By: Olivia Meade
My oldest daughter is obsessed with movie soundtracks. We have listened to the Encanto soundtrack more times than I can count. Naturally, I know every word to every song, but I didn’t expect my three-year-old to be the same way. We were listening to one of the more upbeat songs in the car recently, and I heard her in the backseat singing nearly every word. She wasn’t just humming along – she was reciting it. Not only did she like the music, but she had committed it to memory! I’m continually amazed by the minds of children.
It is cute and a bit impressive, sure, but it got me thinking about discipleship. If my daughter is singing every word of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” then she certainly has the capacity to memorize Scripture. She has the capacity to recite and understand catechisms. The opportunity is there, and as parents my husband and I have the responsibility to act on it.
This responsibility isn’t just for parents. It is given to all followers of Jesus; we commonly call it the Great Commission. As we go about our lives, we are to teach and disciple those around us. That might be your kids, or it might be your coworkers. Either way, it is a command that requires continual obedience.
Obedience Begins with Discipleship
In Psalm 78, the psalmist urges the people of Israel to tell the coming generation about the wonderous works of God. In verses 4-7, we read:
“We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments.”
The topic of generational obedience is prevalent in Scripture. For the Israelites, it was not enough for them simply to obey the Lord and keep his commandments. They were to tell others about the Lord and teach their children – the generations – about God’s great mercy and love. Deuteronomy 6:7 is a great example of this: the Israelites were commanded to diligently teach their children about the Lord. This wasn’t an afterthought. It was a command.
Why would God command such a thing? Why wouldn’t he sovereignly place knowledge in the minds and hearts of the next generation, without the need for instruction and teaching? That would be easy. However, it would also bypass a crucial trait of obedience: faithful discipleship. The Israelites were instructed to teach their children because they (the adults) were prone to forget. They were prone to wandering. They were prone to leave the God who delivered them from the bonds of Egypt and barrenness of the wilderness. God’s great mercy and love was just a generation away from being forgotten.
The same is true in the book of Nahum. The prophet had harsh words for the city of Nineveh and foretold their coming destruction. This is interesting, considering the same city was offered mercy and repented of their wicked ways in the book of Jonah, nearly 100 years prior. What changed? The repentance of the Ninevites during Jonah’s time did not outlast them. The repentant generation passed, and with that, so did their obedience to the Lord and his word. The entire nation rejected mercy and returned to wickedness. If you ever read the Bible and wonder why so many thoughts and phrases are repeated, here’s why: we’re all prone to forgetfulness.
The Ninevites did not have a lasting repentance because, in part, they were not told about it. Children eventually stopped learning about the prophet Jonah. They no longer commemorated the city’s collective lament and fasting which followed their repentance. They may have been singing and reciting words, but those words were not of God. The proclamation of destruction given by Nahum is harsh on its own – but knowing the people once lived in God’s mercy makes it even more sobering.
Extending Faithfulness to the Next Generation
In Numbers 13, Moses sends a dozen men to the land of Canaan to spy on the current inhabitants and bring back a report. When they returned to the wilderness, ten of the twelve men offered a grave account; they said there was no way the Israelites would be able to defeat the people currently inhabiting the land. But there were two men, Joshua and Caleb, who spoke differently. They did not downplay the mightiness of the people living in Canaan, but they did encourage the Israelites to remember the promise of the Lord. Many years prior, God promised this land to the Israelites. It was to be their restful dwelling place, one full of milk and honey. The enemy appeared strong, but Joshua and Caleb knew their God was stronger.
The Israelites did not listen to Joshua and Caleb. In Numbers 14:2-4, we have record of their rebellion:
“And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’”
Did you catch that? The people of Israel, the same ones who walked on dry ground through the Red Sea and ate manna from heaven every morning, suggested their lives would be better if they returned to Egypt. A return to Egypt would not afford them food, shelter, or peace; it would lead them back to bondage and death. The same people who sang “in the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries” in Exodus 15:7, are now suggesting the feat before them is impossible, even for God.
They had not just forgotten what God had accomplished on their behalf; they had forgotten God altogether. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, also known as the Shema, is so important because it instructed the Israelites (and us today) to keep the knowledge of God at the forefront of their minds. Scripture is to be such a part of our lives that we think about it in the morning and meditate on it in the evening. As we move throughout our day, we may not be in constant reading of God’s word, but that does not mean it can’t drive our decisions or thoughts. That’s what Moses meant when he said to write in on your forehead and the back your hand, so that it is always in sight, always near… lest we forget.
God instructs us to teach those around us because generational faithfulness is powerful. My great-great grandchildren may never know me, but I pray they know God. I can do my small part in ensuring that happens but honoring God with my life and making Him known to those around me. My daughter and I still sing along to Encanto songs but, we also sing Scripture together. This is beautiful because she’s not just singing; she’s storing up God’s word in her heart, and I pray it returns to her as she grows. This isn’t just for parents – it’s for everyone with any bit of influence in the lives of those around you. If we want to influence generations, we must answer the call of faithfulness in our own lives and effectively steward that truth toward the hearts of those behind us.
May our imperfect acts of obedience extend far beyond our reach, in ways only God can magnify.