Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy 6, last week we ran out of time, so we stopped at verse 5. So we'll look at verses 6 to 9 tonight. I'll read the chapter, remind us of the particular context, and then we'll look, as I said, at verses 6 to 9. But beginning in chapter 6 at verse 1. Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess. "'that you may fear the Lord your God, "'to keep all his statutes and his commandments, "'which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, "'all the days of your life, "'and that your days may be prolonged. "'Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, "'that it may be well with you, "'and that you may multiply greatly "'as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you, "'a land flowing with milk and honey. "'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, "'with all your soul, and with all your strength. "'And these words which I command you today "'shall be in your heart. "'You shall teach them diligently to your children, "'and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, "'when you walk by the way, "'when you lie down, and when you rise up. "'You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, "'and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. "'You shall write them on the doorposts of your house "'and on your gates. So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things which you did not fill, hewn out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant. When you have eaten and are full, then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, and shall take oaths in his name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. "'You shall not tempt the Lord your God, "'as you tempted him in Massa. "'You shall diligently keep the commandments "'of the Lord your God, his testimonies and his statutes, "'which he has commanded you. "'And you shall do what is right and good "'in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, "'and that you may go in and possess the good land "'of which the Lord swore to your fathers, "'to cast out all your enemies from before you, "'as the Lord has spoken. when your son asks you in time to come, saying, what is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, we were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land of which he swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is this day. then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us. Amen. Well, just by way of reminder, the situation or context of the children of Israel, they're gathered on the plains of Moab, getting ready to go into the promised land. This is the second generation, and they are receiving exhortations from Moses. God ultimately, through Moses, on the plains of Moab. So basically, the first exhortation is a historical review in chapters 1 to 4, and then the longest one is here in chapter 5 to 28. It is an exhortation to pursue covenant loyalty. There's a summary and conclusion in chapters 29 and 30, and then followed by the succession of Joshua in chapter 31, and then the death of Moses in chapters 32 to 34. So these exhortations are to prepare the people of God as they go into the land to conquer it under Joshua that they remain faithful. Part of their tenure in the land, well all of their tenure in the land is going to be conditioned upon their faithfulness in the land. And so when it comes to this foundation for covenant loyalty, we see the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments of the Ten Words foundational to that in Deuteronomy chapter 5. And then here in Deuteronomy chapter 6 begins with an exhortation to keep that law. So last week we looked at the purpose of the commandments of God in verses 1 to 3. Very simple. Do what you're supposed to do and you keep the land. Do what you're supposed to do and you get blessed in the land. Do what you're supposed to do and all will go well for you in terms of what God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When we get to Deuteronomy 27 and 28, we will see that there are curses associated with breaking covenant, and we know that ultimately that's what happens to the old covenant people of Israel. But here in Deuteronomy 6, the exhortation is to be faithful. And then we noted as well the profession of allegiance to God. Sort of a central confession of faith in Old Covenant Israel is in verses 4 and 5. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And then the response to that is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. In other words, we own this true and living God As our own, he has brought us into this place, out of bondage in Egypt. He has redeemed us for himself, and the proper response to him is love. Love with all of our heart, soul, and strength. And that is legitimate. In fact, you can put your pencil there or your finger, whatever you choose, and turn to Romans 12, where we saw a similar emphasis in the New Covenant. Romans chapter 12, the Apostle Paul speaks concerning the gospel in Romans chapters 1 to 11, and then he gets real practical in chapter 12. we see that in 12 1 he says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God note which is your reasonable service this is reasonable In light of what God has done in terms of justification by faith alone, in light of what God has done in terms of giving you the Holy Spirit, in light of what God has done in promising to glorify you, it is reasonable, it is rational, it is right, it is consistent that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. holy, acceptable to God. And then he says in verse 2, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So something consistent in the covenants. It's this righteous response to the God of absolute glory, grace, and mercy. So back in the plains of Moab, they are told that this is how they are to respond to that central confession. And then we pick up the propagation of the truth of God in verses six to nine. In other words, they're not supposed to just sit on this information. Yeah, they respond to God in terms of what is legit with love to him, but they're to propagate it, they're to pass it on. They're just specifically handed over to their children and to their grandchildren. So if you look at Deuteronomy 6.6, they must receive that truth. And these words, which I command you today, shall be in your heart. In other words, you need to receive this truth. It's not supposed to just, you know, go right in one ear and right out the other ear, but you need to receive this truth. If you remember that this is a promised feature of the new covenant as specified by the prophet Jeremiah. There's coming a day, a new covenant, where the law of God will be internalized upon the hearts of the recipients. That's not an essential feature in the old covenant, but nevertheless, God exhorts the people to receive it in that way. And those what we call the remnant, the genuine believers, would have received it. They would have internalized it. They would have happily embraced the truth. In fact, if you turn to Psalm 119 for just a moment, I think the psalmist there, which I'll argue, God willing, in a few years, if we ever get to Psalm 119, I could be dead and buried by the time we get there. But if I'm not dead and buried, I'll most likely argue that Psalm 119 is about Jesus. And if you look at Psalm 119, verses nine to 16, this is how he receives the word. And I think when we look at Deuteronomy 6, 6, and the emphasis in these words which I command you today shall be in your heart, this is a good pattern for us in terms of receiving the word of God. There is more to receiving the word of God than just showing up. I mean, showing up is huge. People ask me at times, not all the time, but what encourages you as a pastor? When people show up, The bar's pretty low here. Just show up. You don't have to go out and save the world. You don't have to go out and catch bandits at night. Just show up. So that is part of it, but we have to apply ourselves to the listening of God's word. We gotta prepare, we gotta pray for the Holy Spirit, the ministry of God to come and to bless and strengthen us with that truth. So notice in Psalm 119.9, how can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word? When we look at that particular verse, we notice that the young man's way stands in need of cleansing. It presupposes sin. It presupposes, not on the part of the Savior. There's often the case where the Savior in the Psalms is praying on behalf of those whom he represents. But he's making a maxim or a truism here. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word. We need to look to that word, we need to internalize that word, and we need to walk accordingly. Notice then in verse 10, with my whole heart I have sought you. Oh, let me not wander from your commandments. With my whole heart. Again, if we're divided when it comes to the reception of the word, it's not going to be the case that we receive the word with as much profit or as much utility as we would otherwise. Notice as well he memorizes the word, verse 11, your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Not your word I have hidden in my heart that I might impress people with my Bible knowledge. No, your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. That's something that seems to be I guess in the advent of phones, and we just look up verses on our phones, we don't tend to memorize scripture like we used to. We don't memorize phone numbers. I remember as a young man memorizing lots of phone numbers, because you didn't have a phone that stored all the phone numbers. I probably know one or two phone numbers now, to my shame. I mean, I get 911 if bad things happen. I'll always remember that. But scripture memory as well. Hiding God's Word in our heart that we might not sin against Him. If somebody struggles in a particular area, it's good to hide Scripture in your heart that speaks to that particular area. If you have struggles in, say for instance, theft, it's good to memorize the Eighth Commandment. If you've got problems with laziness, it's good to memorize the fourth commandment. Not just the rest part, but the six days you shall labor and do all your work. If you've got a problem with lust, remember scripture and hide it in your hearts that you might not sin against the Most High. Notice then, he goes on in verse 12, Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. A willingness to receive that word. If we come with a predilection or a predisposition to not listen and to not receive the truth of God, most likely it's not going to happen. But as well, he not only internalizes the word, he does so in order to teach others or tell others also. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways. I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word. When we go back to Deuteronomy 6, verse 6, I would suggest that Psalm 119 there displays for us a good mindset with reference to a text like Deuteronomy 6, 6. In other words, if you don't have them in your heart, You're not going to pass them along to your children. If you don't have them in your heart, you're not going to pass them along to your grandchildren. If you don't have them in your heart, you're not going to pass them along to the heathen around Israel. Remember, that was one of the functions for old covenant Israel, according to Deuteronomy chapter 4, was that they mediate the light of God to the nations around them. And of course, they fail in that, but that was nevertheless. The nations around Israel were to see the blessedness of Israel, to see the wisdom of their law, and to be led to consider that and to want something to do with that. And so if we don't internalize the law of God, if we don't internalize the word of God, we're not going to be faithfully passing on that word of God to subsequent generations. In fact, look at verse 20. You know, beginning in 610 all the way to the end, basically there's dangers. There's cautions on what we need to avoid or they needed to avoid when they went in the land. Danger of forgetting God with reference to affluence. In other words, they're going to get a lot of good things according to verses 10 to 13 and they might forget God. The danger of abandoning God because of surrounding idolatry, verses 14 and 15. God is telling them on the plains of Moab all too clearly these are the potential dangers for you when you go into the land. You're going to forget God. You're going to conclude that, oh, we have always had this coming to us. You're going to join the idolatry of the nations around or the danger of doubting God because of hardship. And then notice in verse 20, In other words, you've got to know this body of data before you can effectively communicate it to your son. If you are completely ignorant in terms of what scripture teaches, if you have not done what verse 6 says, I command or these words which I command you today shall be in your heart, you can't follow along with verse 7. You can't rightly instruct your children or your grandchildren. You can't pass the baton of Christian knowledge on to a younger generation. And as well, go back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, just so we can see that this isn't a new thing in the book of Deuteronomy. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 5, Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore, be careful to observe them for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, surely, this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Again, there was supposed to be a mediation of the blessings of Yahweh on the part of the old covenant people to the peoples around them. And of course, they don't do that, but that was one of the purposes. For what great nation is there that has God so near to it? as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him. And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. and teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, and I will let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children. See, I think part of the teaching of our children with reference to true religion, it's just In other words, we shouldn't, I mean, we are commanded to do it. You know, Ephesians 6, 4, do not provoke your children, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. But if we're blood-bought children of God who have the Holy Spirit, isn't that like just a reflex that we want to point our children to the cross? I mean, if it's that way for us in some, you know, general evangelistic sense, you know, we meet somebody at a bus stop and we share the gospel with them. How much more our flesh and blood? How much more our little children? How much more the ones that by the grace of God we've been given stewardship over? So when it comes to this reality, it's just built into the covenantal structure in the old covenant, and I would suggest it's just built in to the new covenantal structure in the new covenant, because it's built in the hearts of the redeemed. We love our kids. We want the best for our kids. Most fathers want to provide a decent life. I mean, hopefully a good life, but they want to provide shelter and clothing and food and make sure that, you know, little Junior gets the rain off his head. Well, if that's the case, don't we want to provide for them the spiritual riches of gospel treasure? Of course we do. And as well, if we consider this link in Deuteronomy 6, purpose of the commandments, verses one to three, central confession, verses four and five, and then this call to internalize the law in verse six, so that we can then in turn, verse seven, to pass that information on to our children, consider one other passage with me, the book of Ezra. You can turn to the book of Ezra. Ezra 7. I say 7 assuming everybody found Ezra. Ezra 7, notice specifically in verse 10. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. That's the pattern. That's the pattern. Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord. That's a Deuteronomy 6, 6 sort of motif. Receive it into your heart. But then as well, and to do it. Obey it. You didn't receive it just to pass it on to your children. You received it to do it and to pass it on to your children. Because you see, if you receive it and pass it on to your children, and you bypass the doing it yourself, you're going to undo with your life what you're trying to preach up with your words. And kids are smart enough to see that that's hypocrisy. So I think Ezra sets forth a good example here. He prepares his heart to seek the law or to study the law, to receive the law, and to do the law and then to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. Same emphasis back here in the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter 6. I would suggest it's the same emphasis in the epistles to the church in Colossae and to the church at Ephesus. When Paul gets practical for fathers to bring up their children in the training and admonition of the Lord, it's as a result of what God has done in saving them from their sins. So a natural reflex of having been saved by grace through faith in Christ, Ephesians 2, 8 to 10, is then conduct, becoming a new man in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 4, 1. Ephesians 4, 17, not like the Gentiles. Ephesians 5, where you walk in love, walk in light, walk in wisdom. and then submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord, and how is that fleshed out in the life of the family? Well, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. In other words, you've been saved by grace so that you can function in a particular capacity. And part of that particular capacity is to take your children and bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. This shouldn't have to be a challenge that the people of God Again, I'm not here suggesting that if you miss a night, you wretched, you know, horrible barbarian. I'm not suggesting that life isn't hard and that life isn't busy and that there aren't challenges to the schedule. But I am suggesting that a diligent effort to train your children is part and parcel of being a blood-bought child of God. You know, it's not the specific property of a special class of just extra godly people in the church. No. We've got gospel treasure. We pass it on to our spawn. It just seems to make perfect sense to me. We've got, you know, food. We pass it on to them. We've got shelter. We pass it on to them. We've got clothes. We pass it on to them. We've got gospel treasure. We pass it on to them. As well, when we consider the scriptures as a whole, there's several examples of family religion. You can turn to Genesis chapter 18. We'll do a quick survey, just a few texts with reference to family religion. Genesis chapter 18, you'll remember the example of Abraham himself. Genesis chapter 18 verse 16, Then the men rose from there, and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them, to send them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation. and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to them. You see, again, it's just natural. It's just part of it. It's just included. Of course, Abraham, as a faithful man, is gonna make sure that his children are being taught those things of God. Turn to the book of Joshua, covenant ratification at the very end, Joshua chapter 24, and Joshua's famous statement that, you know, it doesn't just belong on your door knocker on your front door or your, you know, sticker on your door. It belongs in our hearts. Look at 2415. Joshua 24, 15, if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now, again, I don't want to minimize busy schedules, and I'm not suggesting that if you miss a night, you know, just forget it. In fact, I would say if you're not sort of raising your children or, I mean, I hope you're raising them, and they're not out, you know, feral in the woods, you're doing something positively to bring them up. But in terms of, you know, an approach to instruct them religiously, don't be too ambitious. You know, we got to have an hour. I'm going to make a little pulpit. We're going to sit the kids down. I'm going to shake my finger out on the way. You know, good preachers. No, no, no. Don't do that. That's probably not going to go well. Just be modest. Do a bit. Be simple, just establish a pattern. And as they get older, you give more, right? Your two-year-old can't handle a three-point sermon by Spurgeon. I'd hate to shatter your illusions, but you're not gonna get his mind and heart. You gotta speak to him at his level. Make it easy. Who made you? God. That's good. What else did God make? God made all things. Why did God make you in all things? For his own glory. That's catechism, question and answer, designed to take doctrine and shove it into their heads. And if you say, well, it's in their heads, but it's not in their hearts. God willing, there's a day coming when he saves them, he regenerates them, and then they have that wealth of knowledge to draw off of. We had an incident, it was an encouraging thing. We had Micah and the family, and we're asking questions of the little guys, and they're rattling off their little catechism. And then I asked Micah one from when he was a kid, and he rattled it off. And it was not one of the smaller, it was from Westminster Shorter Catechism. And I was very happy. And he has said, you know, you guys gave me this doctrine when I was a kid. I didn't really, I mean, it was there just by way of rote, but once saved, it's there. Right? You're not gonna convert your child. You can't open their hearts, but you can shove truth into their heads so that when the Holy Spirit does open their hearts, there's a wealth of data there. I mean, as a papist growing up in Catholic school, I had, you know, we memorized the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. That's good stuff. Again, at the time, I wasn't praising God the way that I do now for that stuff, but it was there. And so when it comes to this, be a Joshua. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Notice in 2 Timothy, again, lots of other passages. We could go to every my son passage in the book of Proverbs, where we see not only that affection between Solomon and his sons, but that desire on the part of Solomon for his sons that they be rightly taught the law of God. Notice in 2 Timothy 1.5, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. And then in 2 Timothy 3, verse 14, contrast between verses, verse 13, evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures. which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. From childhood, why? Because Lois and Eunice took seriously the responsibility to bring up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It's kind of intuitive, it's built in, it's something that the people of God want to hand off to their children. And then as I mentioned, Ephesians chapter six, you can turn there. Ephesians chapter 6, a two-fold emphasis in verse 4. Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. It seems to focus on both act and word, child rearing or training or discipline, and then this admonition focuses on the word. Again, we could go to the book of Proverbs for many, many proverbs on how a father and a mother are supposed to discipline their children. They're supposed to discipline their children. They're supposed to show that loving correction because the reality is, is that in Adam all die. That the heart is, you know, deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? So God, through Solomon, says that parents are to seek to restrain those corruptions on the part of their children. So there's a heavy emphasis on child discipline in the book of Proverbs. That emphasis is right here as well. Bring them up in the training of the Lord. But as well, admonition. That means instruct verbally. Teach them, tell them, show them from the scriptures those things which are most important for them to get and understand. So back to Deuteronomy chapter six. Just to show that it's outside of this specific context, that there's other places that speak to this particular issue, we return to Deuteronomy chapter 6 and we see this emphasis on the instruction of our children. So 6-6, these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Again, this isn't optional. This follows on the heels of the central confession in verse four, the specific response, love to this God. Verse six, receive these things into your heart. Verse seven, pass them on to your kids. This isn't, well, you know, if you've got the time later on and you want to maybe fit this in. And beware of the busy argument. Again, don't get too ambitious. Don't have Junior sit there for three hours while you read a Manton sermon to him. You'll drive him bananas. He'll run from the home screaming, and then you've got a two-fold problem on your hand. But beware of the busy argument. If Joshua whose primary job was killing people and breaking things, had time to fit family religion in, then probably with all of our modern conveniences, we can throw a 15-minute block of time in there, or 10 minutes. Or David. David, again, fighting, killing, destroying, defending. Solomon, same sort of emphasis. So the reality is that if it's a priority to us, typically we make a plan to execute that plan. When things are really important to us, really important, we really try to make it happen. So I'm suggesting the close connection, the inextricable link here between purpose of commandments in 6, 1 to 3, the profession of allegiance to God, verses 4 and 5, and then the propagation of this law in verses 6 to 9 indicates that it is a first priority sort of a thing. It is high up on that scale. So when it comes to the emphasis in verse 7, you shall teach them diligently to your children. I think that does envisage some type of formal instruction time. Okay, kids, we're gonna sit down, and we're gonna open the Bible, and we're gonna read a portion, and then I'm gonna explain that portion. Again, not the way Spurgeon would have done it, perhaps, in a Sunday morning sermon at, you know, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, but, you know, give the sense. You can be quite confident that if your kid's, you know, five, you're probably smarter, and you're probably able to stay a step or two ahead of him. I'm kidding. Of course you're smarter, and you've got to use that opportunity. And again, it may seem awkward if it's not something that you've done. I know the common practice amongst the people in the Dutch churches is after dinner, pull out the Bible, read a bit. That's fine. Whenever you choose to do it, I do think it's good to give a bit of an explanation of the Bible portion that's being read. I think it's good to give perhaps an illustration to make sure that you're reading stuff that's calculated to get into young ears and young hearts. Yeah, they can get Leviticus, but they'll probably get Mark a little bit easier. They can certainly get numbers, but most likely Matthew's going to go down a little bit easier, you know, especially when they're younger. So, a bit of scripture reading, a bit of catechism. We've made available, it's the shorter catechism, but for little children. Remember that when the shorter catechism was done, it was for little children. but we need to make the shorter catechism that was for little children, we need to make it for littler children nowadays. So it's a helpful tool, as I said, it's just rote memory, basic questions and answers, and you don't just parrot it off, explain it. What else did God make? God made all things. Did he make giraffes? Yeah, he made giraffes. Did he make elephants? Yeah, he made elephants. You know what I mean? Engage your children with the teaching of God's truth. So formal times, singing, you can get your own Psalter, you can get your own hymn book, you can go to websites and play the music and sing. Again, not anywhere specified that this is the elements of family worship, but just some suggestions. Good books, good Christian books that are helpful for children at their particular age. There's a series or an edition of Pilgrim's Progress out there for little kids that's quite good. It's very well done. And there's some very beneficial things, a whole bunch of resources. I mean, if you go to Reformation Heritage Books, Dr. Joel Beeke, I mean, they got all kinds of stuff. So it's not like, well, you know, I'm not sure. Just take a look. And again, no binding of consciences. It's a reflex that we should be wanting to do with reference to our children. So you shall teach them diligently to your children. So again, formal times of training, after dinner, after breakfast, after lunch, whatever works best for your family rhythm. But then informal training, when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. In other words, it should just be the reality that life lived is life lived under God. And we try to connect those dots for our children in the routines of everyday life. Again, going back to animals, you go to the zoo, isn't that beautiful that God made that giraffe? Isn't that wonderful that God made the Pacific Ocean? Just whatever it is, we bring it to connect with this idea that our children live in a world that is fashioned by a good creator and we communicate that sort of thing to them. Formal times of teaching, read Bible, Pray, catechism, singing, optional items, definitely Bible reading and prayer. But then as well, informal times. Teach your kids. Talk to them about the truth as it is in Jesus. And be ready for questions. I've had some humdingers from kids in our church, and I think it's great. Unless I can't answer, then I punt. Go ask your mom and dad that one. We should expect that. If they're hearing truth, if they're receiving the word, if they're being exposed to these things, expect questions on the Trinity. Expect questions like, how could God be if he was never made? Well, really? I mean, those are some big questions, right? So be prepared for that sort of thing. Again, 620, when your son asks you in time to come saying, what is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son. In other words, you're gonna be able to respond. You're gonna be able to speak specifically to his particular issue. So informal instruction. And of course, the subject matter, when you're on the plains of Moab, it's very obvious, right? It's this law. In other words, pass this law on to your children. But as well, pass on the types and the shadows connected with the coming prophesied Messiah. In other words, tell them about Genesis 3.15 and the promise of the seed of the woman who's gonna crush the serpent. Tell them about Abraham and Isaac at Mount Moriah in Genesis chapter 22. Tell them about the Psalms and the prophecies concerning our Lord Jesus. So in other words, when you're taking your children, you take them to covenant revelation, what's spoken of. So in this context, pass this law onto them. In our context, yeah, pass the law on to them, but man, oh, man, pass the gospel on to them, point them to the Savior, point them to the Lord Jesus, point them to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and everything it specifies concerning the coming of the Son of Man and the purpose for which He did that. In other words, we evangelize our children. Now, notice, we don't have to be paedo-baptists to do this. In fact, Paedo-Baptists sometimes argue that we don't do this. I don't think it has anything to do with whether or not you baptize babies. They're your spawn. You feed them truth. Just like you feed them rice and beans so that you can sustain their physical well-being, you feed them the truth of God's word. You teach them the law. You teach them the prophets. You teach them the gospel. You teach them the scriptures. Formally, let's sit down. We're going to memorize, you know, Matthew chapter 28, when they're a little bit older. And when in formal times, they ask questions. You connect the dots concerning redemptive history. You read biblical theology to your kids, and then they start seeing how the Bible works together as a whole. That's the kind of emphasis that I think we're being shown here in Deuteronomy chapter 6. So with reference to this emphasis, I think it's one, because this is covenantal obligation. Two, it's just natural affection. You love your kids and you want the best for them. But three, it's the nature of their own remaining corruption and the godless world that we live in. When they cross the plains of Moab, guess where they're going? They're going into the Promised Land to be sure, but what's there? There's a bunch of heathens. There's a bunch of Canaanites. There's a bunch of Baal shrines, and Molochs, and Asherahs. There's a bunch of false gods in this particular land. If you don't teach your kids, and you cross over that Jordan into that land, If you haven't equipped them, if you haven't protected them, if you have not inoculated them, now I realize brethren, in the best of conditions we can teach our children and unfortunately they can go astray. I get that. I understand that. In fact, the parable of the prodigal son, it's God himself who taught the son and the son nevertheless was a prodigal. So it's a reality. But we are super culpable if we're not preparing them and sending them across the river Jordan into a land filled with idols? We've got to inoculate them and teach them. We've got to make sure that we get a few kicks at the can. I've often thought this with reference to church. If you come twice on Sunday, which is pretty ambitious nowadays in the 21st century, what, you're in church for three hours on a Sunday? Which may seem like a lot, especially when you're in the middle of that three hours. I get that. I understand that. But three hours out of the week? What's the rest of the week? It's godlessness. It's heathenism. It's all kinds of competitors. That's why Paul says, do not be conformed to this world, Romans 12.2, but be what? Transformed by the renewing of your mind. So the three hours, which out of that hour and a half, maybe two hours if I don't go too long, of sermon instruction. combating how many hours of, you know, whatever media you look at, whatever Facebook posts, whatever Twitter, whatever Instagram, whatever, you know, and don't make any mistake, brethren, the way philosophy gets into the minds and hearts of the people of God today is through music and media. It's through movies and music. It's just the way it happens. So, you know, two hours versus all these other hours. And that's for us as adults. But with our kids, we need to inoculate them with the truth, we need to enforce upon them, or commit rather to them, the truth of God's holy word. So then, as he moves on, after verse seven, speaking about children, he then emphasizes once again the individual, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. "'You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, "'and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.'" In other words, get this in you. Already says it in verse six, pass it on to your kids, but I wanna remind you once again, bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Turn to Proverbs 3, which I think is a good sort of example, perhaps illustration, Maybe application of this principle. Proverbs chapter 3, a passage I think we're all familiar with. Verses 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. You see a bit of a thematic connection there. Verse 8, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Proverbs 3, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Notice, this is an entire commitment to the Lord. It's not a partial commitment. He doesn't say trust in the Lord with some of your heart. Trust in the Lord with your religious being. Trust in the Lord on Sunday. Trust in the Lord, you know, Thursday night for a few minutes with, you know, your kids and your wife. No, no, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. If that is true for us, we want to pass that down to our children. But it's also an exclusive commitment. Notice he says, lean not on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. How many of us lean on our own understanding pretty much all the time? We're specifically cautioned not to. We're specifically told to lean on God, to trust in God with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding. So we see an entire commitment with all your heart. We see an exclusive commitment, lean not on your own understanding. But then as well an exhaustive commitment. It says, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Sounds just like what we saw earlier in 2 Timothy 3. All scripture, well we didn't get to verses 15 and 16, but all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. You know, there's a consistent theme between Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3, but the entirety of the Bible. What we find in this injunction by God in the plains of Moab through Moses to the children of Israel is every bit as practical for us in this new covenant setting as it was then on the plains of Moab prior to crossing the river Jordan into the promised land. Then notice back in Deuteronomy chapter 6, we'll bring this to a close, verses 9, or verse 9 indicates the family as a whole and not just the family but society is under sway, the sway of God's commandments. Notice in verse nine, you shall write them on the doorposts of your house. In other words, covenant families have the word of God on the doorposts of their house, whether literally or not. I think metaphorically is probably the idea. Let the word of God dwell in your home, but then also on your gates. What are the significance of gates in Old Testament cities? It was the place of business, the place of the judiciary. It's where business was transacted within the city. So in other words, this law that God gives on the plains of Moab, and that's all going to be teased out. I mean, as we move on in the book of Deuteronomy, We're going to see its familial emphasis. We're going to see its societal emphasis in the way that God regulates Israel through what we call the judicial laws of Moses when it comes to every jot and tittle of their public and civil life. So it shouldn't surprise us, but the emphasis specifically here is on the entirety of society being subjected to the law of God. Listen to this quote by a fellow named Christopher Wright. He says, It was for everyone. It was to be in the heart as well as in the head, in the home as well as the courts. These verses powerfully dispel two misconceptions. The first misconception is that Old Testament law was a matter of legalistic conformity to an external code. On the contrary, Deuteronomy 6.6 is part of a strong stream of Old Testament teaching that calls for the internalizing of the law in the heart, i.e. at the center of a person's mind, will, and character. The second misconception is that religious traditions and observances are the preserve of a professional elite with esoteric knowledge, whether clerical or academic. The priests of Israel were indeed to teach the law, but not as something only they within the confines of the professional guild could understand. On the contrary, the law was to be the topic of ordinary conversation, in ordinary homes, in ordinary life, from breakfast to bedtime. Such would be its popular scope and relevance. He's right. Yeah, they had, you know, teachers set apart like Ezra, but it was for everybody. And it's the same in the church today. It's not just, you know, this group of guys that are really given to theology and study that, you know, they really catechized their kids. Brethren, all of us, again, by virtue of the fact that we love our kids, want to pass these things down to them. It's not rocket science. It may seem a bit odd, but jump in and establish that pattern, and it's going to be a blessing. I guarantee it. It's not going to be the case, I can't believe we're spending time with our kids teaching them the gospel. It's a good thing. Kids will grow up and look back at it. And I can give you that as anecdotal sort of testimony. When we were younger and we had little kids, there were times we thought, you know, is this working? I don't know if we thought it like that, but you know, you weren't saying kids fall on their faces and praying to Jesus for a new heart or, you know, save me because I'm, you know, right at the gates of hell. No, no, it wasn't like that. It was just kind of the normal and the ordinary. And they've all grown up and they say they appreciate that. They've said to that. I thought of that as a young guy. You discipline your kids. Am I ruining my kids here? You don't know sometimes, right? And then when they get older, they're like, yeah, you guys certainly aren't perfect. They've told us many times that one. But bless God, you did what you could. Right? It's, bless God, you do what you can. We've got these kids, we've got this law, we've got this gospel, let's just tell them, let's teach them, let's encourage them, let's diligently in the manner that is set forth by faithful men in scripture and in the history of the church. Well, let us pray. I was going to say, in the scripture where it says to put on the whole armor of God, you know, back in the day, you had men who trained to fight even when they were at home. And the kids looked up to them and they wanted to be warriors. We need to put on the whole armor of God. We need to be displaying those things so that kids want to be doing that when God does convict them and convert them. Amen. That they know how to put on that whole armor because they've seen it. in their parents who have said, here's what God expects of us. Amen. Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the law that You have given to us. We thank You for the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we praise You that He is the lawkeeper, that He obeyed perfectly all that the Father gave Him to do, and that He died for our sins on the cross that he rose again, that he sits enthroned at your right hand. And Lord, we thank you for all the children, all the babies, all the young people in our congregation. We pray that they, by grace, would remember their creator and their youth, and that you would look with favor upon each one. And we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.