Before we get to today’s article, I just want to mention that am writing from the perspective of a man that has experienced many of the challenges of which I write…. and those spiritual battles continue daily. The articles are implications of what it means to obey the commandment to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. They require some reflection and are particularly for Christians who, as Peter would say, are diligently seeking to confirm their calling and are making every effort to supplement their faith. Said more succinctly, serious Christians. If you know other believers who desire to walk more faithfully with the Lord, please forward an article to them and tell them to sign up for future articles. Thanks so much!
Before moving to examine the next verses that God commands parents in their parenting of children, let’s read the verses.
Deuteronomy 6:10-19 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised.
Well, we didn’t get very far on the parenting specific verses before God is pausing to proclaim a message that He has already said numerous times. Why does God continue to put an absolute priority on these things? The obvious answer is that we need to hear it.
In verses 10-12, the Israelites are told to not forget what God has done after they have achieved so much in the new land. Yes, that is what WE do as well. When things are going bad, we cry out to the Lord begging for His mercies and when He is blessing us, we forget to give the continuous and passionate thanks and praise that He deserves. And, we even have the nerve to reflect on what has happened and silently congratulate ourselves for the part that we may have had in the achievement, effectively putting us on the altar of worship. Thanklessness is a terrible sin and is the mark of an unregenerate person (Romans 1:21).
That said, The Lord follows in verse 13 with the command to fear Him! Yes, fear is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom and without that proper fear, we may foolishly behave as if God doesn’t see what we are doing.
Next comes verse 14 with yet another warning against idolatry. Again? Yes, again. You see, it is impossible to follow God’s commands about parenting children and be an idolater at the same time. We cannot teach the kids what we don’t know or functionally believe ourselves. Flipping back over to the New Testament again, Paul uses the Old Testament to instruct the New Testament believer in the Corinthian church:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:1-14)
Heading back to Deuteronomy 6, verses 15-18 are more of the previous commands and warnings: do and obey, so positively speaking it will go well with you, or negatively speaking, you will be destroyed off the face of the earth. This kind of language from almighty God should be enough to instill a holy and reverent fear, but does it? We will find later that it did not take in almost every man at that time. What about us? Do you believe that God brings consequences into your life for your disobedience? Do you fear God in such a way that it prevents you from sinning? If not, why not?
Finally, we need to think about verse 19. God promised to thrust out all of their enemies, but it wasn’t going to happen without them fighting the battles. Likewise, God would bring blessings to their children, but it wasn’t going to happen without the hard work of parenting- diligent teaching. In a similar way, we must slay the dragons of sin and idolatry in our lives. As Paul writes, we must work out our salvation (our Christian walk with the Lord) with fear and trembling, as God works in us (Philippians 2:12).
So, here is the big question: Why is idolatry and loving the world so hard to kill? I think it’s because “love is blind.” You’ve seen it before, and you may have even been the person I am describing here. It’s like that teenage girl that is dating the, “bad boy.” Parents and friends warn the girl again and again that the guy has significant character faults, and the relationship is going to bring pain. But she can’t see it. In fact, the more the accusations are brought against him, the more entrenched she gets in denial. The facts are plain to see, but she can’t see them because she refuses to see them. She prefers blindness rather than give up the idol of her heart. She may even agree that some of his alleged faults are true and that she is experiencing some pain in the relationship as a result of them, but she follows that agreement with a reason why he is not at fault or that the problems are temporary. Eventually, marriage follows and so does the divorce, and the pain of it all finally allows her sight to return albeit, way too late.
We love our idols and will think of various ways to justify keeping them. We cling to them because we know what they are and what they can do for us. We can see and touch and feel them. We can even control them and they never ask us to fight sin. Often, when we get a glimpse of our idols and begin to come under conviction, we pull the blinders down over our eyes and put off the truth for another day. Sometimes someone will confront us over our idol and our pride- ridden response is to dismiss them as judgmental, self-righteous, or extreme.
For my daily battle with idolatry, I ask myself five simple questions about the time I am spending on something or how I think about it. The questions help me hold everything up to the bright light of scripture and if the answer is “no’ to any of these questions, I have an opportunity to confess and repent.
- Does what I am doing with this particular thing please God? (1 Corinthians 10:31)
- If Jesus Christ was visibly standing next to me, would I be doing this?
- Does what I am doing make me more like Christ? (Romans 8:29)
- Does what I am doing or thinking fit with the command to seek first His kingdom and contribute in some way to the furtherance of the Great Commission? (Matthew 6:33; 28:19-20)
- Does it use the time that God has given me in ways that bring glory to Him? (Psalm 90:10-12)
Alert! Critical thought following here: And when you have girded up your loins to complete this exercise, apply the same questions to what you are teaching or allowing into the lives of your children.
Writing in his book, “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices,” Thomas Brooks says that it is harder for a man to repent than it is to create the world. That’s how fallen we are. But Romans 2:4 and Romans 11:22 tells us that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. So, I’ll end with an excerpt from Alistair Begg’s modernization of Spurgeon’s devotion on Ephesians 3:19 and I invite you to pray along with me, that God will blow away the scales of my eyes so I will not only see my idols, but give me the strength to destroy them.
Ephesian 3:19 The Love That Surpasses Knowledge
The love of Christ in its sweetness, its fullness, its greatness, its faithfulness passes all human comprehension. Where can we find the words to describe His matchless, His unparalleled love toward the children of men? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow simply skims the water without diving into its depths, so all descriptive words merely touch the surface, while immeasurable depths lie below. Well might the poet say, O love, thou fathomless abyss!
For this love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless; no one can fully comprehend it. Before we can have any right idea of the love of Jesus, we must understand His previous glory in its height of majesty, and His incarnation upon the earth in all its depths of shame. But who can tell us the majesty of Christ? When He was enthroned in the highest heavens He was very God of very God. By Him the heavens were made, and all its inhabitants. His own almighty arm upheld the spheres; the praises of cherubim and seraphim perpetually surrounded Him; the full chorus of the hallelujahs of the universe flowed without ceasing to the foot of his throne. He reigned supreme above all His creatures, God over all, blessed forever. Who can tell His height of glory then? And who, on the other hand, can tell how low He descended? To be a man was something; to be a man of sorrows was far more. To bleed and die and suffer—these were much for Him who was the Son of God; but to suffer such unparalleled agony—to endure a death of shame and desertion by His Father—this is a depth of condescending love that the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom. Herein is love! And truly it is love that “surpasses knowledge.” O let this love fill our hearts with adoring gratitude and lead us to practical demonstrations of its power.
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Last modified: March 31, 2023
