It is also evident from Scripture that God puts the responsibility to teach on the parents, not on the national leadership or on the church. The instruction in His way of life is not something that can be farmed out. We will look at just one place He says this, in chapter 11:
The first part of these instructions is that the parents must lay up (or impress, or fix) God’s words into their own hearts and lives, so God’s words are always with them. God wanted it to be as though His words were physically attached. The second part, then, is to teach God’s words to the children in every circumstance of life.
God says here to write His words on our doorposts and gates. While there can be a token physical application of this, the greater application is spiritual. It indicates a consistent manner of living that testifies of the place of God’s word in every aspect of our lives. It is as though God’s words are becoming etched on the family and its property, so that everything under the family’s administration speaks of God’s way of life.
It was not God’s intent that the instruction of the children be left to others. He gives the responsibility to the parents. This is not to say that the church cannot ever teach children, only that the primary instruction and admonition and training is not the church’s responsibility. That is the order and pattern God establishes. In addition, there is a natural law that we learn best when we teach others. Teaching helps parents to make the connections, too. So, parents teaching they children isn’t just about the children learning. It is also a tremendous help in imprinting God’s way in the parents.
