The greatest spiritual responsibility a believer is entrusted with as a parent is to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If the Lord Jesus Christ should tarry in our life time, our generation will grow old and fall asleep until the return.
It is up to us spiritual men and women to raise our children up to carry the Word to the next generation. Unless we are men and woman of resolve and integrity the devil will talk us out of this very important responsibility.
The first institution the devil attacked was the sacredly ordained marriage between Adam and Eve. The next institution was the family.
Adam and Eve started out in a perfect world with perfect minds enjoying perfect fellowship with God the Father and look at how the devil deceived and lied to them.
It would stand to reason that if God’s perfect couple was tricked by the devil, then you and I, being imperfect, should heed the warning of the Word recorded in 1 Peter.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The children of Israel experienced many miraculous signs, miracles, and wonders on an almost daily basis. You would think that after the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, God himself speaking the Ten Commandments, and the years of manna it would make an indelible impression on them. After being delivered from slavery, famine, and the surrounding hostile inhabitants of the land you would think they would be grateful enough to honor the lord God and teach their children to do the same.
However, the bible records a different outcome.
Joshua 4:1-7 1And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 2Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
God had the first recorded miracle in the book of Joshua marked by the placing of the 12 stones removed from the Jordan. This was to be a memorial for the children of Israel’s children.
Here we see a glimpse of the magnitude of God‘s will concerning the rearing of the next generation.
These stones were to serve as a reminder to the generations that followed of the power and presence of the one true God stopping up the water here at the Jordan River so Israel could pass over on dry ground. As a parent the greatest spiritual responsibility you are entrusted with is to teach your children the Word of God. It is not to provide for them a college education, or teach them how to budget money, or be a good person. If you have the ability to send your child to college this is a good thing. However, these goals should be 3rd or 4th on your list. If you fail to teach your children God’s Word, it doesn’t matter if they graduate from Yale or Harvard. When you appear before Jesus Christ to answer for your life here on earth I am pretty confident he will not ask you what college your kid attended. …Or what type of car you bought them or how big their wedding was? Nope, but I would be willing to bet that one of the questions he will ask will be along these lines.
"I see you have three children, Nick. Did you teach them my Fathers Word? Did you teach them to love and obey us? Did you teach them about the wiles of the devil and how to defeat him by putting on the whole amour of God? Did you give them the chance to confess me as lord and receive eternal life? Did you teach them how to operate the manifestations of the holy spirit? Did you teach them the importance of speaking in tongues and how to give of their finances faithfully, to support the ministry teaching them God’s Word? Did you explain why they were to do this and the blessings that would follow? Did you teach them to be a witness for me in everything they did? Did you teach them to forgive others and be compassionate?"
"Did you correct them when they strayed from my Word or did you compromise my shed blood and give in to their rants and threats so you could keep peace? Did you teach them the importance of choosing a spouse, one that will keep me first in their marriage and family so their children will learn of me?" These are the kind of questions Jesus will ask; not what kind of cell phone you bought them. Some times we as parents get our priorities all jumbled up as to what is important regarding our children.
Joshua 4:6-7 6That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
This was a sign, a memorial to serve as a reminder to future generations. This is a big deal with God and all throughout his Word you can see the tremendous concern God has regarding our children.
Joshua 4:20 – 24 20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
Joshua also set up 12 other stones in the Jordan for the same reason.
Joshua 4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
Heaps of stones were and still are used in the bible lands to instruct children concerning right and wrong.
Joshua 7:24-26 24And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 25And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. 26And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
Achan brought evil into the camp of Israel by stealing from the Lord. Jericho was the first conquest after crossing the Jordan River. The riches in Jericho were to be dedicated to the Lord. They were to be cleansed and placed in the house of the Lord, the tabernacle. That which could not be cleansed was to be destroyed. If someone coveted the accursed thing, the same fate the inhabitants of Jericho received would fall to them.
This record also demonstrates the curse a father can bring upon his family and his brethren by his sin. Because of one man’s greed and sin the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies and about 36 men of Israel died. Furthermore, all of Achan’s family, livestock, and all he owned was destroyed.
Thirty six men may not seem like a lot to you to loose in a war. I have a son who was in the Navy. My heart melted the first time he was shot. Every time he was deployed we prayed fervently. Thirty six men may not seem like a lot unless one of those men is your son or your father or your brother. Thirty six families now were with out a father to raise them. Perhaps 36 wives were now widowed and dozens of children would never grow up to know their daddy. Thirty six mothers would never look into their son’s face again.
Thirty six fathers will never feel the joy of their son’s embrace again.—All because of one man’s sin. God help us as a nation!
To be continued… ÿ