11.8.26 – Not Too Late
When Yeshua was asked the question, "What is the greatest commandment?" He responded with an introductory statement of the Shema:
"Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself..."
In the passage, Yeshua is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5. Moses continues: "And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart, and you shall teach (shinan) them diligently to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:4–7).
We are five weeks into our studies in the book of Genesis, and for husbands toward their wives and parents toward their children, it is a good reminder that God commands us—specifically parents—to teach His instructions to our children. Let me say that again. God commands parents to teach specific instructions to their children. Those instructions are found in the Torah. In fact, this verse comes immediately after the Shema, a call to remember who God is and why Israel—the olive tree and nation into which we have been grafted (Rom. 11; Eph. 2)—is chosen. God does not say, "Send your children off to school to learn about life." He does not say, "Just live correctly and let them watch you." He does not say, "Give them a Bible, take them to church, send them to youth group." He says, "You teach them." Parents are responsible before God for what their children learn. Oh, and did you notice that the teaching happens all the time?
We live in a society where parents are running ragged, taking their children from one event to another to teach them wonderful skills—and I do mean wonderful skills, like playing piano or gymnastics or even learning a technical trade. But the area that is most important seems to get neglected.
Let us go back to our text... Actually, the word here is only metaphorically about teaching. In fact, in Scripture, this is the only place that the word is translated "teach." All the rest of the occurrences of this word are about something entirely different (but intimately related). The Hebrew verb shinan means "to sharpen." God is literally telling parents to sharpen their children with the whetstone of His Word.
The pictograph makes it even clearer. Shin-nun-nun paints the picture of teeth (shin) and life (nun). But notice that nun is repeated. Teeth of life twice. It is not just biting into life. It is biting into life twice. And for that, you need very sharp teeth. You need to "teach" your children how to consume life twice over. You need to polish them to a point so that they can penetrate truth and falsehood and live accordingly. How do you do that? By talking about God's words when you sit, when you stand, when you walk, when you lie down, and when you get up.
This is a terrifying commandment for most parents today. Why? Because most of us have not done what God told us to do... I resemble this remark! We did not make it a daily, hourly practice to speak of His words with our children. We opted for substitute education. We let the professionals handle the job. School, preachers, Sunday school teachers, television, cultural influences, and the plethora of media manipulations presented a 24/7 deluge of misdirection and misinformation. Oh, I do not mean that getting an education is not important. Of course it is. But God is not telling you how to teach mathematics or economics or psychology. He is telling you how to teach His instructions for living. Today's culture teaches children how to use the world for gain. God wants you to teach your children about Him, His character, His community, and His perspective. Unless they learn this, their teeth will be dull indeed. They will not be able to bite through the false premises of the culture. They will be the ones eaten instead of being the ones who do the feasting. And of course, this cannot be done if the parents themselves are not practicing the same habits in the Word.
On this first day of the week, as many of us were off to Sunday school and Sunday morning worship service, maybe we need to reconsider living out the greatest commandments that our Master has given us, since many of us have not fulfilled this commandment. Perhaps you recognize the impact your disobedience has had on your children (the third and fourth generations). Perhaps you have not been the sharpening stone you needed to be. It is never too late. God honors confession, repentance, and obedience. It is just much harder to recover character than it is to keep it.
With the confusion and chaos of our society, it is probably more important than ever for us to have our focus back in the book that gives us instructions for life.
This week we start the Torah portion of Toldot, Genesis 25–28. There is a lot of truth in there to govern our lives. May we internalize them and pass them on to our children, physically and spiritually.
Shalom,
Alan
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