Remember the Lawgiver

Moses and the Ten Commandments

After delivering the Israelites from Pharaoh and their bondage in Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). These commandments served as a foundation for the rest of the law.

Yet in a sense, this foundation also had a foundation. The Ten Commandments provided the basis for the law, but the only reason the law mattered was because of the one who gave the law. So who was the lawgiver? That was God. They needed to understand this in order to appreciate the importance of the laws that were given. They were reminded of this in the “preface” to the Ten Commandments:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2).

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Bringing Up Children in the Lord (Part 5): Raising Children in a Wicked World

Bringing Up Children in the Lord

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

It would be difficult to find a society that was as corrupt as the one in the days of Noah. This society was so wicked that “every intent” of man was “only evil continually.” This degree of wickedness caused God to be “sorry that He had made man” and decide to “blot out man…from the face of the earth” (Genesis 6:6-7). Yet Noah found favor with the Lord because he was righteous (Genesis 6:8-9). He raised three sons in this wicked world (Genesis 6:10) and they were saved with their father.

Is it possible to successfully raise children in a wicked world? Yes! It has been done before and can be done again. However, that does not mean it will be easy. Parents must be diligent and trust in God’s plan, no matter how corrupt the world becomes.
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Bringing Up Children in the Lord (Part 4): Training Children

Bringing Up Children in the Lord

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

The training of children is done in two ways – by instruction (teaching them what is right) and by discipline (punishing them for doing what is wrong). Parents must take their responsibility to train their children seriously. Failing to train children in the right way will bring shame upon the parents. The wise man said, “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother” (Proverbs 29:15). So let us consider how parents ought to train their children.
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Bringing Up Children in the Lord (Part 3): Parents As Role Models

Bringing Up Children in the Lord

A righteous man who walks in his integrity—how blessed are his sons after him” (Proverbs 20:7).

When we think about raising children, we might immediately think of training them. This is done through instruction and discipline. We will consider this more in the next lesson. However, what we will deal with in this lesson is necessary to lay the foundation for the next. Parents must teach by example – walking in integrity (Proverbs 20:7) – so that their children can see the way of righteousness in practice. If parents fail to do this, children will eventually come to see them as hypocrites, thus making the parents’ instruction seem to be irrelevant. Parents must “practice what they preach.” Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). We must let our lights shine, especially to our children.
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Bringing Up Children in the Lord (Part 1): The Gift of Children

Bringing Up Children in the Lord

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).

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