Teach Your Children Well - Psalm 78:1-7

"O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable...We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders...He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands"  (Psalm 78:1-7, NLT).

The lyrics of a 1970s folk song say to teach your children well and feed them on your dreams. That's the message of this psalm.

This wisdom psalm exhorts God's people to learn wisdom (God's commands) and then faithfully pass it on to their children.

Matthew quoted from this psalm in Matthew 13:35 to show how the teaching ministry of Jesus fulfilled this psalm as a prophecy of the coming Messiah.

According to the psalmist, the story of God's redemption should be told from generation to generation. Of course, you should tell Bible stories to your children, but you should also share the testimony of your personal faith in Christ with them.

The psalmist said that the continuous telling of the story of God's redemption will move the next generation of God’s people to obey what He has commanded.

Still, God holds each generation accountable to place their hope in Him and to obey His commands.

So teach your children well about your faith in God and they will learn it and know how to do the same for the next generation.

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." 

(Proverbs 22:6, NLT)