TEACH OTHERS ABOUT THE GRACE OF GOD
Psalm 78:1-4
1 Give
ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline
your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I
will open my mouth in a parable;
I
will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things
that we have heard and known,
that
our fathers have told us.
4 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.
The author, under the inspiration of God, is commanding the
children of Israel to be careful to listen and learn from his teaching. His
story will be based on the history of Israel and their necessary response is to
learn from the mistakes of the past.
Not only it is necessary for the people to listen and learn,
but also to teach these lessons to their children, to then be passed on to the
future generations.
At the center of the whole teaching is the kind providence
of God in doing great works for Israel and graciously forgiving them.
We, too, should ask ourselves if we are learning from our
past mistakes so that we will not fall again. When one does not recognize his
mistakes, the tendency will always be to feel more like a victim than a person
to whom God has shown grace. We should always be alarmed when we begin to feel
like victims, for God is always gracious to His own; we have no cause for complaint
or dejection.
Psalm 78:5-8
5 He
established a testimony in Jacob
and
appointed a law in Israel,
which he
commanded our fathers
to
teach to their children,
6 that
the next generation might know them,
the
children yet unborn,
and arise
and tell them to their children,
7 so
that they should set their hope in God
and not
forget the works of God,
but
keep his commandments;
8 and
that they should not be like their fathers,
a
stubborn and rebellious generation,
a
generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose
spirit was not faithful to God.
The concern was that the rebellion and sin of the fathers
would not be repeated by their children. Parents have always had the
responsibility to teach their children about God and model for them true
submission and worship. The responsibility of the children was to set their
hope in God, remember His works, and keep His commandments.
God had commanded obedience through Moses.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2
“And now, O
Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do
them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the
LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word
that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the
LORD your God that I command you.
The instructions were clear to not deviate in any way from
the commands they had received, and to teach their children to do the same.
Deuteronomy 4:9
“Only
take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your
eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.
Make them known to your children and your children's children.
Dear friends, are we so distracted by our daily lives or,
worse, blinded by our sin that we are neglecting our responsibilities to set
our hope, worship, and obedience on God and to teach our families to do the
same?
This is not a small task nor easy, but it is our
responsibility. Is it time to stop and evaluate our lives and ask ourselves
what we are teaching, not only with our words, but also by our behavior.
Dear friends, is our God worthy of our trust? Is He worthy
of our worship? Is he worthy of our obedience? The warning we have here must
include the thought that it is possible to lose sight of God and neglect our
responsibility to our descendants.
There is no better use of our time than investing it in our
children and grandchildren. Even if we have none, we can find others to
encourage toward awareness of the grace of God.
What a privilege we have to worship the only true God and
invite others to do the same!
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