Godly Education in the Home

“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. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk in the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, ESV).

For Judaism, Deuteronomy 6:6-9 became the confession of faith recited twice daily in the home and also as the first act of worship in the Jewish synagogue. The name for this confession is the Shema, so named because of the first word in verse 4 in Hebrew. The children of Israel were about to go in and possess the Promised Land. They needed stability and direction to overcome the trials of settling into the new land and resisting the paganism they would encounter. They were to teach diligently the precepts of the Lord God and the importance of loving Him with heart, soul and might. They were instructed to teach His commandments diligently in the home, in the community, at night and in the morning. Writing this passage on parchment (see Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16, Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21) and binding it in a special box on the hand (or forearm), on the forehead (between the eyes) and on the doorpost (the entrance gate to the home) was commanded as a way to remind the people to follow the Lord. These were visible reminders to keep the law of God. The doorpost reminder was called the mezuzah and the forearm and headpiece a phylactery. The intention behind the Shema (repeating, wearing and displaying it) was intended for good. The households and everyone in them were reminded of the presence of God and the obligation to love and follow Him. But often the best intentions can become stumbling blocks. By the time of Jesus (and even earlier) these outward displays of inner piety had become a means of boasting of devotion to the law and even by some to be sort of a charm or talisman to ward off evil spirits.

We need to know from the heart that there is only One God. Our love for Him should permeate “heart, soul and might”—a way of including all of life. When Jesus was asked by one of the teachers of the Law what of all the commandments was most important, Jesus answered: “ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israwl, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ “ (Mark 12:29-31). Our churches have grave responsibility to teach the precepts of God, to teach sound doctrine and truth of the Word of God. But God has also commissioned the home to be a place where His Word is taught both by precept and example. “What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say,” is certainly true as children observe parents (and grandparents) and how they teach and live out the truths of God. Pray that heads of our homes will return to the importance of making God known to all who enter and live there. May we dedicate our home as a sanctuary where God’s way is taught and lived out.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, November 1, 2010