Generational Faithfulness: Teaching and Testimony in the House of Faith

Deuteronomy is the words of Moses to Israel just before his death as Israel prepared to enter into the Promised Land, a series of farewell speeches that were committed to writing and given to the elders and priest to be passed to the coming generations of Israel. The entire book is a testament to the importance of generational faithfulness. God moved Moses to write down again the law and testimony of what God had done for Israel, for the express purpose of passing it down to those who did not come out of Egypt, but to the children of those born in the desert, who would remember nothing but a land of milk and honey.
What does Moses say? Remember what God has done and obey His commandments!
As Moses begins this second speech, he repeats the 10 commandments and speaks directly to the issue of generational faithfulness.
There are three main things we can learn from this narrative.

I. This should protect us ALL from generational arrogance:
Generational Arrogance is the idea that one generation has an attitude of superiority that manifest itself in presumptuous claims or assumptions. It most often refers to a younger generation’s propensity to think it has all of the answers, or an older generations propensity to think it was all better in the old days. George Orwell may have said it best, “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” It can go both ways!
A. Older towards younger
Deuteronomy 6:1-2, Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.
Our legacy will ultimately be defined by what we leave behind.
Henry Blackaby says in his book Spiritual Leadership, “Indeed, the next generation of great leaders is already evolving, but today's adults may be too preoccupied to notice.”
B. Younger towards older
Deuteronomy 6:3, Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Ronald Reagan said in one of his famous quotes, “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation.”
C. The goal here is generational faithfulness
Generational Faithfulness is the idea of passing down one’s spiritual heritage from one generation to the next as a means of continuing, or beginning, a heritage of God-honoring, Christ-serving, kingdom-advancing children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.
The central idea of this entire family ministry summer is that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, but our legacy will be defined by what we produce in those who follow behind. God’s primary concern here is for what happens among the generation of people who are born in the promise. The generation who came out of Egypt had called out to God and followed Moses out on the legs of strong faith alone. They sometimes struggled to remain focused on the promise and continually chose to live as slaves to the past even after they were set free. That generation passed away in the desert as a result of their doubt. Even Moses was denied entrance into the promise God had made to Abraham so long ago.
However, God delivered the promise to their children. They will enter into the land flowing with milk and honey and God will deliver the tribes of that land into their hands. They will know what God has done to bring them out of Egypt and into this land of rich blessing. But what about their children, our children, the grandchildren of those who came before us? God is concerned that spoiled generation might forget what God has done and not obey His commandments!

II. There are four things God says we must do:
The Shema is one of the most important passages in Scripture, as it instructs parents with their God-given assignment to lead their children spiritually. In it we find outlined for us at least four things we must do!
A. God says we should teach these things to our children.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
This is primarily about spiritual education. Deuteronomy 6:7a says, You shall teach them diligently to your children. Believers are to teach their children all things according to the word of God in order to produce in them a Christian view of the world that bears the fruit of the mind of Christ. This happens primarily through the study of God’s word.
God created the family first as the primary means for this exchange of knowledge and understanding. God created the Church second as a supplement to the exchange happening in the home and to help equip the leaders in the home with knowledge and understanding.
Parents are primary and the church is secondary in the religious education of our children and grandchildren.
B. God says we should talk about these things with our children.
This is primarily about discipleship. Deuteronomy 6:7b says, 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.
Mature believers should be investing in the lives of younger believers to produce in them a mature faith that bears the fruit of an active faith. This happens primarily through spiritual conversation.
God created the family first as the primary environment in which wisdom is passed from one generation to the next. God created the Church second as a supplement to the exchange happening in the home and to help equip the leaders in the home with wisdom.
Parents are primary and the church is secondary in the discipleship of our children and grandchildren.
C. God says we should make them part of our everyday life and worldview.
This is accomplished in two primary ways.
1. Modeling - Deuteronomy 6:8, You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Believers should be living every area of our lives so that our children and unbelievers who see our lives will be drawn into authentic relationship with Christ and so that we will be able to say to believers “follow me as I follow Christ.”
This happens when we live intentionally distinct and counter-cultural lives that reflect the nature and character of Christ in our relationships, work-ethic, finances, worship, recreation, service, and every other area of life.
2. Teaching Moments - Deuteronomy 6:9, You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Believers should use the everyday things of life to teach biblical principles to those who come behind them so that they will know what and how God thinks about the reality of the world we live in.
This happens when we intentionally look for ways to apply biblical truth to the reality of the post-modern culture in which we live by interacting with following generations in the context of their cultural setting, such as television, sports, art, theatre, relationships, music, current events and every other mundane thing!
D. God says we should do these things out of loving obedience.
We are to do things because we want to, not because we have to. We are motivated by our love for God and His great love for us. It is because He first loved us that we love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength. And if we love Him, we will share His love for our neighbors and exercise that love by drawing the two together. So, we do these things out of loving obedience rather than duty for two reasons.
1. So that our children and grandchildren will not forget.
Deuteronomy 6:10-13, And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
Then God does something fascinating! He reminds us that this is a relational exercise, and that His intent is to bless us, as a result of our loving obedience to Him.
2. So He can bless us.
Deuteronomy 6:14-19, You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and 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 go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised.
I want to point out one thing in that passage that is key to our understanding. God gives us two main categories to think about, two things that protect us from idolatry, statutes and testimonies.

III. An Object Lesson from God:
A. God says He will use statues and testimonies as object lessons.
Statues are commandments and truths. This is what God wants us to remember and pass on to the generations who follow because it is those objective facts that assure us of our relationship with God. Testimonies are the stories of our obedience and God’s faithfulness that God says He will use to draw the emerging generations to himself.
Here is God’s story in relation to the nation of Israel;
Deuteronomy 6:20-25, When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.'
B. God gives Israel an object lesson.
As Moses completes this second speech, God gives the nation of Israel an object lesson. It is a wonderful story that stretches from Deuteronomy to Judges. Join with me as we walk together on this adventure through the story of God.
Deuteronomy 27:1-8, Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, "Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God. And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
1. Joshua was obedient to what God had commanded.
Joshua 4:1-18, When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, "Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.'" Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever."
2. Israel set up an altar of 12 Large Stones.
Joshua 4:19-24, The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."
Why had He asked them to do this? What is the purpose? So the children will ask, “What do these stones mean” and you can tell them what God did here in your life!
3. Israel set up an altar of 12 uncut stones on Mount Ebal.
Joshua 8:29-35, Now after Israel had defeated Ai, Joshua hanged the king of Ai and buried him under a heap of stones. But not just any stones. At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, "an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. And afterward he (Joshua) read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.
Did you get that? They built the altar as God had told them to do and there they were, reading all the teachings of their grandfather Moses, all of Israel; the men, the women, the children and the outsiders. A worship service so grand the valley between two mountains (Ebal and Gerizim) served as their sanctuary, a land called Shechem where Abraham had first settled 8 generations earlier!
The Bible says in Judges 2:7 that “the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel." Will that be said of us, of our churches and families?