Teach Your Children the Truth
It is important that believers tell their children and subsequent generations of the faithfulness of the Lord. We are not just to tell of the “Heroes and Highlights,” of the Scriptures. It is important that our children come to understand the sinfulness of the heart of man and God’s great patience and mercy towards his people in spite of their unfaithfulness.
Psalm 78 is a splendid example to believers. The psalmist calls the faithful to tell the next generation of the works of God, to the praise of His name (1-4). He instructs those that are listening to him that he is going to tell the truth of the history of Israel. He will utter even “dark” things that their fathers have taught them. He exhorts all who hear to not conceal the truth of the Scriptures from their children, but rather tell them the truth and give them a right picture of God’s character towards His faithless people (4)
The psalmist reminds his hearers that the Old Covenant commands that the Israelites to teach God’s word to their children and all future generations. The goal of this is so that they would have faith in YHWH alone, not forget His mighty works, and obey His word faithfully. Future generations can learn from their fathers' sins and instead choose to walk faithfully with their God (8)
The Scriptures tell us that it is our responsibility to teach our children the truth of God’s word. We must be faithful to live out the truth in our own lives and tell them of the wonderful person and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. We are to be faithful to fulfil our responsibilities as parents and trust that He is good and that he is a saving God (22).