(6) And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:Deuteronomy 6:6-9
(7) And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
(8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
(9) And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
After talking about being obedient to the law, and loving the one and only true God, Moses commands the people about extending these values to the next generation. We can see how to pass along God’s law to future generations by noticing three responses He commands an older generation to model for the younger generation.
First, He commanded them to own God’s Word for themselves. He told them that the law should “be in thine heart.” That means they know it, value it, and live it out. You can’t give what you don’t have. Often younger generations don’t love God and His Word because they were lead by people that didn’t own God’s Word themselves.
Second, He told them to talk about God’s Word with their kids. It’s not enough to believe it ourselves, we must talk about God’s Word with the next generation. How? We ought to do it in the every day course of life. Notice the four postures of when it is to be done:
- Lying Down
- Rising Up
In the mundane, everyday course of life we teach the next generation the Word of God. There are formal times of teaching at church and in the home, and informal times of teaching with the church and int he home.
Third, He told them to display God’s Word for their kids. He told them to bind it on their hands and foreheads, and to post it on their gates and doorposts. The idea is to keep the truths of the Word of God in front of their kids all the time.
Parents, Grandparents, Sunday School Teachers, Pastors, Youth Pastors, Uncles, Aunts, Neighbors, Friends…disciple the next generation! How? Not being hypocritical and living a genuinely godly life in front of them, telling them about God’s Word, and displaying God’s Word for them to see constantly. Ultimately teaching them to open God’s Word for themselves and teaching them to teach the next generation as well is the aim. What’s at stake? The eternity of future generations!
- Do you own God’s Word yourself?
- Who are you teaching? How are you doing at teaching?
- How can you display God’s Word to the next generation?