Thought from today’s Bible reading from Psalm 73, 77-78.
“Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
“For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not for get the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Psalm 78:1-8).
The words of God are to be passed down from one generation to another today, just as they were under the Law of Moses when this was written. Below is a list of some of the lessons that need to be taught.
- God has given us His law (Psalm 78:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 9:21; James 4:12).
- Fathers are commanded to teach their children (Psalm 78:5; cf. Ephesians 6:4). If we do not teach our children, who will?
- Those who are “yet to be born” are obligated to obey God and teach His will to others (Psalm 78:6). This is possible because His word will remain the same (1 Peter 1:25; Galatians 1:6-9).
- We must put our confidence in God (Psalm 78:7; cf. Proverbs 3:5; Hebrews 11:6).
- We must keep His commandments (Psalm 78:7; cf. John 14:15; Matthew 28:20).
- We should learn from and avoid the mistakes of the past (Psalm 78:8; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:6-11).
It is vital that we teach the things which God has commanded us (the “dark sayings of old“), rather than look for some new and intriguing teaching.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Chronicles 6
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
