Deuteronomy 11:19-21 "And ye shall teach
them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when
thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
(20) And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house,
and upon thy gates: (21) That your days may be multiplied, and the
days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to
give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."
The eleventh chapter of Deuteronomy is a history lesson. As Moses has the
people gathered together, he reminds them of where they have been and where
they are going. Sometimes it is difficult to take the next step forward
without remembering where you have been. Motivation comes in wanting something
better. The question that must be answered is this, "What is better?"
What are the values to which we are pressing toward?
History is very important. The Lord begins this particular chapter by talking
directly to the parents. In verse 2, God says directly: "I speak not
with your children which have not known, and which have not seen." Then in
verses 7 and 8, "But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD
which he did. Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I
command you this day, that ye may be strong." The things which the
parents had seen, but not the children, were all the actions of God in both
providing needs and administering chastisement for disobedience. God said,
"Your children have not seen what I did to Egypt in bringing you out. They
did not see what I did to those who brought strange fire to my altar. They did
not see what happened when the thousands wanted to return to Egypt rather than
continue on toward the Promised Land." They did not see; therefore,
said the Lord, "You must teach them."
The Psalmist declared in Psalm 127:3, "Lo, children are an heritage of the
LORD." As such, the parents receive the blessing of having children and
also the responsibility of teaching them. Paul admonishes in the book of
Ephesians, chapter 6:4, "Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord." Both the Old Testament and New Testament agree in instructing
parents to have an "hands on" approach to raising our children.
In our Deuteronomy text, God is very specific to tell parents to constantly
teach their children about the Lord.
The first thing parents must do is to be familiar with the Word of God for themselves. We cannot teach what we are not familiar with. God said, "Lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul." (Deuteronomy 11:18) Then, they were to share those words with their children while sitting in the house, walking down the road, early in the morning and late at night. They were to be on the doorposts of the house and on the gate as they entered their yards. God was (and still is) very emphatic about teaching our children. There was a specific reason for this. The Lord willing, tomorrow we will look at the results for obeying God and the consequences for disobedience. We must be very sure that God is serious about His Word and our responsibility toward His Word.