Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
“Train – to train, to dedicate” (Strong’s Concordance)
“Train- to make narrow, to put something into the mouth, to give to be tasted, to instruct, to initiate” (Gesenius’s Lexicon)
Psalm 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
“Taste- try the flavor, eat a little, perceive mentally” (GL)
In our homes, the Words of God should be available to taste and to see.
Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
The goodness of God should be acknowledged.
Psalm 100:5 “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
“Train them up, not in the way they would go (the bias of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside), but in the way they should go, the way in which, if you love them, you would have them go. Train up a child according as he is capable (as some take it), with a gentle hand, as nurses feed children, little and often, Deu. 6:7.” – Matthew Henry
Deuteronomy 6:7 – “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.”
Diligently- “With steady application and care; with industry or assiduity; not carelessly; not negligently.” (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
From these verses, I see that training and teaching should be done in a continual, gentle stream – not in an irregular, hit-and-miss torrent of impulsive information.
It has been said that hindsight is 20/20 meaning we can usually see the best way to have done something after the fact. There are no perfect parents, but believers have God’s Word and His Spirit to guide us along. I am reminded of my imperfect condition as I write this morning. Oh, how I need God’s wisdom to know how to teach my children! My teaching and training consistencies will most likely be in direct proportion to the consistency in my walk with God.
Some friends encouraged me with these thoughts and verses today:
ü Proverbs 22:6 is just as much a promise as is Proverbs 3:5-6.
ü God has overcome the world. He can preserve the knowledge in our children. He can help them overcome the evil influences they face.
Proverbs 22:12 “The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.”
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, THAT YE MIGHT HAVE PEACE. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
ü My trust must be in the Lord – not in my parenting skills. I must stay in His Word, for it is Truth.
Proverbs 22:17-22 “Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?”
Comments