A Note To Parents Many of us have entered into a Sunday School classroom to leave our children to hear bible stories at "their level" while we, the adults, went on to our own study or to listen to the sermon. This has been the habit of millions of Christians for years, many years. And not only in the US but other countries have adopted this form of "church" as a norm worldwide. Somewhere, sometime, someone decided that the children need to hear The Scriptures at "their level". I want to challenge this form of thinking from a scriptural point of view. But first I will give you my position on Sunday school classes right from the start. I do not believe in separate classes for children of any age. Now let me explain by painting a picture for you. Almost any parent who has left a child in a Sunday school classroom or nursery has seen the following, some type of artists rendition of Noah and the ark. It usually contains a very robust, bearded, smiling Noah and two of several 'zoo' type animals, also smiling, maybe leaving you as a parent feeling warm and fuzzy inside as you give your precious child into the hands of church personal. Now you may be thinking, "AND?" To answer your "and", let's take a look at the scriptural account of Noah and the ark. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Genesis 5:28-32) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:1-3)...And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8)...The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:11-13)...And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. (Genesis 6:17)
...Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. (Genesis 7:2)...For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. (Genesis 7:4-6)...And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 7:21-24) As you read this I hope you felt the sadness of this event. EVERY living thing, ALL that had breath was KILLED by Yehovah God due to how corrupt ALL was (and still is). Even the earth had to be destroyed for it also was corrupt. This story should impact you in a deep way. There was NOT ONE other person, NOT ONE that was righteous enough to save beside Noah and due to God's grace and mercy he saved Noah's wife and his children and their wives also. The point in showing you this is to show how false the representation of Noah and the ark are in that Sunday school classroom. Noah would not have been smiling. He was witnessing the destruction of his mother, father, sweet old granny and grandpa, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, all relatives were to be killed because Yehovah God found none of them worthy of saving. This was not a joyous event; the door had been closed, the flood waters rose and as the impact of the gravity of the event took hold people were likely clamoring due to the reality of their imminent destruction. NO this was not an event that would provoke a smile. "And" and the portrayal of a smiling Noah and smiling animals becomes a false representation of the reality, therefore a false doctrine. Another things that may be less important but none the less equally bothersome to me is that many bible believing Christians don't even know that the only animals that were counted by twos were the ceremonially unclean animals (read Gen.7:2gain). Yet the image we as well as our children have been exposed to is of 'zoo' animals in pairs. So why is this all a big deal? Because when we allow such things to go on we break the commandments of God. Again let us allow scripture to answer. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deut. 4:2) Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:7-8)
Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Prov. 30:6) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl. 12:13) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev. 22:18-19) What then are we to teach. Scripture tells us, no, commands us the following: Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. (Deut. 4:5-10) Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever. (Deut. 4:40) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. (Deut. 6:4-15)
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. (Deut. 11:18-23) So we see that godly parents are commanded teach all the words of Yehovah God, the entire truth, to our children. In this way we teach them to fear the Lord "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." (Deuteronomy 4:24). And we remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Think on this, by giving them a part truth (a smiling Noah) we are not teaching the entire truth. We are not teaching our children why to fear God. And less we think this is only an OT teaching listen to Paul's stern rebuke to the church in Corinth. Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor. 10:1-12) 'Don't be ignorant' of the things that the men of old did as they are an example to us. The term "overthrown in the wilderness" is "G2693, καταστρωννυμι, katastronnumi, kat-as-trone'-noo-mee; From G2596 and G4766; to strew down, that is, (by implication) to prostrate (slay): - overthrow." These people were slayed by God in the dessert for their disobedience just as those killed in the flood were. So to minimize the story of Noah, to make it a cute bedtime story is to diminish the severity of the event and disobedience, AND, in turn, to diminish the commandments of God. Here is a tough question that we as parents need to ask ourselves, how do we see our God and his word? Do we see him and his word as things from which we need to protect our children's 'delicate' little ears? Do we do our children any good by presenting them with false biblical images so as to minimize some perceived trauma that may cause them by telling them the truth? I present you this from Scripture: And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with
understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. (Neh. 8:1-3) And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. (Neh. 8:5-9) Now you may be thinking "...those that could understand" must refer to older children. Why? I am sure that many of you read to your children from many different sources, different stories, some they clearly understand and some they do not. And those they do not, you explain the best you can the meaning. And you do this with your children from the time they will sit and listen which for the most part is from a year to a year and a half and on generally speaking. But that aside, we do not see in Nehemiah or Ezra that the kids were sent to a Sunday school class to hear a watered down version of the Law. No, if they didn't understand they were "caused to understand" at a later time. We note also that ALL stood and ALL wept. By having the children present they learn discipline and learn to fear the Lord. "Daddy, mommy why do we stand when they read those books? Why were you all crying?" Do we think their parents said, "hush now don't you worry about it" or "you wouldn't understand", no they "caused them to understand." Is this how we Christians operate in today's politically correct world? Are we trying too hard to protect our kids from everything, even the mean old God we serve? Are we feeding them the lie that God is only a God of love? For if we are, when they confront the real God of The Scriptures they will certainly run in the opposite direction. We must "cause them to understand" and that at the earliest possible age. In conclusion, I leave you with a stern warning, you do your child a disservice, or maybe even our God a disservice ("Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." Mat.10:32-33) when we water down his word even for our children. Do you want your children to know the Bible? Do you want to read Bible stories to your children? Read the Bible then! Don't turn to Max Lucado and the like and their watered down, false doctrine and hope that your children will "get it" someday. That's like telling them about Santa Clause then telling them he doesn't exist. I leave you with some homework. Read the following passages of Scripture and ask yourself, were there children present? How might they have reacted? Did God want them to be protected from the truth? Deuteronomy 13:1-11, Leviticus 26:14-26 (Dt.28-29 also) and Acts 5:1-11. "And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things."