{"id":474,"date":"2014-11-19T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=474"},"modified":"2014-11-04T00:00:53","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T00:00:53","slug":"matthew-77-12-ask-seek-knock-cultural-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/11\/matthew-77-12-ask-seek-knock-cultural-commentary.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 7:7-12; Ask, Seek, Knock (Cultural Commentary)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesus frequently pointed to God\u2019s place as our Father to emphasize the idea that God cares for us\u2014but that imagery meant something different to his first-century hearers than it does to our so-called \u201cprogressive\u201d 21st<\/sup>-century culture.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s American culture, the father is important, yes, but often optional in terms of societal necessity. Today a man may become a father physically, yet as a matter of convenience can easily decline to participate in a child\u2019s life (and often he does). Not so in ancient Jewish culture. Fatherhood was not an optional thing, both for the father and for his family. It was an expected part of life, unbreakable obligation and a proud privilege for any man. In fact, the more children who called a man \u201cfather,\u201d the better! (Psalm 127:3-5)<\/p>\n

The father in Jesus\u2019 time exercised near complete authority over his children\u2014even in matters of life and death. At the same time, the father was expected to provide for every physical need for his children (Proverbs 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:8), to provide for the child\u2019s spiritual growth (Genesis 12:8; Exodus 12:3), to provide a meaningful education and proper, loving discipline (Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:7-9), to defend their rights in court (Deuteronomy 22:13-19) and much more. Basically, the father was obligated to provide everything the child needed to grow up and become a successful, productive, happy, and holy person in ancient Israel. Notice that this was not an optional part of fatherhood! It was required, and any man who openly neglected the obligations of fatherhood would have been despised and rebuked by society.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s within this strict cultural context that Jesus emphasizes God\u2019s self-imposed obligation as a Father in relation to his believers: \u201cIf you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!\u201d (Matthew 7:11). .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[ZP2, 504-505; RBD, 374-375]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus frequently pointed to God\u2019s place as our Father to emphasize the idea that God cares for us\u2014but that imagery meant something different to his first-century hearers than it does to our so-called \u201cprogressive\u201d 21st-century culture. In today\u2019s American culture, the father is important, yes, but often optional in terms of societal necessity. Today a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2],"tags":[180,111],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culturalcommentary","category-matthew","tag-prayer","tag-sermon-on-the-mount"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 7:7-12; Ask, Seek, Knock (Cultural Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/11\/matthew-77-12-ask-seek-knock-cultural-commentary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 7:7-12; Ask, Seek, Knock (Cultural Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jesus frequently pointed to God\u2019s place as our Father to emphasize the idea that God cares for us\u2014but that imagery meant something different to his first-century hearers than it does to our so-called \u201cprogressive\u201d 21st-century culture. 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