communication, and calls the husband and wife to honor and support family leadership. He blesses those that do. Also, he honors spiritual commitment and prayer by the head of household, on behalf of members of the household. For those that honor the commitment and believe in the prayer.
Example Regarding Lydia of Philippi
Paul and Silas met Lydia in Philippi, a cloth seller from the city of Thyatira. She was there with her household as the head of household. The account did not mention her husband. She accepted Paul’s message of the Gospel and she and her household were baptized [Acts 16:14]: “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.”
After that, she invited Paul and his team to stay in her house [Acts 16:15]: “When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.” Through her interactions with Paul and Silas, Lydia made spiritual commitment on behalf of her household.
Example Regarding Philippi Jailer
Paul and Silas were jailed in Philippi because they freed a slave girl from demons that possessed her. They had been beaten and jailed without trial, for freeing the girl from demons that enabled her to earn income for her owners but also made her a public nuisance. At about midnight, all prisoners in the jail including Paul and Silas were miraculously freed but did not escape [Acts 16:26]: “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” When the jailer realized the prison doors were open, he tried to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. However, Paul told him that the prisoners did not escape [Acts 16:28]: “But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’”
Paul’s compassion moved the jailer to seek Jesus by asking what he must do to be saved [Acts 16:29–30]: “The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” Paul and Silas advised him to commit to Jesus on behalf of himself and his household: “They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household’” [Acts 16:31]. The jailer accepted and made spiritual commitment on behalf of himself and his household.
Covenant with Abraham
God’s covenant with Abraham establishes the responsibility of the head of household to make spiritual commitments on behalf of the household. The covenant is God’s conditional promise to Abraham on behalf of Abraham and his household, his descendants, and all people on earth through the Messiah promise. For the covenant, God demanded commitment from Abraham on behalf of himself, his household, and his descendants: “Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come’” [Genesis 17:9].
Covenant Renewed to Jacob
God appeared to Jacob in a dream at Bethel, where he renewed to Jacob his promise to Abraham under the covenant. He renewed the covenant for the benefit of Jacob and his household, his descendants, and all people on earth through his offspring [Genesis 28:13–14]: “There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’”
Covenant Renewal by Joshua
Joshua and other representatives of Israel renewed the covenant at Shechem. Each of the representatives made a promise under the covenant on behalf of a group of households. Joshua emphasized spiritual commitment by the head of household, through his famous declaration of promise to serve God [Joshua 24:15]: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Prayer by Head of Household
Prayer by head of household is exemplified by Abraham’s prayer on behalf of his servant that travelled hundreds of miles to get a wife for Isaac. Abraham prayed over his servant before the servant embarked on the journey: “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there” [Genesis 24:7].
The servant believed in and relied on Abraham’s prayer and anchored his prayer on Abraham’s prayer each time he prayed. He prayed as follows in one example [Genesis 24:12–14]: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
God granted his prayer exactly on two occasions (e.g., Genesis 24:15–21). Anchoring his prayers on Abraham’s prayer conveyed the servant’s reliance on his master’s prayer, as if he was reminding God that “I am Abraham’s servant and he spoke to you about me.” His experience illustrates that a prayer by the head of household will be effective for household members that believe the prayer.
Summary of What We Learned
Several examples from the bible convey an understanding that God assigns to the head of household the responsibility for spiritual commitment and prayer on behalf of the household and grants the prayers for members that believe. We discuss examples from Paul-Silas evangelism in Philippi, with a cloth seller Lydia and with the Philippi jailer.
Additionally, we recall that Abraham accepted the covenant on behalf of himself and household, descendants, and all people on earth through the Messiah promise; Jacob accepted the renewed covenant at Bethel on behalf of himself, descendants, and all people on earth through his offspring; and Joshua led representatives of Israel to renew the covenant at Shechem, where he underscored the responsibility of the head of household through his famous declaration: “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Prayer by head of household is exemplified by Abraham’s prayer for his servant that travelled hundreds of miles to get a wife for Isaac. The servant believed in, and anchored his prayers on, Abraham’s prayer. God granted his prayers exactly on two occasions.