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Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
About half a million Israelites, twenty years old and above, left Egypt. But only two persons were able to enter the Promised Land.
When the nation reached the border at Kadesh Barnea, they sent twelve spies to scout the land they were about to enter. One man from each tribe was selected for the mission. It was an excellent plan and preparation for their entry.
The spies saw that the land was indeed good; it confirmed what God had promised them – a land flowing with milk and honey. To show proof of how fruitful the land was, they brought back a cluster of grapes. But its size was not what you and I expect! It took two men to carry that single bunch of grapes on a pole between them!
The spies also found out that the land was occupied by giants! This posed difficulty and grave danger. Ten of the spies recommended NOT entering the land – they concluded they were too small to fight the occupants and their expected outcome was certain defeat and death.
But Joshua and Caleb concluded otherwise. Well, they confirmed the presence of the giants and the obvious disparity between the Israelites and the giants. But their eyes looked beyond the giants and saw someone even bigger – God is far greater than the giants.
They tried to encourage the people to look beyond the giants and listen to what God had promised. They were confident that God would give them the land regardless of the obstacles. The giants could be defeated!
But the people abided by a democratic decision rather than by theocratic trust! And God felt that if they didn’t want to enter the Promised Land, then they needn’t enter. As a result, the Israelites spent the rest of their remaining years wandering around in the wilderness with no direction nor objectives. It was an aimless journey and a waste of a lifetime!
They were afraid to die at the hands of the enemy and ultimately died a slow, natural death. After forty years of purposeless living, when the last of the apostates were buried, God readied the new generation to enter the Promised Land.
Adam and Eve had failed to obey the first command. Those who were given the Promised Land daren’t enter it and even wished to go back to Egypt, the land of their slavery. Well, they were not able to return, and all died in the wilderness without entering the Promised Land. The new generation would have to make their own choices for their future. God was hoping that this new generation would do better and simply listen.
God continued to talk to them. Through Moses, God taught them the Ten Commandments and the six hundred and forty principles for daily living in Canaan, the Promised Land. The Ten Commandments was their constitution. The six hundred and forty principles were the articles and sections to guide them in the execution of God’s laws when they would occupy the land. These principles guided the Israelites’ behavior and relationships and trained them for nationhood and citizenship. These were all contained in the book of Deuteronomy. This is not a new set of laws, but a reiteration of what God had already instructed in the past. Moses reminded the new generation that God’s Word should reside not only in their heads but especially in their hearts.
To assure them of God’s blessings, they would have to launch a new spiritual education for their generation and the next. Life principles are transferable. A good inheritance is handed down from generation to generation.
Every member of the new generation was instructed to begin each new day with a prayer, a promise and reminder on how to spend the day. It is called the Shema.
Fathers were expected and instructed to lead in the education of their children. They should take note of the suggested components in the training program.
Curriculum
God has already decided on the curriculum. There is nothing new in the Law. After forty years, there are no changes. The Law is still the curriculum. The expectations are the same.
Open University
There is no specified place for learning. As long as teacher and students meet, any venue would be appropriate.
There is no time schedule in this school. The school operates during the waking time of the teacher and the students.
No hint of formalities and structure are suggested. Learning should be part of the normal interaction among family members. It is better when it is spontaneous and interactive.
Paternal Proactivity
The burden of the spiritual education of the family falls on the father!
Rev Dr Betia is a father of three children and a grandfather of one. Let’s hear from him:
“Deuteronomy is clear that fathers are not only the head of the family and home but of the home school as well! This is God’s design. This principle is reiterated by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, chapter six. Fathers should budget time, energy and creativity not only at work but in the home too. You are expected to be a good provider and a good teacher too. You would have to restructure your schedule and activities. And by the way, this is not optional; it is imperative. You are responsible and accountable to guide the life and behavior of your children.
The father must maximize and exhaust his creativity. Lectures are not allowed. The learning objectives must be impressed upon the children and not to be memorized. Lessons are better absorbed when caught rather than taught!”
Indeed! Didn’t we catch the attitudes and moral values of our teachers more so than the subject matter?
Reminders
Memory work is a difficult task. God’s Word should always be remembered and kept fresh in one’s mind. There’s no excuse for forgetfulness! God suggests ways to remember:
Wearing of something as part of one’s adornment serves as a reminder.
The wedding ring is a good example of this.
Furnishings and home decorations are also ways to remember God’s Word. The next time you redecorate your house, you should consider this and your interior designer could suggest more ways.
God continues to talk to man. Let’s Simply Listen.