Day 7 – Psalm 78:1-8; Proverbs 22: 7

¹ O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old— ³ what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. ⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, ⁶ so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. ⁷ Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. ⁸ They would not be like their forefathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. ^[1]

⁶ Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. ^[2]

Parents have the awesome responsibility of training their children in the Word of the Lord. We like to reference Proverbs 22:7 when we speak about training children, but we really should question how such a return will happen. The proverb seems so simple but it is really much more complicated than we have generally indicated. Psalm 78:1-8 helps our understanding by telling us what we are to teach and why we should teach it. Only if we train them will they put their trust in God and keep His commands. Then, though they go astray, what is in them will bring them back to the Lord.

We are to tell children about the “praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,” those marvelous things he has done throughout history for His people. We are to tell them about His power, power that parted the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptian army, power that saved wretches that you and me. We are to tell them about “the wonders He has done,” how He created the heavens and the earth and all that is them. These are the things we are to teach them as we train them in the laws, statutes and decrees. The problem, of course, is that many did not learn these things from their parents and are, therefore, unable to train a new generation. There is a great learning curve many must overcome, but we still carry the responsibility. Let us resolve today to increase our knowledge and understanding so we can teach our children.

Dear Lord, I confess my lack of knowledge and understanding of Your Word, Your will, and Your ways. I confess I have not been as diligent in fulfilling my duty to train my children in Your laws, statutes, and decrees as I should have. Fill me with the knowledge of Your Word, wisdom and understanding so I may say the right things and give the right counsel. Open opportunities for me to, even now, train my children so they may train their children to know You, love You and serve You, in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.