Teach Them Well

Daily Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 5-7

Daily Focus Passage: Deuteronomy 6

Parents and grandparents hold the responsibility of teaching their children and grandchildren well. Therefore, the material goes beyond the concept of education from a school and centers on teaching them well in the things of the Lord. In Deuteronomy 6, the Lord commanded the people to train and teach their children in the ways of the Lord. This training allowed them to equip the next generation to worship, serve, and follow the Lord faithfully. The same responsibility exists today for parents, grandparents, and the church. We must teach and train the next generation well.

THE LORD COMMANDS WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN

The children of Israel receive a command to teach the children. The people were to teach them the law given to them by the Lord and the history of the Lord's work on behalf of the people in the exodus. Each of these components catalyzed to promote faithful living in the life of the teachers and the students. As the Israelites taught, they remembered the greatness of the Lord and received encouragement through remembrance. The children learning received vital training to live faithfully under the Lord.

Today, believers and churches hold the responsibility to teach and train. We must encourage our children to follow the Lord and teach them how to live transformed by the Lord and under the influence of His Word. As churches, we must not negate the importance of training our children systematically and guiding them to a deeper understanding of the truth. As parents and grandparents, we must affirm what is true and trustworthy in the home. We must compete and battle for our children to learn and know the truth. We seek to teach because it prepares the way for faithful living and serves as an act of obedient worship.  

THE CHILDREN MUST LEARN TO LIVE

Genuine life only occurs in Christ. Outside of Christ, people constantly long for identity and belonging. They live unsatisfied and struggle with contentment because they constantly seek to fill the longing for purpose and belonging in places other than the Lord. Thus, the Lord commanded the people of Israel and believers today to train the children in the ways of the Lord because it offers them the opportunity to live truly.

The children can live to the fullest because the teaching allows them to know the ways of the Lord. Thus, those who teach and train must never add to or subtract from the Word of the Lord. This declaration came as a command from the Lord to the people in Deuteronomy 4:2. At the same time, the truth taught must become lodged in the heart and not in the mind alone. This promoted living life to the fullness of God's intention because his ways guide life. The teaching protects the children as they navigate the world's threats that could become forms of idolatry. Thus, like the Israelite parents, believers, parents, and grandparents, the church must engage the children with truth and train them to live to the fullness of God’s desire.  

WE MUST FULFILL THE COMMAND

The Israelites could not rely upon the other nations or people to declare the goodness and ways of the Lord. The people of Israel received the command and held to the obligation to fulfill it. They could never push the responsibility off to someone else. Likewise, believers and churches today must not push the task of training and teaching the children to someone else. Parents and grandparents cannot depend on the church to fill that gap. The church cannot expect the parents and grandparents alone to fulfill this task. A partnership must exist where the church is an equipping and supporting tool for the parents, who play the primary and most important role in this task. We must commit to one another to work in partnership to teach the generation the ways of the Lord.  

The task before us comes with long-term effects. Teaching our children means that we see the importance of investing in the church's future and the work of the Kingdom of God. As churches, we must seek avenues to provide training for parents, grandparents, and children. We must strive to offer opportunities to teach the ways of the Lord and challenge people to live under the command of the Lord. We must teach them well.