We began this series talking about the covenant God made with Abraham and how the promises of that covenant were not for him alone but also for his children and his children’s children. God would make him into a great nation through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. When the promise is first given, we aren’t told how this blessing would come through Abraham’s offspring, only that it would. It is the New Testament that makes explicit that the ultimate fulfillment of that promise would come through Christ.
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
(which means, by the way, that Christ, not the modern-day Israel, is the source of blessing. Instead of saying, “those who bless Israel will be blessed,” we should be saying, “those who bless Christ will be blessed.”)
But in the time leading up to Christ, Israel as a whole prefigured the work that Christ would do on behalf of the nations.
Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:6–8)
Israel, as a nation, would bring blessing to the world by showing the glory of a culture and society with God as their God. Given this calling, you can see how vital it is for God’s people to live out their faith by keeping God’s commands, for only in keeping them would this be evident to the world. Jesus explains this as fundamental to kingdom living in the Sermon on the Mount when he says,
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13–16)
This is a big part of why there is such emphasis on keeping God’s commandments. (It’s not the only reason or even the first. The first is because God himself is holy and we are made to reflect His image as we live in relationship with Him).
Put another way, Moses writes,
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5–6)
So, if Israel is to be a kingdom set apart, keeping faith is essential, and the family structure is God’s instrument to train up the future generations to keep God’s commands and be this light of the world.
He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; (Psalm 78:5–7)
You cannot start soon enough, which is why that sign of the covenant was applied to infants. It reminds us of who these children are to become.
Our children are meant to inherit the Kingdom! So let us prepare them. So, how do we do this?
