Page Two: “Barzillai: Showing Respect to the Elderly” – 4/29/2012
1. Be true to yourself
2. Continue to pursue interests that appeal to you.
3. Keep yourself busy.
4. Choose a career for intrinsic rewards, not merely financial ones. “A sense of purpose beats having money any day.”
5. Act now like you’ll need your body for 100 years. [Bad lifestyle, poor eating habits, smoking, and inactivity can all be prevented].
6. Say “Yes” to opportunities whenever you are offered a new opportunity. Don’t be afraid to take a risk or even a leap of faith.
7. Choose a mate with extreme care. Take all the time you need to find a life partner.
8. Travel as much as you can. Sacrifice to do so.
9. Make any grudges right – now.
10. Life is short. [The oldest people said life went by the quickest].
11. Happiness is your choice, not the condition of having all the perfect circumstances. “My single best piece of advice is to take responsibility for your own happiness throughout your life.” Simply choose contentment.
12. Don’t waste your time with worry. Most things we worry about don’t ever happen.
13. Think small. Savor the small things of life. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life; things like “a morning cup of coffee, a warm bed on a winter night, a brightly colored bird feeding on the lawn, an unexpected letter from a friend, even a favorite song on the radio.”
Of course, you and I can learn from those who have already taken the journey.
But, just what does the Bible teach when it comes to having a godly attitude towards the elderly? Here’s what we find in the OT Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:32 “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
“Thou shalt rise up” = We are commanded to stand when the elderly are present. Those of us who have never learned the Bible as children usually don’t recognize the need to stand for anyone. Yet the LORD clearly commands us to stand when the elderly are in the room.
“The hoary head” = someone with white-to-grey hair or beard.
“Honor” = “show respect to,” and “reverence”
“The face of the old man” = “presence”
“Fear thy God” = You show reverence for GOD by showing reverence to the elderly.
Those who have passed through the joys and trials of life and are now at retirement age are given the privilege by God Himself of being honored by the rest of society.
Now, that’s the OT. Here’s what we read in the NT regarding showing honor to the elderly. I Timothy 5:1 “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; (2) The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.’
Let’s see what the LORD says about man of iron and let the Holy Spirit teach us the LORD’s ways from this elderly man. Look with me at II Samuel 19:32.
Here are the words from the Holy Spirit on Barzillai. II Samuel 19:32 “Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.”
David, as you know, was deposed; yet not defeated. He was removed from his throne. But, as you know, he returned to his place as Israel’s king.
And what we find on the day of his departure from Jerusalem is this. He traveled 85 miles north and crossed the Jordan River into the land of Gilead. In Gilead, David and those who stayed by his side stopped to rest in a place called Mahanaim.
The minute we come upon Barzillai in Scripture, we find him well on in years; eighty was very elderly in 1000 B.C. And he was a giver. And, as you are about to see, he was loyal when King David had been ousted from his throne. And he was great. This simply means that he was a very wealthy man.
2. Continue to pursue interests that appeal to you.
3. Keep yourself busy.
4. Choose a career for intrinsic rewards, not merely financial ones. “A sense of purpose beats having money any day.”
5. Act now like you’ll need your body for 100 years. [Bad lifestyle, poor eating habits, smoking, and inactivity can all be prevented].
6. Say “Yes” to opportunities whenever you are offered a new opportunity. Don’t be afraid to take a risk or even a leap of faith.
7. Choose a mate with extreme care. Take all the time you need to find a life partner.
8. Travel as much as you can. Sacrifice to do so.
9. Make any grudges right – now.
10. Life is short. [The oldest people said life went by the quickest].
11. Happiness is your choice, not the condition of having all the perfect circumstances. “My single best piece of advice is to take responsibility for your own happiness throughout your life.” Simply choose contentment.
12. Don’t waste your time with worry. Most things we worry about don’t ever happen.
13. Think small. Savor the small things of life. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life; things like “a morning cup of coffee, a warm bed on a winter night, a brightly colored bird feeding on the lawn, an unexpected letter from a friend, even a favorite song on the radio.”
Of course, you and I can learn from those who have already taken the journey.
But, just what does the Bible teach when it comes to having a godly attitude towards the elderly? Here’s what we find in the OT Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:32 “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
“Thou shalt rise up” = We are commanded to stand when the elderly are present. Those of us who have never learned the Bible as children usually don’t recognize the need to stand for anyone. Yet the LORD clearly commands us to stand when the elderly are in the room.
“The hoary head” = someone with white-to-grey hair or beard.
“Honor” = “show respect to,” and “reverence”
“The face of the old man” = “presence”
“Fear thy God” = You show reverence for GOD by showing reverence to the elderly.
Those who have passed through the joys and trials of life and are now at retirement age are given the privilege by God Himself of being honored by the rest of society.
Now, that’s the OT. Here’s what we read in the NT regarding showing honor to the elderly. I Timothy 5:1 “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; (2) The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.’
Let’s see what the LORD says about man of iron and let the Holy Spirit teach us the LORD’s ways from this elderly man. Look with me at II Samuel 19:32.
Here are the words from the Holy Spirit on Barzillai. II Samuel 19:32 “Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.”
David, as you know, was deposed; yet not defeated. He was removed from his throne. But, as you know, he returned to his place as Israel’s king.
And what we find on the day of his departure from Jerusalem is this. He traveled 85 miles north and crossed the Jordan River into the land of Gilead. In Gilead, David and those who stayed by his side stopped to rest in a place called Mahanaim.
The minute we come upon Barzillai in Scripture, we find him well on in years; eighty was very elderly in 1000 B.C. And he was a giver. And, as you are about to see, he was loyal when King David had been ousted from his throne. And he was great. This simply means that he was a very wealthy man.