I know, two posts for the same lesson. Weird huh. Especially after I can go two or three lessons without managing to post anything. I figure in the end it will all average out.
Chapter 2 of Judges seems to be a quick summary, not only of the end of Joshua's life, but also of things to come for the Israelites. We see a pattern start to develop, where the Lord provides a faithful judge who helps to free Israel from oppression, the people repent and are faithful again, the judge dies, and the people return to their old ways.
There was one line that really grabbed me and made me think of a talk Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave in April 2003 general conference. Judges 2:19 reads,
"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way." (emphasis added)
It seems Israel has short-term memory problems. As soon as there is no longer anyone to remind them of what God has done for them, they turn and fall away again, "more than their fathers". I wish the record was more detailed, but the focus of the book of Judges seems to be the military activites as opposed to the spiritual matters. I would like to know what the parents taught their children during the faithful cycles.
One of the things Elder Holland said really jumped out at me:
"...no child in this Church should be left with uncertainty about his or her parents’ devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Restoration of His Church, and the reality of living prophets and apostles...
"I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect."
I wonder what an Israelite "Family Home Evening" would've looked like. Did the parents teach their children why they believed? Why they offered sacrifices to God? Why the Passover was so important to them? Were the children left to draw their own conclusions as they watched their parents?
Then I wonder, "what about my children? What do they know? Again, from Elder Holland:
"Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son?"
Children tend to take the direction of their parents and take it a few steps further, regardless of the which way their parents were facing. Where parents faithfully teach their children, we find a stronger generation (like Helaman's stripling warriors who absolutely had no doubt of their parents' conviction). Quoting from Elder Holland's talk again, where parents "flirt with skepticism or cynicism... children expand that flirtation into full-blown romance."
I feel chapter 2 of Judges stands as a caution to parents everywhere. We can't let our children just guess what they think we feel is important. We are accountable before God on how well we (not the primary teachers, not the young men/young women leaders) teach our children the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost (D&C 68: 25).
As I reflect on my own teaching moments with my children, I recognize many opportunities for improvement. As an example, earlier this week I decided to do my lesson preparation upstairs at the table rather than down in my "cave". My son asked me if I had a big talk to do or something because apparently that's the only time he's seen me with my scriptures out and writing notes down on paper. Improvement opportunity, knocking at the door.
Chapter 2 of Judges seems to be a quick summary, not only of the end of Joshua's life, but also of things to come for the Israelites. We see a pattern start to develop, where the Lord provides a faithful judge who helps to free Israel from oppression, the people repent and are faithful again, the judge dies, and the people return to their old ways.
There was one line that really grabbed me and made me think of a talk Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave in April 2003 general conference. Judges 2:19 reads,
"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way." (emphasis added)
It seems Israel has short-term memory problems. As soon as there is no longer anyone to remind them of what God has done for them, they turn and fall away again, "more than their fathers". I wish the record was more detailed, but the focus of the book of Judges seems to be the military activites as opposed to the spiritual matters. I would like to know what the parents taught their children during the faithful cycles.
One of the things Elder Holland said really jumped out at me:
"...no child in this Church should be left with uncertainty about his or her parents’ devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Restoration of His Church, and the reality of living prophets and apostles...
"I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect."
I wonder what an Israelite "Family Home Evening" would've looked like. Did the parents teach their children why they believed? Why they offered sacrifices to God? Why the Passover was so important to them? Were the children left to draw their own conclusions as they watched their parents?
Then I wonder, "what about my children? What do they know? Again, from Elder Holland:
"Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son?"
Children tend to take the direction of their parents and take it a few steps further, regardless of the which way their parents were facing. Where parents faithfully teach their children, we find a stronger generation (like Helaman's stripling warriors who absolutely had no doubt of their parents' conviction). Quoting from Elder Holland's talk again, where parents "flirt with skepticism or cynicism... children expand that flirtation into full-blown romance."
I feel chapter 2 of Judges stands as a caution to parents everywhere. We can't let our children just guess what they think we feel is important. We are accountable before God on how well we (not the primary teachers, not the young men/young women leaders) teach our children the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost (D&C 68: 25).
As I reflect on my own teaching moments with my children, I recognize many opportunities for improvement. As an example, earlier this week I decided to do my lesson preparation upstairs at the table rather than down in my "cave". My son asked me if I had a big talk to do or something because apparently that's the only time he's seen me with my scriptures out and writing notes down on paper. Improvement opportunity, knocking at the door.
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