Topical Bible: Parents: Their Duty to Their Children Is: To Tell Them of God's Judgments

◄ Parents: Their Duty to Their Children Is: To Tell Them of God's Judgments ►

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In the biblical context, parents hold a significant responsibility to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord, which includes teaching them about God's judgments. This duty is rooted in the understanding that knowledge of God's righteous decrees and actions throughout history is essential for cultivating a reverent and obedient heart in the next generation.

The Bible emphasizes the importance of recounting God's mighty works and judgments to children. In Psalm 78:4-7 , the psalmist declares, "We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them—the children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children, that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments."

This passage underscores the generational transmission of God's deeds and judgments as a means to instill trust and obedience in God. Parents are called to be the primary educators in this spiritual heritage, ensuring that their children understand the consequences of disobedience and the blessings of faithfulness.

The book of Deuteronomy further reinforces this duty. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 , Moses instructs the Israelites, "These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." This command highlights the comprehensive nature of parental teaching, integrating the knowledge of God's laws and judgments into daily life.

Moreover, the narrative of God's judgments serves as a warning and a guide. In the account of the Exodus, God instructs Moses to ensure that future generations understand the significance of the plagues and the deliverance from Egypt. Exodus 10:2 states, "so that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them, and so that you may know that I am the LORD."

The New Testament also reflects this principle. In Ephesians 6:4 , Paul exhorts fathers, "Do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." This instruction includes teaching about God's judgments as part of the broader framework of Christian discipline and instruction.

Parents are thus entrusted with the sacred duty of imparting the knowledge of God's judgments to their children, ensuring that they grow up with a clear understanding of God's holiness, justice, and mercy. This teaching is not merely for intellectual knowledge but is intended to shape the character and faith of the children, guiding them to live lives that honor God and adhere to His commandments.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Joel 1:3
Tell you your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Domestic Relation.
... their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols." Ezek.20 ... One important duty
of children is to care for the ... If the parents become old and feeble, or the ...
/.../orr/the gospel day /chapter xiii the domestic relation.htm

The Duty of the People of God to Excite Others to Seek this Rest.
... with this earnest request to all Christian parents that read ... have compassion on the
souls of their poor children ... groan under the neglect of this weighty duty. ...
/.../baxter/the saints everlasting rest/chapter ix the duty of.htm

The Blessing of God on Filial Piety.
... We sometimes see godly parents, who had labored before in ... counsels of those who loved
them as their own souls ... these things be foreseen, sense of duty would only ...
/.../lee/sermons on various important subjects/sermon xxiii the blessing of.htm

Infancy.
... how many Christian parents are recreant to this duty! How many destroy their children
by the over-indulgence of a misdirected love and sympathy, and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/philips/the christian home/chapter ix infancy.htm

Prevailing Prayer.
... are not heard, and why so many pious, praying parents have ungodly ... It was his duty
to come before. ... persevere in prayer, for if they turn off their attention to ...
/.../finney/lectures on revivals of religion/lecture iv prevailing prayer.htm

What are Evidences of Backsliding in Heart.
... I have known professed Christian parents to get into such a ... But to pray as a duty
and as if we were ... More persons are ensnared by their tables than the Church ...
/.../finney/the backslider in heart/iii what are evidences of.htm

Christian Behavior
... DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS. There lieth also a duty upon children to their
parents, which they are bound both by the law of God and nature ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/christian behavior.htm

Infant Salvation
... for want of power to perform the duty how, then ... clear that even that would prove
our children to have ... believe, not by baptism, not by their parents' faith, but ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 7 1861/infant salvation.htm

Directions How to Lead a Heavenly Life Upon Earth.
... If it cast our first parents out of paradise, and ... God of his glory and themselves
of their consolation. ... greatest destroyer of our comfort in this duty, is our ...
/.../baxter/the saints everlasting rest/chapter xii directions how to.htm

Toleration
... in religious controversies, and indulging by their own firesides ... others, the children
of strong Protestant parents, taking refuge ... on it as a sacred duty to the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/sermons for the times/sermon xxi toleration.htm