LEGACY OF A FATHER-PROVERBS 13:22

Devotional

Day 1: A Good Man’s Inheritance Beyond Wealth

A legacy isn’t just money or property—it’s the spiritual imprint passed through generations. Like Solomon inheriting David’s devotion, true wealth lies in modeling godly character. This inheritance shapes how children perceive God, authority, and their purpose. A father’s choices ripple into eternity, determining whether his lineage walks in wisdom or wanders in confusion. The greatest gift isn’t stored in banks but etched in hearts turned toward heaven. [52:02]

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”
(Proverbs 13:22, ESV)

Reflection: What intangible legacy—faith, integrity, love—are you actively cultivating in your family? How might your daily choices today shape your grandchildren’s tomorrow?

Day 2: Seeking God With a Willing Mind

David charged Solomon to serve God with a “willing mind,” not grudging obedience. A willing heart leans into God’s presence even when feelings waver. It’s the difference between checking religious boxes and chasing divine connection. God sees past performative prayers to the raw hunger beneath. Like Solomon, those who seek Him wholeheartedly discover He’s already waiting to be found. [56:11]

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.”
(1 Chronicles 28:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your worship become routine instead of relational? What one step can you take this week to seek God with fresh willingness?

Day 3: The Blessings You Didn’t Ask For

Solomon requested wisdom but received riches, honor, and longevity. God often exceeds our narrow petitions, blessing what we overlook. His generosity isn’t limited by human imagination—He knows our unspoken needs. Like a father surprising his child with gifts beyond their list, God lavishes grace where we least expect it. Our task is to trust His heart when we can’t trace His hand. [01:05:34]

“I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart… Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.”
(1 Kings 3:12-13, ESV)

Reflection: What unexpected blessing in your life reveals God’s attentive love? How might gratitude for these “extras” deepen your trust?

Day 4: The Trail Your Choices Leave Behind

Every action is a breadcrumb trail for those who follow. A father’s absence, anger, or addiction becomes a roadmap for his children. But so does his integrity, presence, and repentance. Like the prodigal who “came back” because he remembered his father’s love, our failures aren’t final when we model returning to God. The clearest trails lead home to grace. [01:18:26]

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
(Ephesians 6:4, ESV)

Reflection: What emotional or spiritual “breadcrumbs” are you leaving daily? If someone followed your trail, where would it lead them?

Day 5: You’re Holding a Royal Inheritance

As co-heirs with Christ, we inherit what we could never earn—a kingdom identity. Earthly fathers may fail, but our perfect Father offers unshakable belonging. His legacy includes authority to speak life, peace amid chaos, and eternity without tears. Walking in this royalty means rejecting orphan mindsets and embracing our place at His table. [01:24:25]

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”
(Romans 8:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you still live like a pauper when God calls you royalty? How would claiming your inheritance change how you face today’s challenges?

Sermon Summary

Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children,” and that word inheritance gets bigger than money real quick. The legacy of a good father is not just what gets left for a child, but what gets left in a child. Proverbs is the book of wisdom, and Solomon, the wisest and richest man who ever lived, stands as living proof that a father’s legacy can shape a son’s whole life.

David leaves Solomon more than a crown. David tells his son, “Know thou the God of thy father,” and that is the real inheritance. David calls Solomon to serve God with a pure heart and a willing mind, because God searches all hearts and already understands every thought. God is not surprised by late-night plans, hidden sin, or secret motives. God already knows, but God also promises that when a person seeks Him, He will be found.

Solomon receives that legacy and begins to love God like David did. God comes to Solomon and says, in effect, “Whatever thou want, ask.” Solomon does not ask for long life, riches, or the death of his enemies. Solomon asks for an understanding heart, the ability to judge God’s people right, and the wisdom to know good from bad. God is pleased because Solomon seeks first the kingdom, and God gives him what he asked for plus what he did not ask for. Wisdom, riches, honor, and a unique name come running after him because his ways pleased the Lord.

The legacy of fatherhood then turns serious. A father leaves a trail, and that trail leads somewhere. Absence, anger, lies, bad examples, jail, early graves, broken identity, and wounded daughters can become an inheritance too. A father is like a mirror, and children often live out what got close enough for them to see. The question becomes, “What will the children inherit?”

Good fatherhood does not require a man to have a whole lot of money. Good fatherhood requires him to show up. Presence makes a difference. A man can give what he never had, and he can leave something holy in the next generation.

God the Father stands above every earthly father as the good, good Father. God leaves the greatest legacy by giving His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ makes His people not just heirs under Him, but co-heirs with Him, adopted into the royal family. The Father looks high, looks low, guides feet wherever they go, and cares even when life feels too heavy to carry.

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Key Takeaways

1. Leave something in the children [58:41] A father’s deepest inheritance is not stored in a bank, but planted in a soul. Money can run out, but a godly imprint can keep speaking after a man is gone. David’s legacy lived in Solomon because David pointed him toward the God of his father, not just the throne of his father. [58:41]
2. God already knows the heart [55:07] God is not shocked by what shocks a person about himself. Hidden motives, late-night choices, and secret thoughts are already open before Him. That truth is not meant to crush the soul, but to call it into honest seeking, because the God who searches the heart also lets Himself be found. [55:07]
3. Seek first what pleases God [01:01:04] Solomon’s prayer shows that the right request can reveal the right heart. He did not ask God to make him comfortable, rich, or victorious over enemies, but to make him wise for the sake of God’s people. When the heart wants what God values, blessings stop being something to chase and start being something God can trust a person to carry. [61:04]
4. A father’s presence shapes generations [01:21:24] A man may feel unqualified, unsure, or empty-handed, but showing up still carries weight. Presence steadies a house in ways that words and money cannot always do. Children often sleep better, stand stronger, and see clearer when a father’s faithful presence becomes part of their normal life. [81:24]
5. The Father gives the greatest legacy [01:23:35] God the Father did not leave His children empty. He gave His Son, made believers co-heirs with Christ, and brought them into a royal family. Earthly fathers may fail, but the Father who looks high and looks low still cares, still guides, and still carries what no human strength can hold.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[45:02] - Worshiping the Good Father
[50:44] - Proverbs 13:22 and Father’s Day
[52:25] - Solomon and the Book of Wisdom
[53:32] - David’s Legacy to Solomon
[54:23] - Know and Serve God Willingly
[56:11] - Seek God and Find Him
[59:39] - God Offers Solomon Anything
[61:04] - Solomon Asks for Wisdom
[63:09] - Blessings Already Belong to God’s Children
[76:08] - What Will Children Inherit?
[81:24] - Fathers Must Show Up
[83:35] - God’s Legacy Through Jesus
[89:26] - Invitation to Receive the Father’s Love
[93:00] - Prayer Over the Men

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Proverbs 13:22
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.” [51:42]

1 Chronicles 28:9
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” [54:23]

1 Kings 3:9-14
“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, 'Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.'” [01:01:04]

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [01:02:23]

Observation questions

In 1 Chronicles 28:9, what are the specific things David tells Solomon to do, and what reasons does he give for doing them? [54:23]
In 1 Kings 3:9-14, what did Solomon ask for, and what are the things he did not ask for? [01:01:04]
What are some examples of inheritance that go beyond money, both good and harmful? [01:16:08]
What repeated picture is used to describe the effect a father can have on children: a mirror, a trail, or an inheritance? How do those pictures help show what children often receive? [01:16:54]

Interpretation questions

Proverbs 13:22 speaks of a good man leaving an inheritance to his children’s children. How does that verse grow deeper when inheritance is understood as something left in a child, not only something left for a child? [58:41]
David tells Solomon to know God, serve Him with a whole heart, and seek Him. What does that show about the kind of legacy David most wanted to pass down? [56:11]
Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people well. What does that request reveal about Solomon’s heart and priorities at that moment? [01:01:04]
Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom of God. How does Solomon’s story help explain what it looks like when someone wants what pleases God before wanting comfort, revenge, or wealth? [01:02:23]

Application questions

A father’s deepest legacy is often what gets planted in a soul. What has been left in your life by a parent, grandparent, or spiritual father figure—good or bad—and how is it still shaping you today? [58:41]
God already knows the heart, the thoughts, and the plans. Is there any area of life where honesty before God has been delayed, hidden, or avoided? What would it look like to seek Him there instead of covering it up? [55:07]
Solomon asked for wisdom instead of riches, long life, or the downfall of enemies. If God placed that kind of question in front of the group today, what would each person be tempted to ask for first, and what might a kingdom-first request sound like now? [01:03:26]
Presence matters. For those raising children or helping guide younger people, what does “just show up” look like in a real and practical way this week? [01:21:44]
Some people carry pain from a father’s absence, anger, lies, or bad example. How has that kind of wound shown up in relationships, identity, or trust, and what would healing under the Father’s care begin to look like? [01:16:26]
A person can give what he did not receive. Where is God calling someone to break a family pattern and leave a different legacy than the one handed to them? [01:23:35]
God the Father gave His Son and made believers co-heirs with Christ. How does that truth speak to someone who feels unwanted, empty, or like they came from a broken story? [01:24:01]

Sermon Clips

51s

“He says, today He said, but if you forsake him, he will cast you forever. Don't forsake the lord, y'all. Tell him don't leave him. Don't leave him. He left his son a legacy. So when David dies, Solomon began to love God just like his father David did. See, I believe you should do two things. Fathers, you should leave something for your children, and you've got to leave something in your children. Let me say it again. As a father, not just a father, but a parent, you've to leave something for your children, but most of all, something in your children.”

57s

“You make a difference, man. You make a difference. No matter how poor you are, you think you are. If you didn't have a father, make sure you had. You give what you didn't have because you wanna make a difference. Somebody say a legacy of a good man. Legacy of a good man. And I'm so glad over two thousand years ago, god our father left us a great legacy. Left us a legacy where we don't have he gave his son Jesus. Now we are co we're not heirs up under Jesus Christ. My Bible say, we are co heirs. Y'all got it? Now, it's be different if I own a car and I'm a give it to you. But are we co owners? That mean I get to drive as much as you do.”

39s

“Can you imagine you are co heir with Jesus? The Bible says you are peculiar people. You adopted into the royal family. Oh, somebody just say, I'm a queen. Tell them, I'm a king. Look at somebody and say, you're looking at a king. You're looking at a queen. Yeah. Dennis, look at her and say, you're looking at a king. Look back at her and say, you're looking at a queen. God left us an inheritance of eternal life, eternal bliss, blessings, healing, done authority to call things that are not as though they were.”

60s

“See, I'm a tell you, my children taught me I I was scared that I was gonna make some bad and wrong decisions, but I learned all I had to do was show up. Even I don't know what to say. Just show up. They wanna talk. Just be there. I don't know what to tell them, but just show up. It's to the point now all my kids are are grown in college. I was gone too long yesterday up at the church practicing. One by 23 years old, like, you've been going all day. Where you been? It's something about me being around the house where everybody sleep a little better. Stuff ain't right. Listen. I'm like, what you want? I don't want nothing to join the way you was. Because my presence makes a difference.”

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LEGACY OF A FATHER-PROVERBS 13:22 | PASTOR CHRIS DIXON