WHAT WILL WE TELL OUR CHILDREN?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.”

“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders - great and terrible - upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But He brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that He promised on oath to our forefathers. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.’"

Deuteronomy 6:13-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

This scripture passage that closes Deuteronomy, chapter 6 continues with the reminder to serve God and God alone, to revere and respect His awesome power and to remain obedient to His commands and decrees. If one would do these things, doing what was good and righteous in the Lord’s sight, then all would go well for that person and, in the case of Israel, they would be able to go in and take over the land promised to their fathers by the Lord.

In today’s message, I would like to focus on the second paragraph, verses 20 through 25, for it’s there that we find Moses giving God’s people the following direction:

“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders - great and terrible - upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But He brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that He promised on oath to our forefathers. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.’"

Here, we find Israel’s leader stating the obvious for there would come a day when the people’s children would grow up and inevitably ask questions about the way things were. One of those questions might be focused on why there are stipulations, decrees, and laws that must be followed and where that requirement originated.

As we have seen throughout this book so far, it’s obvious that the Lord never wanted Israel to forget all that He had done for them as well as all the direction and guidance He had provided. Within this, we need to note how it wasn’t just enough for the Israelites to not forget what they were to do and how they were to live. They were also responsible for passing all this down to their children so they would know their history and the God who was with them as much as He was with their ancestors.

Given this, the people of Israel were to give precise and thorough answers to their children’s questions, educating them about the past. They were to tell them about their Egyptian enslavement at the hands of Pharaoh and how there was a mightier hand, the hand of the Lord that rescued them from captivity with unmatched miraculous power. This included great “signs and wonders”, some of which were terrible as God brought judgment against Pharaoh and his people.

After that deliverance, God continued to be with His people, bringing them through the desert wilderness while giving them navigation, protection, and provision all the way to where they found themselves now, on the brink of crossing the Jordan River into Canaan so to “go in and take over the good land that the Lord” had “promised on oath” to their forefather – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As they did this, God vowed to thrust out all the enemies that were before them.

As they did all this, they were to remember their responsibility and obligation to “obey all” of God’s “decrees and to fear” Him so that they would “always prosper and be kept alive”. In the end translation, if the Israelites were “careful to obey all (the) law before the Lord (their) God, as He (had) commanded”, then that faithful obedience would serve as their “righteousness.’"

Indeed, Israel had a great deal to share with their children, all so they might come to know and respect the almighty, powerful God of Israel, the Lord of their ancestors and Lord of their life as well.

As I meditated on this passage with the Holy Spirit, it brought me to one fundamental question:

What will we tell our children, the ones who belong to God but have been entrusted into the care of us, earthly parents?

For as they grow older and want to know about the lives we have lived, when they ask us for guidance and wisdom, when they ask us to testify about our past experiences, what will we tell them?

Will we draw follow the blueprint found in today’s scripture passage, always referring them to the Lord by sharing all that He has done in, through, and around us?

Will we testify about how He has cared for us so much and been there to edify us, heal us, encourage us, test us and, most of all, love us throughout our lives?

Will we excitedly share with them how God didn’t wish for anyone to perish and so He surrendered His one and only Son Jesus out of love, allowing Him to die so someone who believes in Him as Savior will live forever?

I don’t believe there’s any doubt what the Lord wants us to do as He makes it clear through sharing His expectations with the Israelites while speaking through Moses. He wants His people to tell their children all about Him and what He has done, particularly when it comes to how He has provided deliverance while working great wonders and miracles all around us. He wants us to instruct our children regarding His Word, making sure they know His laws, commands, decrees, and stipulations.

In sum, we are to educate our children every day in regard to the Lord’s Word, will, and way and the best way we can do that is by pointing them to and connecting them with Jesus, the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life, the only One who was perfectly obedient and sinless in the sight of God the Father.

What will we tell our children?

Our God gives us the answers and expects us to do as He says.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.