And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Why The Covenant was Forgotten

Moses’ next command was for the fathers of the nation of Israel to teach their children. Knowing how important this command is, he says it should be carried out in three ways, teach them, Bind them and write them.

Teach them, Diligently: שָׁנַן šânan; intensively, as to pierce; to prick, or sharpen like whetting a blade. (It means to teach carefully, constantly and conscientiously as one shaping and preparing the one being taught.)

He tells them: Teach them when you sit at home

Teach them when you walk by the way

Teach them when you go to bed

Teach them when you get up in the morning.

Bind them.

for a sign on your hand.

as frontlets between your eyes

And Write them

upon the doorposts of your house and on the gates.

All the entries and exits of your home, the places you must pass every day, many times a day.

All those ways are meant to convey the idea of permeating the child with God’s Law. Everywhere they went teach them about God. Make that teaching permenant like something worn upon on your hand or like something in front of your eyes so that everywhere you look, God and his law is always seen. And yes write them out and put them on the door of your house and the entry to your property. So that when you come in or go out you are reminded of all that is God.

The orthodox Jews turned this command into something literal and wear phylacteries on their heads, bindings of small boxes with scripture upon the back of their hands and the place a mezuzah, a small box or tablet with the Shema written on it on the doorposts of their house. But by making it a physical requirement, the Jews forgot the spiritual requirement.

The fathers did not diligently teach their children, they did not show them God all around them, they did not fill their homes with fill their homes with the word of God and Israel forget and Israel lost the blessings of God and suffered the consequences of their disobedience and apathy.

Fathers, Teach Them

Do you see the parallels between our families, our churches, our nation today and the word of Moses here in Deut 6? The same reason Israel lost God’s blessings are the same reasons that today we are losing God’s blessings.

Fathers are not teaching their children the things of God. Yes it is the duty of both parents but it is especially to the Fathers that God looks to carry out this sacred duty for our children.

Ephesians 6:4, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The Lord speaks to us Dads and just like Moses speaking to the Children of Israel as their spiritual leader and lawgiver, we are to carry out this task in the same way.

Talk of God when you sit in your house as you walk with your child. When you put them to bed and greet them with the love of God when they get up in the morning.

Make the things of God as tangible to them spiritually as if it were wrapped like a bracelet around their hand, or colors and focuses everything they see like glasses on their face.

Fill your home with the Word of God. Give them a Bible before they can read and then teach them to read from a story Bible and continue with the wonder of the King James Bible. LeeOra and I even have a Mezuzah on our door post at the house, scripture framed on the walls, written on plaques and my computer screens have God’s word as screen backgrounds and screen savers.

It is not the physical things that are the teaching though. No matter how many Mezuzahs or pictures of scripture you have in your house they won’t accomplish anything unless you, Fathers teach them to your children. Unless you Grandfathers teach them to your grandchildren. Unless we the church of Jesus Christ, teach them to a world of lost children who do not know the Father in Heaven you so loves them.