Choices

Choices

Elisheba

Read: Exodus 6:23; Leviticus 10:1-2

Marta looked at the pictures of her teenage sons and shook her head. They were both tall and had the same brown eyes, but the resemblance stopped there. Their temperaments couldn’t have been more opposite. Ryan always worked hard in school, got along well with everyone, and came in earlier than curfew. Kenny had seemed determined to break every rule since birth, and he put more dedication into landing in detention than anything else. How could two boys raised in the same home be so different from each other? she wondered.

Elisheba also had children who were different from each other. She must have known both extreme joy and extreme disappointment in her role as a mother. Elisheba was married to Aaron, the head of the Hebrew priesthood, and she gave birth to four sons. God killed her two older sons, Nadab and Abihu, with fire after they disobeyed his clear instructions regarding the offering of incense in the Tabernacle. Elisheba’s heart must have ached over her sons’ tragic deaths, brought about by their rebellion against God’s commands. In contrast, her younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, remained a source of pride as they faithfully carried out their priestly duties alongside their father.

People tend to credit parents when children turn out well. When children are disappointments, mothers tend to blame themselves even if others don’t. The feeling that we’re responsible for how our children end up can become a burden too heavy for us to bear. It is true that we influence others. However, individuals make their own personal choices, and those choices carry inevitable consequences. Understanding this helps to take the pressure off of us in any relationship, especially when we’re trying to influence others for God. We can do our best to share truth with them, but they must choose whether to follow God’s ways or rebel against him.

If you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve.

Joshua 24:15