The Architype of the Father
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
A key concept in Christian theology is what is called: Typology.
Typology is the understanding that the bible and its characters are multidimensional.
That is on one hand they are historical AND one the other hand they are representational.
Joshua for example: He is a historical man who succeeded Moses.
But Joshua is also a representation of Jesus, that is: Joshua is a “type” of Jesus.
That means that his life kind of mirrors the life of Jesus.
In his taking the people to the promised land, we see how Jesus takes his people to the promised Land of Heaven.
Even their names are the same: Joshua and Jesus both mean “Savior”.
Amazingly God Himself uses typology:
In speaking of the link between Adam and Jesus, God Himself says:
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
The early church fathers were very invested in typology as we read from their writings.
Then in 1951, the World renowned christian Psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote a book and invented a more structured approach to Christian typology. Jung was the son of a reformed Pastor and knew the bible very well.
He invented a new word:
Archetype.
Archetype.
An Archetype is a “typology” that represents the ultimate embodiment of something.
So he wrote about the worst kind of parents and the best kind of parents.
And in all of his archetypes he uses biblical characters as representations.
This is nothing new as God Himself also does this, perhaps most famously with Pharaoh as an archetype of Satan who hold people captive even with Egypt as an archetype of the world that tempts God’s people in.
So the point is that we are in very familiar, historical and biblical territory here.
And today I want to look at:
Fatherhood.
Fatherhood.
Jung claimed that there are 2 father archetypes, One good and the other bad.
The good father he called “The wise old man” and the bad father he called “The tyrant”.
Why does this matter? Because understand what makes each one good or bad helps us orientate ourselves so that we model the character of the good father, while crucifying the traits of the bad father,
The Tyrant.
The Tyrant.
The Tyrannical Father is pictured as a father who devours in own Children.
Why does he do this?
Because he cannot bear the thought of his children growing up and potentially challenging him.
Without a doubt the biblical example of a Tyrannical Father is:
Manasseh
Manasseh
Manasseh was, according to the bible itself, the worse of all of Judah’s kings.
In fact the Prophet Jeremiah said that all the blame for the evil that overcame Jerusalem can be traced back to him.
4 I will make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
So he was an evil man no doubt, but what makes him a type of The Tyrannical Father?
6 And he made his son pass through the fire, interpreted signs, practiced divination, and used mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
That phrase “pass through the fire” simply means that He sacrificed his own children as a burnt offering, child sacrifice to the demonic Pagan demon of Baal.
So Manasseh is literally the Tyrannical Father who eats his own children.
How does this apply to us as fathers?
A Father is the head of the home. He has the highest authority.
The Tyrant does not see this authority as God given and thus humbling. Rather the Tyrant sees his authority as central to their identity - so any challenge to their authority becomes a challenge of their very existence.
So the Tyrannical Father does not lead, he rules.
He does not use his authority to help his family, he uses his authority to protect himself.
A Fathers God given authority should cause his family to love him.
But a Tyrant uses his authority in a way that makes his family fear him.
Here is what makes a Father a Tyrant:
Here is what makes a Father a Tyrant:
1: He treats their mother as his servant.
1: He treats their mother as his servant.
How a father treats his wife tells everything.
His wife is the mother of his children. Mothers are the most important people in a child’s life.
So when a child sees their father treat their mother in a demeaning way it will ruin them.
If they are little girls they will think that this is how they are supposed to be treated as woman.
And if his children are sons they will grow up thinking that this is how men treat woman.
The bible is clear:
19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
2: He runs the household with threats of fear, punishment and violence.
2: He runs the household with threats of fear, punishment and violence.
Fatherhood comes with power, but this power must never be used to intimidate your family. EVER!
Rather the power of fatherhood is used to serve in humility.
26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant,
3: He does not let his children ever become competent enough to challenge his authority.
3: He does not let his children ever become competent enough to challenge his authority.
Here is a news flash: Your children WILL challenge and test the boarders of your authority.
This is what you, as a father, have to understand: This is a good thing and ill explain why later.
But the Tyrannical father cannot stand this normal behavior and he sees it as a threat.
And so the children are never able to spread their wings, they are never able to explore their gifts and talents.
The bible puts it like this, specifically to fathers:
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
The Wise Old Man
The Wise Old Man
The wise old man is pictured as an old sage.
He is characterized by wisdom, discipline and compassion.
He is motivated not to control people but rather to free people.
And he does this through the imputation of wisdom, discipline and compassion.
We are spoiled for choice as far as biblical examples go, but perhaps the best example would be:
Jonadab
Jonadab
Who? Yes, he is definitely a more obscure biblical characters but what we do know about him is exquisite.
The first time we even hear about him is in 2 Kings 10, where he joins hands with Jehu, the anointed King, anointed by Elishah and they join hands in agreement to track down and kill the wickedly evil family of Ahab.
So immediately we see this man is a warrior who is not afraid to fight for what is right.
Now granted we are not told anything about his wife, but we are told much about his children who were known as Rechabites.
It is crystal clear that he raised his children with wisdom, discipline and compassion.
So much so that God used them and their father Jonadab as examples of godly obedience and even used his children as to reprove the disobedience of Judah itself!
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites,
4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper.
5 Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”
6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever.
7 You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, so that you may live many days in the land where you live as strangers.’
8 And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
9 nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed.
10 But we have lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father Jonadab commanded us.
11 However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
13 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord.
14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not listened to Me.
So a Wise Father does:
So a Wise Father does:
1: It a gentle man who seeks peace BUT is very capable of violence if good needs to be defended.
2: Possesses great wisdom.
He knows what behavior can lead to death or misery and so steers his children away from such things.
His teachings on wine are an excellent example.
He uses his wisdom not to manipulate others, but to equip them for life.
Remember i said that its not only normal but also good for our children to challenge our authority and test our boundaries?
And remember that the tyrant sees this as a threat.
Well the wise man sees it very differently.
It is the purpose of every good father to provide for his family.
8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
But a good father also knows that he cannot provide for his children forever, one day they must leave the home and start their own family.
So a wise father sees his children pushing of boundaries not as a threat but as an opportunity to teach them independence.
Every wise fathers dream is that one day his children will not need him anymore.
3: Is a man of notable discipline.
This means that he is himself disciplined in all matters of life, but it also means that he is capable of disciplining his children in a godly way.
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
A key area of personal discipline that marks a tyrant from a wise man is in the area of anger.
29 One who is slow to anger has great understanding; But one who is quick-tempered exalts foolishness.
8 Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
9 Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry, For anger resides in the heart of fools.
A man who cannot control himself will compensate by trying to control everyone else.
4: Finally, a wise father is a man of compassion, who promotes compassion in his children.
12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
What kind of father would your children or wife say that you are?
What kind of father would you like to be?
Will you be a father like Manassah who devours his children so his authority is never questioned?
or
Will you be a Father like Jonadab who’s children are exemplified as examples of godly people?