Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months. Lord Shaftesbury

Mother’s Day can be so different for everyone. Many of us no longer have our mothers with us, some had a bad mother child experience, some were not able to have children. All I can say is, in all of these God’s mercy will help us deal with it.

What about the Next Generation?

Judges 2:6–14
6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. 7And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Jehovah that he had wrought for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, that knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baalim;
12 and they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked Jehovah to anger. 13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.

This is a Word for All of Us, not just Mother’s

We will look at this on behalf of the children: the children in our church families and the ones not yet born. They can’t speak for themselves, and so God has spoken for them.

I hope we will apply what God has said for the children to our church family. I know that some of you don’t have children and never will. Others have children who are grown. Nevertheless, I we need to speak to this because it is crucial that what God has to say about children to be part of our shared Christian view of life.

It is important that all of us, even us old people know what God says concerning children, and that children know what God says concerning age. Because everything God says for the good of one group will shape the way all the others live in relation to that group. And every group must assist in the preservation and transmission of all God’s revelation to the next generation

There came a Generation That Did Not Know the Lord

Joshua died when he was 110 years old, according to Judges 2:8. He had brought the people of Israel into the promised land of Canaan, he led them through many victories, and had set them a good example of faith in God. After his death, others of his generation lived on for a while, but then they too died out. While they lived, the people of Israel served God faithfully, because the memory of his greatness was preserved.

“The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work which the Lord had done for Israel.” While the memory of God’s greatness and the work he did for Israel was alive, the people maintained their devotion to God.

But after the death of Joshua and those who had seen God’s mighty acts, “there arose another generation after them, who did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.”

The result of this ignorance was, The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. God’s response to this was, “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers.”

Look at the facts.

The people revered and served the true God because Joshua and his generation kept the memory of God’s mighty acts alive among the people.

A new generation arose who for some reason did not know God or his work for Israel.

This new generation forsook the true worship and turned to other gods.
God brought the judgment of his wrath upon them.

Lessons we must learn.

When the knowledge of God is preserved in a community, especially by those who have personally experienced God’s power, faith is nourished and obedience flourishes.

If we parents allow our children to grow up without this knowledge of God, we serve not only their ignorance and unbelief, but also their destruction.

Therefore it is the solemn duty of all parents to teach their children about God and his saving work, so that the next generation will know and be saved.

It is God’s will that parents assume responsibility to teach their children what God has revealed about himself. It is the parents who have the first and foremost responsibility to see that our children think correctly about God.

There is a Biblical Testimony to Parents

Deuteronomy 6:4–9. The most important commandment in all of Jewish Scripture is: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Jesus said that was the first and great commandment. And every Jew knew, what comes next in this great text. “And these words which I command you shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children.” The first assignment a parent has after loving God is to store God’s Word in his heart and teach it to his children.

These same two priorities are commanded in Deuteronomy 4:9: “Take heed and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.” This is a word to grandparents too!

Deuteronomy 11:18, 19: “You shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul … And you shall teach them to your children.” God’s design for the preservation of historical revelation is the family. Within the Christian community the main link between what this generation knows and what the next generation will know is the link between parent and child.

Joel 1:3 “Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.”

When we come to the New Testament, Jesus rebuked his disciples in Matthew 19:14 when they tried to send the children away.

13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should lay his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus received them and blessed them, and in doing so, commended the parents for their concern. One of the implicit lessons of that text is: Parents, bring your children to Jesus. Today the way to Jesus is through his Word. Parents, make Jesus known to your children through his Word.

Paul instructed parents and children how to relate to each other in a Christian household, in Ephesians 6:1–4 and Colossians 3:20, 21, he simply reaffirmed the Old Testament pattern: Children obey your parents; fathers bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

The Scriptures make it clear that it is God’s will that the family be preserved and that parents assume primary responsibility under God for getting biblical and doctrinal knowledge into the heads and hearts of their children.

Evidently when Judges 2:10 says that another generation arose who did not know the Lord, it is because many parents had neglected their God-ordained responsibility. The result was that the new generation forsook the Lord and brought judgment on itself. It is clear, then, that if we parents neglect this duty, we serve not only the ignorance and unbelief of our children, but also their destruction.

If we do this, we will be swaying a children to follow a certain way, is that right?

Some might say that parents have no right to prejudice a child regarding what he will accept as true. It is better to leave all religious options open, and then when he chooses one, it will be owing to authentic commitment, not to parental authority.

This is false because;

1) It goes counter to all the teaching of Scripture that parents are not to teach truth about God.

2) It is impossible not to teach children about God, because not to teach them is to teach them plenty. It teaches them that Jesus does not matter much, at least not nearly as important or exciting as, fishing, sports, educational stuff.

3) It is not true that teaching children about God has to make them close-minded and irrationally prejudiced. If parents see compelling reasons for being a Christian, they can teach these to their children as well.

Nobody accuses a parent of influencing a child’s cosmology because he tells the child the world is round, and the little stars at night are bigger than the earth, and the sun really stands still while the earth turns. Because we know these things are so and can give evidence to a child eventually that will support this truth. And so it is with those who are persuaded for good reasons that the Christian faith is true.

4) It is simply unloving and cruel not to give a child what he needs most. Since we believe that only by following Christ in the obedience of faith can a child be saved for eternity, escape the torments of hell, and enjoy the delights of heaven, it is unloving and cruel not to teach him the way.

Parents say, I don’t know enough to teach them.

I don’t know enough about the Bible and about doctrine to teach my children and to answer their hard questions. Th at is a cop out, if you know enough to be saved, you know enough to teach them.

It is never too late to begin to study and grow in your grasp of Bible truth.

Remember the God-given duty of parents to teach their children is far greater than the duty of a college teacher to teach his students.

Your sense of inadequacy should not stop you. You can learn and teach valuable things when you don’t know the answer to a child’s hard questions.

You can teach your child humility. If you are secure enough in God to show your ignorance rather than bluff and be a hypocrite, your child learns the beauty of humility.

You can teach your child to take some initiative of his own in solving problems. If you are reading 1 Samuel and you don’t know what Ebenezer means in 7:12, you can say, “Let’s stop at look it up in the Bible dictionary,” and so teach your child how to learn about what they don’t know.

God wants you to grow, and he will help you do what is right.

What if my children will not be still long enough for me to teach them?

My children won’t sit still long enough to listen to a Bible passage or receive instruction.

This is a real problem in the church today. Many parents seem to have lost their bearings when it comes to handling the disobedience of their children. It is a strange irony that intelligent parents who have strong and good convictions in most areas often seem to not know what to do when their children disobey. It seems as if many Christian parents have absorbed the notion that you can’t really (or shouldn’t) expect obedience from a child.

God’s word to this situation is that we parents need to recover the expectation that our children obey us, and that in all love and humility we administer firm and just discipline to secure that obedience.

Nothing has changed in the nature of children to make the Word of God from Proverbs unwise.

Proverbs 13:24: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Proverbs 19:18a: “Discipline your son while there is hope; do not set your heart on his destruction.” Proverbs 22:15, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it from him.” Proverbs 23:13, 14: “Do not withhold discipline from your child; if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.” Proverbs 29:15, 17, “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother … Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.”

As soon as a child is old enough to understand your command and has the physical ability to do it, he should be taught what is right to do and then punished for not doing it until he will obey at home and in public.

Hugging and kissing, and tumbling, loving, forgiving, and spending time with your children are all just as important as spanking. But some are so hard headed it will take a physical illustration, a spanking, for them to get it.

Parents, think how close the connection is between teaching your children about God and teaching them to obey you as God’s representative over them.

It is the solemn duty of parents to teach their children about God and the greatness of his saving work. Their salvation may hang in the balance, but so does your joy.

Proverbs 23:24, 25. “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begets a wise child shall have joy in him. Your father and your mother shall be glad, and she who bore you shall rejoice.”

God, help us fulfill our responsibilities to our children so that there is joy with them in this life, and their eternity and their children’s eternity will be with You.