Children of the King
Children of the King
"Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer them ..."
As we read the Bible to our children we must remember to stress that one most important fact: Israel's history is our history.
Children must see the connection that they and their family and their church have to the stories found in Scripture. They need to recognize: Adam was our federal head; Abraham is our spiritual patriarch; Nimrod, Goliath, and Demas are our enemies; Moses, Daniel, and Epaphroditus are our heroes.
And Jesus has always been our King.
The epochs of Creation and the Flood, the miracles of Exodus and Pentecost, the battles of Canaan, the journeys of Paul, all become fairy tales unless that connection is made. We must have some relationship with the story to enter it. Otherwise they are wonderful and awesome—and removed.
Consider why God gave us stories. As we examine each we find that the plot is the same–will the lead characters live in obedience to the Good King or not? If they obey, they are blessed. If they disobey, they are cursed. That is the moral of each story.
I believe that God not only inspires the content and context of all of Scripture, but that the construct of the Bible is inspired as well. I am persuaded that God chose the literary genre of stories because each of our lives is a story too. There is a correspondence that should always occur between our story line and the one we are presently reading in the Bible.
Therefore our courage should rise when we read of Daniel's resilience and Peter's brashness. Our children should notice this. A lump should form in our throats as we read of Samson's death, Moses's exile, and Jerusalem's fall.
Our excitement should be contagious as we read aloud the Heroes of the Faith in Hebrews 11. Why? Because this isn't some silly flannel graph lesson! This is our people, our family, and our history!
When we get this, we can move on to helping our children realize that Jesus Christ is the King. We cannot establish His rule unless we know who He is and what He has done. The main problem in our day that causes a disconnect between us and the Bible and Jesus is this: Jesus is not the King of the New Testament. He is the King that made covenant with us long before the Incarnation. He was and is the Captain of the Lord's Host, the Ancient of Days, the Prophet like unto Moses, the Monarch greater than Solomon, the Priest-King Melchizedek.
But, if we do not stress this, our view of Jesus is one of a dispensational Savior that remains locked in the gospels and talked about in the epistles. The glory of the King is found in the first two books, the Law and the Prophets. The return of the King is the promise of the New Testament. Are we connecting all the dots here?
If we do not see King Jesus ruling, reigning, rescuing, rebuking, rebuffing, and redeeming in Volume One and Two, His return in the last book loses its meaning, as well as our connection to such a great King that is present in all those Old Testament stories. Without that connection, we turn the stories of Joseph, David, and Nehemiah into "illustrations of character" because they are not seen as doing what they were actually doing, following the King. They were not being good for goodness sake; they were acting out their covenant responsibilities with the Sovereign of heaven and earth.
When we see that vital connection, the Scripture becomes bread and honey, meat and wine from the King's table. We feed our children on this robust diet.
Now each personality in the Bible becomes a case study regarding obedience to His Majesty. Will the protagonist be someone faithful that our children will desire to imitate or someone unfaithful whose character they will avoid?
Soon they know what to look for: David killed Goliath for his King; Job suffered to teach us to trust our Sovereign Lord; Daniel feared Yahweh more than Nebuchadnezzar. This is what they will see.
Our children should be listening with rapt attention because they have been made aware that they also have a part to play in this drama of redemption. As they march into each new day, by having breakfast, doing school, putting their toys away, they are in a perpetual boot camp. Bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord transitions to the tribes of Israel camping by their father's standards in preparation for battle. Teaching a child in the way he should go finds him enlisted in the King's service.
Having them walk with you by the way, as you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ, is an example of loyalty they will never forget.
This is the heritage we are to give to our children and our great grandchildren. This is the torch that we are to pass to insure the coming generations will be a city set on a hill whose light cannot be hid.
Israel's history is our history. And history moves in time. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, this flow from the past to the future is measured by generations. Our day will fade as the morning of the next generation dawns. But the Alpha and Omega, the One who is eternal, is faithful to a thousand generations. Greeting each with the joy of His presence, walking with those who are in covenant with Him.
Our goal is simple, our calling sure. We are to raise up a generation who knows their God and King. Having done that, we have done all.