“Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts”. DEUTERONOMY 6:3-6
The book of Deuteronomy can be called book of repetitions literally translated from Greek which may sound “Second Law” from Duet – two, Nomos – Law.
As the children of Israel were about to enter the promised land to mix with remnants of the original inhabitants of the land – people who did not know the God of Israel (pagans), those who practiced abominable things in the eyes of the Lord, it became necessary (for the sake of emphasis) to repeat the law and expatiate it, more so, as those who moved in to occupy the land were new generation who were not conversant with the law as given in Mount Sinai.
The book is specially addressed to the new generation on the importance of obedience to God.
The Hebrew title is HADDEBHARIM “The words” taken from the opening phrase 1.1 “These are the words” The parting words of Moses to the new generation given in oral form that will endure to all generations.
The people they were about to meet in their new home were polytheists (believers and worshippers of many gods). In Exodus chapter 20, God had commanded thus – “you shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
Now, at the eve of entering the Promised Land (Read Deuteronomy 1:3). Moses had to remind them that the LORD their God is one God…
The reason for this is to keep them totally committed, obedient and attached to their God so that the promised prosperity would not turn to curses. (Read Deuteronomy 28).
The generation that Moses addressed was given the assignment of making sure that the teaching endures to all generations.
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk to them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorsteps of your house and on your gates” Deuteronomy 6:7 (see also Deuteronomy 11:19).
God asked the people to put all these measures in place to ensure that their children did not go astray as it was not possible for them to isolate themselves from the world around them.
Today our children are exposed to the internet, western culture, peer group pressure, erroneous doctrines from different denominations.
The question arises; what are we doing to make sure that these gifts from God (Psalm 127:3) do not go astray. The task of bringing our children to know and fear God is for both Pastors and parents. The word of God says “teach a child the way he should go and when he is old, he will never depart from it”. (Proverb 22:6).
It is unfortunate that the blame for this drift to these places of
erroneous teachings is heaped on the doorsteps of the church
and her Leadership, but as parents how far are we fulfilling
God’s injunction to “teach them to our children at home and at
work”.
How is our bible study and devotional life at home? Do we understand that example is better than precept?
Some parents do not know or do not care where or whether their children worship. New generation of Christian Children is not just those who attend Church Services but Christ-like children, Children with mind-set of Jesus. Children that will obey and fear God, for Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
This statement clearly shows that not every Church goer is a Christian. Some of us are so concerned about the academic needs of our children while neglecting their Spiritual wellbeing.
As we mark the 57th Independence Anniversary of this country today, if we hope to depart from our present state of corruption, laziness, injustice and other vices we must strive and pray to raise a new generation of Christians in the real sense of the word.