Another important feature in ancient treatises is the preservation of the treaty documents. This is done in several ways. One is what is called a “documentary curse,” which is a statement within the treaty that says all the curses found within it will be executed upon anyone who adds or takes away any portion of that document. Another is the safekeeping of the documents in the temples of gods, the logic being the patron deities will watch and protect the treaty from tampering.
Deuteronomy has both features mentioned above. Deuteronomy 4:2 is the documentary curse. Also, at the completion of the writing of Deuteronomy, it was placed in the Ark of Covenant in the tabernacle (Deut 10:5; 31:26; Ex 25:16; cf. Heb 9:4). There is another feature in Deuteronomy to help with the preservation of the document. This is the call to pass the instructions of the book to the next generation of Israelites. This was done in several ways. One was the public reading of the book annually at the Feast of Booths (Deut 31:10-13). The other was for parents to regularly teach the covenantal regulations to their children (Deut 6:7-9). By including these instructional mandates, it becomes clear that the Lord was not only interested in covenantal preservation, but also covenantal discipleship, specifically parentings discipling their children to live according to covenantal requirements.
Perhaps the greatest example of this comes in the most well-known texts in the Old Testament, the shema of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (this is called the “shema” because of the first word in the Hebrew, the imperative shema, meaning “hear” [or better “heed,” thus obey what you are hearing]). In this passage we find the greatest commandment to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5; cf. Matt 22:38). This call to love the Lord is not limited to that immediate generation. Parents are told to make sure that their children learn to do the same: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 6:7). This notion of generational discipleship is a common theme in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 11:2 is intriguing in this regard since Moses foresees teaching the covenant to a future generation of Israelites who have not yet been born (cf. v.9; cf. 2 Tim 2:2). Thus, it seems that the covenantal nature of Israel’s communion with the Lord required that each generation take responsibility for the instructing of their children, even their children’s children, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In that sense, Deuteronomy does not envisage a time in the life of covenant members, child or adult, when they did not know the Lord or any of the redemptive acts that He had done for them or their ancestors.
Tragically, the history of Israel was the radical opposite of the life depicted in the Book of Deuteronomy. The Old Testament historical books are a witness to Israel’s utter failure concerning this call to train the younger generation. Although there was a degree of success in the early days of Moses and Joshua, once that generation died out, so did generational discipleship. According to Judges 2:9-11, after the death of Joshua, a new generation arose “who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel” (Judg 2:10). This led to chaos in worship as Israel increasingly grew idolatrous (Judg 2:11; chapters 17-18) and chaos in morality as Israel grew gradually like the pagan nations around them (Judg 19-21).
I have often wondered how this was possible: how can there be such a dramatic spiritual decline in one generation where the wondrous acts of the Lord in the Exodus, the covenant made at Sinai with theophanic power, the provision of the wilderness are all forgotten! The witness of Scripture soberly affirms that this is not only possible but probable when we forget the importance of godly discipleship. In 1 Samuel 2, the high priest Eli raised ungodly sons who dishonored the Lord’s sacrifices by partaking of the fat of the sacrifice, something that was to be dedicated to the Lord (1 Sam 2:12; 29-30; cf. Lev 3:15-16). Even the prophet-priest Samuel, although hailed in the biblical texts as a champion for Deuteronomic orthodoxy, failed in training his children in the ways of God (1 Sam 8:5). David, the great Judean king, failed also as 2 Samuel portrays him as a violator of women with Bathsheba, a murderer of men with Uriah, and a alienating father with Absalom (2 Sam 12-19).
To put that Judges era in modern terms, imagine a generation of children who do not know Jesus or the basics of the Christian gospel. The cross of Christ for the atonement for our sins, GONE! The resurrection and victory over death, GONE! The authority and majesty of Scripture as the rule over all matters of faith and life, GONE! Is it possible for this to happen? I don’t how to say this but bluntly: it IS happening. The lesson from the history of Israel is this: one of the reasons why Israel consistently violated the covenant that led to their exile was because they failed to pass their faith onto their children.
This theme in Deuteronomy has a very special place in the life of the Asian American church. Children are highly valued in our community. We saw this demonstrated by our first-generation parents, who made extraordinary sacrifices for our well-being. There is little doubt that the growth of the Asian American community is largely due to the work-ethic of our parents, and we owe them a tremendous amount of gratitude. Nonetheless (and I say this with all love and admiration for my first-generation forefathers), there was a tendency of our parents to stress all virtues but the spiritual. Academic excellence became the highest of priorities, over against all others. If we participated in any extracurricular activities (e.g., sports, music, clubs, etc), we had to excel in those areas also with little room for failure. The one area that lacked adequate attention was our spiritual growth. Many Asian American churches lacked the sophistication to minister to these covenant children in the ways of godliness (language issues), and the lack of reinforcement in the home contributed to our spiritual decline. Deuteronomy reminds us that above all other virtues covenant children must be discipled in the ways of godliness, lest there arises another generation who do not know Jesus nor the things that He accomplished for us.
As direct beneficiaries of the fruits of our parents’ labors, my generation of Asian American Christians face a challenging question: will we repeat the weaknesses of our parents or will we do better? This is the question that the Israelites who received the Book of Deuteronomy faced. Their parents suffered covenant curse and died in the wilderness due to their rejecting the Lord (as seen in the Book of Numbers). As their children drew near to the borders of the promised land, they were posed with that same question: will they repeat the errors of their parents, or will they be faithful to the Lord?
Deuteronomy 6:20-25 is helpful in this regard. This passage describes a scenario when a child in worship ponders on the commandments of the covenant. In other words, his thoughts are on how to live an obedient life. He turns and asks the most obvious person for help—his parents. His question is literally, “What are the testimonies and the decrees and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?” (6:20). The response is most compelling: the parents tell the child about the supernatural works of redemption that the Lord performed to redeem His people Israel (6:21-23). Because He has redeemed them, thus making them a redeemed people, the parents say this is the reason why “the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always” (Deut. 6:24). Notice the immediate response of the parents is not to discuss the actual commandments or offer simple steps on how to have your best life now. Instead, they begin by turning the child’s attention upon the Lord and His powerful acts of salvation. In other words, the place to begin when discipling our children on how to live a godly life is not by focusing on the life. Rather, we are to focus on the Lord. As I mentioned above, morality is highly prized in the Asian American community. This is not necessarily negative, but a message without a proper theological foundation (i.e., preamble and historical prologue) is nothing more than moralism—a message no different than what is found in day-time talk shows and self-help motivational speakers. In that sense, it is very easy (and even tempting) to reduce the Christian gospel to nothing more than ethical platitudes. To one who is already disposed towards sin, such a message will only bring frustration. Worse, it will cause our children to wonder why we need the church. After all, if the church is preaching the same message as Dr. Phil, then why go to church?
It was also characteristic of our parents’ generation to depend solely on the church, specifically youth/children pastors (the good ole JunDoSaNim), to tend to the spiritual development of the children. Parents provide the resources; pastors provide the care. This is simply not the picture of family life in the Book of Deuteronomy. The Lord calls for parents to be directly involved in the spiritual training of their children. Even the meaning of the annual Feast of Passover was to be taught by the parents (Ex 12:26-27). Before we share the gospel with our neighbors or coworkers, we need to be assured of spiritual vibrancy in the faith of our children by regularly sharing with them the gospel message. Deuteronomy 6 describes how this is to be done all day, every day, in every place in the life of covenant children. We are to teach them the Word of God diligently when they are in the home and when they are in the world, as soon as they wake up in the morning until they fall asleep at night (Deut 6:7-9). We should discuss sermons with our children on Sunday afternoons, read Scripture together throughout the week, spend time in prayer for them and with them. We dare not allow the secular world to inform our children on how to understand events and matters in our fallen world, but rather we are to discuss these things with them from a biblical perspective.
I personally cannot imagine my children growing to adulthood without a deep appreciation for the cross and resurrection of Christ. Yet, the reality is that unless we as parents instill that Christ-centered narrative to our children, we also can easily raise a generation that does not know the Lord or anything that He has done for His church. This would be more tragic than any earthly failure.
What do you think?
Redeeming Chillingworth 