Okay, I'll confess my eyes glazed over Deuteronomy today. I wish there was more separating it from Numbers and Leviticus ~ we just went through all this!! And yet, the fact that it's repeated makes it obviously important. Given the largely unwritten nature of communication at this time, when something was important or needed emphasis, it was repeated. We see a lot of that in the Wisdom books of the Bible, as well as in the messages of the prophets. We even see Jesus often using the phrase, "Verily, verily, I say unto you..." in the New Testament.
I've been re-listening to and soaking up an old Revive Our Hearts series lately on the first ten verses in 2 Peter, and following his statement of the purpose of the letter, Peter gives the reason for writing it: So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will ALWAYS be able to remember these things. (emphasis added)
We see repetition all over the Bible ~ God seems to be trying to get a few points across! And, of course, Deuteronomy was written for the children of the faithless generation of Israelites who died in the 40 years of wilderness wandering. Because the first generation of freed Israelites hadn't been faithful, Moses had to re-tell to the rising generation the stories of God's direction and provision as well as the judgements and punishments of the previous 40 years. One verse that really stood out is 4:9:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.How many of our children will be able to recite to their children how God worked in our lives? In our day and age of instant messaging and 140-characters-or-less texts, how often do we recount stories of God's work in our lives when we talk to our children? They get to hear the Bible stories ~ stories of God working in OTHER people's lives ~ but do we tell them about tough situations we've been in and how He's delivered us or provided for us? I certainly need to make more of an effort in this area. He is not only the God of the Israelites, He's the God of Tammi, too!!! He HAS done amazing things in my life and while they may not be as obvious and miraculous as many of the stories we read in the Bible, they are what will make Him a personal God in the eyes of my daughters. Repetition is VITAL!
Then in Luke we have the prophecies of Simeon and Anna upon meeting the 8-day old baby Jesus, and the remarkable story of Him as a 12-yr old, conversing with and astounding the religious leaders in the Temple. I think the verses that always stand out most for me are the very last two: "Then he went down to Nazareth with [Mary and Joseph] and was obedient (some translations read submissive) to them... And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
We don't know very much at all about Jesus' life before His baptism and public ministry began, but from these two short phrases, we do know that He honoured and obeyed His parents, and that He had to learn and develop emotionally and mentally just like everyone else.
I find that so amazing ~ that He had power as the Almighty God, and yet that He completely set that aside, was born a helpless infant, had to be trained and raised by His earthly parents, and then got His later education from the religious leaders, just like all the other boys His age. That He could "grow in favor with GOD" I find tough to wrap my head around. He was ONE with God from before the beginning of time!! And yet as a human child and throughout His adolescence and early adulthood, He GREW in favour. His human life had the same process and followed the same pattern ours do, both physically and spiritually, and yet...
He. is. GOD.
Tomorrow's passages: Deuteronomy 5-7; Luke 3.
4 comments:
Great post. You are so right about telling OUR stories of how God works in our lives to our children. I love your thoughts about how Jesus grew in favor with God. Thanks for sharing Tammi!
That verse in Deuteronomy jumped out at me too. It's so relevant to every person in every time throughout history. Be careful. Do not forget. Teach your children.
Definitely an area in which I need to make more of an effort. I tend to be too passive in Biblical teaching, letting kids' music, story CDs, and Sunday School do most of the work. Time to step it up and make it more personal!
Great reminder to tell kids about our own personal stories. Kids LOVE stories. And we can learn so much from them. Probably one of the reasons Jesus taught in parables so much.
And yet we think we won't be influenced by the "stories" we watch on tv or listen to in our music? Yeah, right. We need to wise up I think.
Love the thoughts about Jesus growing in wisdom, stature and favour. What an incredible concept. Loved the ROH segment on this too!
Thanks for the reminder to pass on our own stories of God working in our lives as well to our children. Thankfully, (though it didn't feel like thankfulness at the time!), we have recently endured some trouble that God has clearly shown His hand guiding our family. Student Aid trouble in university, job searching, and finding out that my dream job was coming to an end were all very trying times and yet as God worked in our situation it was very clear to us that God was in control. It was a powerful teaching time for our family.
I also thought of Jesus growing up obedient and how I, as a parent, often feel inadequate in the role of raising my kids and here Mary and Joseph were raising the son of God! I wonder how they felt about their role.
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