The Priesthood of Families

  Everything rises and falls on leadership. The destiny of every family depends on the leadership capability of the head of the family. I was recently reading the book of Matthew, and something stood out to me. I saw a significant order that God put in place for the proper functioning of families. It is what I call "The Priesthood of Families."

 If we study the book of Genesis, we see how God started the first family. God gave the man the responsibility of leadership in the family. The man or the husband is the head of the family, just like Christ is the head of the church. This position or status comes with a huge responsibility. When God instructed him not to eat the fruit of the garden, he spoke directly to Adam, not Eve. Adam now bears the responsibility of instructing the wife and the family of God's instructions. In other words, the leadership responsibility of the man demands that he will have an intimate relationship with God. It requires that man have the ability to communicate with God. God designed the head of the family to be a custodian of his directives for the family. Hence, there is no leadership without priesthood. A man cannot lead his family if he does not know what God is saying about the direction of the family. 

God was so sure of Abraham's capacity as the leader of his family that he boasted of Abraham in Gen 18:19:  "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." 

Again in Matthew 1 &2, we see something interesting about Joseph and Mary's family. When the instructions came to flee to Egypt and come back from Egypt, it was all given to Joseph. When God needed to pass on instruction, he did that to Joseph, the head of the family and the family's representative. Joseph could receive instruction from God because he was a man aligned with God. He could hear God not just for himself but also for his family; He stood in his position as the priest of his family. What would have happened if Joseph was not sensitive to the leading of the spirit? Isn't this the reason why many homes and families are destroyed? Thank God for praying mothers and wives, but it is an anomaly when the woman assumes the role of the priest of the home. 

This does not undermine the truth that all believers, including wives and children, everyone should have an intimate relationship with God. Of course, no one can stand in for your relationship with God. However, when it comes to the organizational structure and order in the home, God demands that the husband be the head and the priest of the home.

Any home without a priest has no covering. A man cannot effectively lead if he is not a priest. A priest is a man known at the gates; gates represent a place of decision-making. Gates represent a place of prayer. Therefore a man cannot effectively lead his home if he is not known at the place of prayer. When a man takes his position at the gate, there are many things he can stop, and there are many things he can engineer to happen in the realm of the physical for his family. The Bible said in Gen 25:21, that Isaac prayed for his wife and she conceived. Great things happen when men pray for their families! We have seen the power of praying mothers and praying wives, but we are yet to tap into the power of a praying father! I am a beneficiary of that prayer. I have made tremendous progress in life because I have a praying father!

I pray that God will give us praying fathers, fathers who are known at the gates. Fathers who are not absent at the place where it matters most. Fathers who will take their position spiritually and otherwise in their homes!

Happy Father's day to my precious dad and all fathers!

Love.