TEACH THE CHILDREN. Deuteronomy 11 In this chapter, Moses lists the reasons Israel must love and obey God. Loving God is our response to His love for us. He demonstrated His love for Israel by delivering them from bondage in Egypt and providing for their needs during their wandering in the wilderness. His love has been demonstrated to us in “that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Obedience to the Lord is another response we give to Him. We obey His commandments by doing the things He tells us to do. Love and obedience go together. Love makes obedience something we want to do, and obedience is a blessing and a privilege, not a burden.
Obedience to God is not merely outwardly conforming to what I know is right but an expression of my attitudes, feelings, and purposes in life that I know please Him. Submission to God’s will is possible because of His grace in Christ. Serving God faithfully is an invitation, although a warning is implicit in that one who has been delivered from the wrath to come and the consequences of sin do have an obligation to serve the Redeemer.
Our attitude toward God and His word silently tells our children what we think about God. Do I take His commands seriously? Do I truly love Him? Am I willing to obey Him no matter what it might cost me? Will I commit myself to following Him no matter what other people do? Am I willing to do His will even if it is unpopular and may cause me to lose friends and even family approval? Much of child training is done by actions - what I do or not do. That does not mean that I should not tell them the reasons for my lifestyle and choices.
The children of the Israelites had never known what Egypt was like. At the time of this ceremony, the older generation of Israelites would have been teenagers or younger when they left Egypt. They would have experienced the love and provision of God for forty years and may have been inclined to take these things for granted. Moses charged them to make sure they passed on to their children and grandchildren who were born while on the wilderness journey the history of their nation.
All they knew was wilderness living. Stories about the glories of Egypt might have been attractive to them when they heard about the pyramids, the great cities, and the irrigated crops growing along the Nile River. They needed to be reminded of the first covenant with Abraham and then the renewed covenant with Isaac and Jacob. The promises to Joseph, the exodus, crossing the Red Sea – all the ways God had led them needed to be taught and impressed on the minds and hearts of the new generations.
The attractions of the world are all around us—there is no doubt about that. But our slavery to the world, its ways, and its costs need to be told to our children as a warning that just because something looks good doesn't make it right—justice with compassion results from being conscious of God and worshipping Him. A clear presentation of the issue of God’s dealings with us makes it possible for us to say what is needed and still not be harsh or unnecessarily judgmental.
The people of God need to tell those who are young the things they must avoid. Tell them about your experiences and the difficulties that come because of disobedience and self-will. Warn what happens if they follow a road that does not please God. Let them know the "pleasures of sin" are only for a season, and then comes the serious consequences that sin brings. Teach them the history of others who knew what was right but chose to do wrong. Don't let them think they can do what they want in spite of what God says, and they will be able to escape the inevitable truth that when we sow, we reap. We reap what we sow and we reap more than we sow.
Those who consciously decide to avoid what is bad will come to appreciate what is good. This does not begin with our children. This begins with us who claim to be children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. We will always be tempted to accommodate ourselves to the world and its attractions. To be popular is appealing because our flesh thinks, "The closer I am to being like everyone else around me, the more my friends and neighbors will be open to listen when I tell them about the Savior." However, there is a fallacy in this type of thinking. Those to whom we witness when we are trying to be like them will probably think, “Then why are you here with us doing what we do? You are no different than we are." God's word says plainly, "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing."
My teaching to those who are young will have a positive effect when I take heed of myself first and what I do. My ambition and self-satisfaction must not claim me at the expense of modeling my faith in God. The blessing of the Lord when I do what is right may not make me materially rich but will make me spiritually happy. My attitude toward God and the Word of God may not appeal to my children when they are young, but the "peaceable fruits of righteousness" will have a place to take root in their hearts. We may have to wait a long time to see the results of our teaching.
A new door was opening for the children of Israel when they entered the promised land. New ways of living, such as planting and growing crops from the Egyptian ways, were ahead of them. Community living, harvesting, and events surrounding that, the use of land, and paying attention to seasons were to be learned and taught to younger people. They were to be given land to use, and it would be their responsibility to possess and use it by preparing it for seed planting. Then God would do His part and provide the water from rain and warmth needed for growth. They would be sharing life and its benefits and blessings with God.
The Israelites were told plainly that they were being blessed if they did right and cursed if they did wrong. In fact, this was such an important principle that God told them to carry out a ceremony with this in mind at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. The children would not easily forget the sound of millions of voices speaking of the reasons for the blessing from one mountain and the reason for cursing on the other. Participating in that great ceremony was a commitment to do their part, and they would remember that it was the Lord God, not the false gods of the Canaanites, who gave life. If they did not give God the glory that fellowship with Him meant, He would withhold the rain.
Obedience comes when we are aware of God working in our lives. Our children must learn that the grace of God is undeserved, and unearned, and is the source of all our blessings. We live today under the blessings of the new covenant of grace alone demonstrated to us in all aspects of our lives. Grace should never be taken for granted or despised. To disregard God’s grace, add anything to it, or take away anything from it is insulting to God. Far too often, it seems like people “receive the grace of God in vain.” Grace offered and grace given do not mean we have a personal relationship with God. Grace received results in heartfelt love for God and the desire to please, serve, and obey Him.
Before I start teaching my children and others the word of God, I need to check myself out and see if I am really doing what God intends. I need to make conscious decisions for my daily life based on the scriptures of truth in my heart and soul. If it has the right place, the motivation behind my actions will be right. Then, the actual activities with which I am involved, whether it be the work I do to provide for the needs of my family or my work in the assembly of God's people I am a part of and my work for the Lord, will be what it should be. Unfelt truth is usually easily detected by listeners and may be considered spurious because of my inconsistency.
In the home life of God's people, there are opportunities to apply spiritual truth to the affairs associated with family living. Bible reading, audible prayers, and reading good books out loud with good lessons that apply to children are ways we can pass on the truth to those God has given us. Ways God has worked in the course of events in a day give us lessons to be taught. When we start with ourselves and our relationship with God and His word, we have something of value to pass on to our children.
Quite often, the benefit of those times in the home life extends to those we know in the public sphere. "Why do you do that?" "Why don't you do this?" are questions we are asked, and our children will be asked too. Our children deserve to have a ready answer that makes sense to their friends. We need to give a good answer to our faith and practice to those with whom we work. The consistent daily life of a believer may not produce faith in other people that we are aware of, but the seed of the word of God that is sown will have the desired effect that God wants. He is the only One who can produce life. We are the ones to sow the seed.
Obedience and love for God may not be popular among those with whom we live and work, but they do have a good influence. When it is in us and is a real part of our life and experience, we have peace that cannot be found in any other way. Peace is what most people want in life. Adversity will not overcome us or take away our peace, even though it may hurt us. Sin does not have dominion over us even though the pressures against us to conform to the world are great. Obedience and faith in us affect other people as well. It indicates that all that is happening in our lives is not seen. The things that are important to us are the unseen things. Most people live for what they can grasp for themselves. We who know God, love Him, believe in Him, and obey Him have a higher kind of life that escapes those without a covenant with God.
When a new covenant based on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins has been formed, the Holy Spirit's new birth brings us new life. That new life is evident when a believer is made a new creation. In terms of the new covenant, the choices we make have far-reaching effects. They extend to our children and grandchildren. There is an effect on those with whom we work and do business. A reputation is made as we apply the principles of the written word to our life and conduct and the decisions we make.
The children of Israel could possess the land of promise because God was at work on their behalf by the terms of the old covenant. He works on our behalf by the terms of the new covenant made by the blood of Christ. Despite the uncertain days in which we live, we can be at peace because "our times are in Thy hands," and God is able to "do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think." Let us teach our children so they, too, will be at peace.