45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (ESV)
C. S. Lewis’ famous book The Screwtape Letters chronicles the advice from an old demon, Screwtape, to his novice nephew, Wormwood, on how to keep a young man away from Christianity. However, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones pointed out that, as helpful as the book is in analyzing the enemy’s different methods, it has one major defect. At no point does Screwtape instruct his young nephew to keep the young believer away from the Bible. Yet, it appears to be one of Satan’s most successful tactics to retard spiritual development, not least amongst families.
As Moses prepared for his own death and to hand over the reins of leadership to Joshua, he called God’s people to take seriously all the words he has preached to them (Deut. 32:45, cf. 31:30-32:44). Far from being “empty” (idle, vain, or unprofitable), these words were the people’s “very life.” Although Moses was at the end of his life, he knew that the people would continue to live long in the land the Lord had promised them if they clung to God’s word of life (Deut. 32:47, cf. Deut. 4:1).
Moses instructed the people to “take” (lit. “put” or “set”) these words “to heart” (Deut. 32:45). In the Hebrew mind, “the heart” did not refer to a person’s emotions, as most modern people understand the term. Instead, the heart meant the very religious center of a person’s being. And so Moses implored the children of Israel that words of warning were to be buried deep in their hearts, lest they be forgotten. One cannot be a follower of the one true God without his inner-most existence being saturated by the word of God. Moreover, the current generation was charged to pass on His words to the next generation. And they were to do so in such a way that their children might diligently observe (“be careful to do,” Deut. 32:46) them. Parents, of course, will only fulfill this duty if they remain convinced that such words are the very words of life for their offspring.
In the first extensive study of Bible literacy undertaken in America in recent years, the surveys reported that many American teenagers “lack even the most basic working knowledge of the Bible. Almost one out of ten teens believes that Moses is one of the twelve Apostles. About the same proportion, when asked what Easter commemorates or to identify Adam and Eve, respond ‘don’t know.’” Without doubt, Satan has been spectacularly successful in ensuring that, whilst many men and women hold the Bible in high regard, believing it to be inspired by God, and owning several translations, they never read it. Many parents—committed Christians and pillars of their local churches—are starved of God’s word and, therefore, spiritually retarded. Busyness, tiredness, and not knowing where to begin are often cited as excuses for not getting into the Scriptures. And yet, ironically, these prevent parents from the very source of spiritual growth and nutrition that God has provided.
What does it mean, in today’s world, that the word of God is “life” to human beings? It means realizing that the “real world” means the kingdom of God. For the family, this requires them to sink their roots down deep into the teachings of Christ, an immersion deep enough to weather the scorching and withering counterfeit proposals that threaten from above ground. There is no better place to start than for a family to work its way through every story in the Bible, from the garden to the city of God.
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