What Does The Bible Teach About Families?

Written in Deuteronomy are the commandments given to Moses by God for the nation of Israel. Moses declared: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts, Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The people of Israel were instructed to learn the commandments given them and be diligent in teaching them to their children. They were not asked to take their kids to the synagogue to learn about God's commandments. This was a directive give to the parents to be influencers in the spiritual lives of their children. They were also told to make it part of the everyday lives. This was not to be a passing conversation they would have with their children, but a part of their lifestyle. Every part of their lives should be inundated with God's commandments. "The tendency in Canaan would be to take all of God's provisions there for granted and thus to forget that He is the Source of all blessing (6:10-12)"(Nelson's p. 140). They were challenged to put their trust in the God of Israel and promised blessings. With the new covenant we are promised those same blessings through the grace of Jesus Christ and I propose that in the same way we are called to teach our children about God. I propose that God still desires today for parents to love the Lord with all their heart and teach that to their children.



We see examples of several families throughout Scripture. We see how the parents have impacted to lives of children. The life of Moses is a great example of how God works through parents. Moses was born in a day when the likelihood of his survival was not positive, but God made provisions for him to become a mighty leader and example of the redeemer. There were countless women available to be Moses' nurse after he was rescued by the Princess, but God made sure it was his mother who was able to care for him as a small child. Moses' mother was there and taught him about his family, his heritage, and his God. The impact his mother made on him in the first years of his life impacted his entire life. Moses did not take on the Egyptian lifestyle, rather he clung to the promises God had made for him and his people.



Another very popular Biblical example is the life of Timothy. Paul talks about how Timothy's mother and grandmother taught him about God and impacted his life greatly. There are other examples throughout Scripture of how parents impacted their children and how families impacted one another. Scripture clearly teaches that parents are called to be the Spiritual leaders of their homes.



A theme throughout the Bible is a parallel of Christ as the father and Israel, or the church, as his child. If we take that as the ultimate example of parenting we see teaching, discipline, love, forgiveness, security, restoration. The relationship between parents and their children will not be like the relationship between Christ and us, because you are dealing with a relationship of two fallen people opposed to a Holy God in relationship with a fallen person. However, the example of his relationship with us should be our ultimate model for the parent/child relationship.