by Daniel Kim
As I walked around the library, I saw a little 1-2 year old boy with a sucker in his mouth, seated by himself while perusing a book. As I was walking back to my desk, the little boy got up from his chair and ran to his mom, saying something inaudible to her. The mother acknowledged that it was time for him to eat. As I contemplate this scenario, I realized that this little boy has absolutely no way to survive on his own. As rebellious as this 1-2 year old boy may be, there is no way he can provide for himself or meet the basic needs of survival, such as food, shelter, and clothing. He, like all children, must submit to a higher authority (in this case, the authority of his parents).
The Israelites understood the importance of submitting to a higher authority. Although the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Ex. 12:40), the Israelites submitted to an even higher authority. Ultimately, the Israelites submitted to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 3:15). Psalm 78 shows that the Israelites were to submit to the authority of God because the LORD had delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Ps. 78:42), performed His miracles in Egypt (Ps. 78:43-52), parted the Red Sea (Ps. 78:13, 53), led them through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire (Ps. 78:14), provided water at Horeb (Ps. 78:15), provided manna (Ps. 78:24), provided meat (Ps. 78:27), and even provided the Israelites with King David (Ps. 78:70-72). Therefore, the Israelites came to know, follow, and obey the LORD because of their experiences with Him. They submit to God’s authority because they have experienced His saving, sustaining, and protecting power.
In a similar way, the children staff members at Lighthouse have come to know the Lord through their own individual experiences as well. Each Christian has had an experience of God’s grace through the message of the cross. Hence, there is a clear understanding that the gospel is the power of God onto salvation (Rom. 1:16), that the gospel has the power to change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26), and that God demonstrated His love for us through the gospel (Rom. 5:8). Because of this experience of God’s love, Christians have a responsibility to follow the Lord and all His commandments, including His commandments in regards to children.
In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to bequeath the knowledge of the Lord to the coming generations. To name a few examples, the Israelites were to tell their children about the events that occurred (Ex. 12:23-24; Deut. 4:9-10; Deut. 11:2-7), the commandments of the Lord (Gen. 18:19; Ex. 20:3-17; Deut. 4:40; 5:7-21; 6:4-7; 11:18-21; 31:12-13; 32:46-47) and physical reminders of His faithfulness (Gen. 9:12-13; 17:12; Ex. 12:13-14; 12:26-27; Josh. 4:5-7). In Psalm 78, the psalmist Asaph (1 Chron. 15:16-17; 16:4,7; 2 Chron. 29:30) wanted to emphasize the importance “telling the coming generations” of the knowledge of the Lord.
By retelling the past events in Psalm 78:9-72, Asaph wanted the Israelites to tell the coming generations about “the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that he had done” (Ps. 78:4). The reason behind all this can be seen in verses 7, 8. They were to do this so that the coming generations “should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Ps. 78:7). Another reason for passing on the baton was so that “they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Ps. 78:8).
In Psalm 78:7, there are three reasons the Israelites were to tell the next generation about the Lord: The children were to…
- Set their hope in God,
- Not forget the works of God, and
- Keep His commandments.
Although this verse was addressed to the children of Israel, these reasons are still relevant today. Since this verse is still applicable today, I would like to do an Old Testament and present day analysis of the three reasons listed above.
“Set their hope in God”
In the Old Testament, the Israelites, were to hope in the LORD because he promised to lead them to the Promised Land (Ex. 3:8,17) and he promised he would protect them from their enemies (Deut. 31:3-8). Moses understood that the sole reason the Israelites were distinct from all the nations of the world was because the LORD was with them. In Exodus 33:16b, Moses says, “Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” For this reason, the Israelites were to put their hope in the Lord.
As a Sunday school teacher, I tell the children that they ought to put their hope in God as well. The children are taught that we are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Because of this truth, we will all face the judgment seat of God and give an account (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:5). But God provided a way of salvation for us (1 Tim. 2:5-6) and “while were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Therefore, the children are taught to put their hope in Christ, because he has the power to save us from our sin and from the wrath of God. Furthermore, this way of salvation is exclusive (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and is only possible through the person and work of Jesus. Therefore, the children are taught to put their faith solely in Jesus for their salvation.
“Not forget the works of God”
In Psalm 78, “forgetting” and “remembering” are reoccurring themes (vv. 7, 11, 35, 42), pertaining to the Israelites. The psalmist hoped that those who sang this psalm (this psalm is identified as a maskil) would “not forget the works of God.” Rather, the Israelites were to remember the deeds of the Lord. The Israelites were to remember the wonders God performed in Egypt (Ps. 78:12, 43-52), how God parted the Red Sea and did not allow their enemies to pass through (Ps. 78:13, 53), and how he led His people into the Promised Land (Ps. 78:54-55). As mentioned earlier, the Israelites experienced God in a unique way (Ex. 33:16). These experiences were not only for the Israelites to remember and recollect, but were to also point to God’s character. Since the Lord led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the land promised to their forefathers (Gen. 12:7; 13:14; 15:18-21; 17:8), they were to trust in His character.
Teaching the Bible stories such as Noah’s ark, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Exodus, and David and Goliath, all reveal the character of God, such as His justice, sovereignty, kindness, goodness, etc. Therefore, in the same way that the Israelites ought to have remembered the works of God so that they would trust in His character, children today should also be taught the works of the Lord so that they would also trust in His character. Moses attests to God’s character as he claims God to be “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Deut. 32:4). Furthermore, Paul claims that out of his own love and mercy (both attributes of His character), God chose to save sinners through Christ (Rom. 9:15-16,18; Eph. 2:4-5). It is important to teach children “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), so that they understand His character and he looking for in faithful, obedient followers. As they grow in their knowledge of God, the children can hopefully come to know that the Lord is trustworthy and that they should put their faith in Him.
“Keep His commandments”
In Deuteronomy 32:46-47, Moses tells the Israelites to “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Thus, the Israelites were to keep God’s law; to obey it, not to depart from it. The Lord gave the Israelites the 10 commandments (Ex. 20:3-17; Deut. 5:7-21) and the Mosaic law. Also, the Israelites were to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and might (Deut. 6:5).
Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). As Christians, we have received special commandments, such as to make disciples of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20), to love God and to love people (Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27-27), and to be faithful witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In regards to children, there are special commandments as well. For example, children are told to obey their parents in the Lord (Deut. 21:18-21; Eph. 6:1). Other commandments are important to teach children as well, such as not coveting (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21), not complaining (Phil. 2:14), and honoring our father and mother (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). These commandments are important because they impress upon the conscience of a child that there is a God, he has commandments to be followed and that God is the ultimate source of morality. In knowing this, the children can come to know the difference between right and wrong. Furthermore, children can come to understand that they are sinners in need of a Savior and hopefully they can realize that on their own, they are incapable of following God’s law perfectly and instead they must rely on an alien righteousness to be justified before a thrice holy God. Therefore, the law of the Lord should not be the endpoint in itself. Instead, the holy statutes of the Lord should point to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and specifically what he has done for us on the cross.
The overarching theme in Psalm 78 is one generation telling the next about the glory of God, or as our former senior pastor, Pastor John Kim, would say, ‘Passing on the greatness of God to the next generation”. Therefore, this implies that Christian parents should be telling their children about the greatness of God (Ps. 78:4). Furthermore, Christian parents should tell their children about the importance of submitting to the authority of God.
As I consider the little boy that was in the library, I understand that he, along with all children, must submit to a higher authority. I also know that along with submitting to his parents, he will one day have to submit to the authority of his teachers, his bosses, and ultimately to God (Rom. 14:11-12). As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to tell the next generation about the hope that we have in Christ, the great works that the Lord has done, and the commandments that he has given us. Christian parents have the unique privilege of telling their children of how they experienced God’s saving grace in their own lives. Also, as Christians, these parents understand the importance of authority.
Therefore, Christian parents should live their lives in a manner which shows that they too are under the authority of God. In this way, children can see the importance of joyfully submitting to a higher authority and hopefully, one day, their little hearts will be transformed the power of the Spirit through the message of the gospel (Ezek. 36:26; 37:1-9). Hopefully, in this way, children can experience the grace of God themselves and submit to the authority of the Lord. And hopefully, these children can accredit and thank their parents for faithfully modeling this higher authority, just as this young writer has had the honor and privilege of witness his own parents modeling this higher authority and being faithful in handing the baton of “passing on the greatness of God to the next generation.”