The Core Content of the Ninth Lesson in Parenting
The ninth lesson in parenting, according to a traditional topical outline, centers on the duties of parents toward their children [1]. These duties encompass both physical and spiritual provisions, emphasizing the role of parents in nurturing their children's faith and character.
A primary duty is to love children, as indicated in Titus 2:4 [1]. Beyond affection, parents are called to bring their children to Christ, echoing the sentiment in Matthew 19:13-14 where Jesus welcomed children [1]. This spiritual guidance extends to training children for God, as Proverbs 22:6 advises, and instructing them in God's word, a principle found in Deuteronomy 4:9 and 11:19 [1]. Parents are also encouraged to recount God's judgments and miraculous works, as seen in Joel 1:3 and Exodus 10:2, and to command their children to obey God, as Deuteronomy 32:46 suggests [1].
The book of Proverbs frequently highlights the importance of parental instruction. It presents a father's (and sometimes a mother's) teaching as a guide for a child to choose between a wise and a foolish path [4]. This instruction is not merely academic but aims to shape the child's life, with parents representing the "wise way" [4]. The teacher of wisdom in Proverbs addresses the scholar as "my son," emphasizing a fatherly relationship in imparting knowledge [6]. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist commentator, notes that a parent instructs a child to apply their heart to "the words of knowledge," especially the scriptures and catechism, to understand their duty and interest [8].
Furthermore, parents are to provide for their children, as seen in Job 42:15 and 1 Timothy 5:8, and to pity them, reflecting Psalm 103:13 [1]. The concept of discipline is also present, with Ephesians 6:4 advising fathers not to provoke their children to anger but to bring them up in the "discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord" [7]. This discipline is intended to be loving and gentle, drawing children to God rather than alienating them [7]. The author of Hebrews draws a parallel between the respect shown to earthly fathers who discipline their children and the submission due to God, the "Father of our spirits," in His discipline [3]. This suggests that parental discipline, when rightly administered, reflects a divine pattern for growth [3].
The covenant God established with Noah and his offspring in Genesis 9:9 underscores the generational aspect of God's relationship with humanity, implying a parental responsibility to pass on this heritage [2, 5]. The annual celebration of the Passover, for instance, served as a visible sign for parents to teach their children about God's ownership and His work [9].
Sources
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Parents — Receive their children from God -- Ge 33:5; 1Sa 1:27; Ps 127:3. Their duty to their children is To love them. -- Tit 2:4. To bring them to Christ. -- Mt 19:13,14. To train them up for God. -- Pr 22:6; Eph 6:4. To instruct them in God's word. -- De 4:9; 11:19; Isa 38:19. To tell them of God's judgments. -- Joe 1:3. To tell them of the miraculous works of God. -- Ex 10:2; Ps 78:4. To command them to obey God. -- De 32:46; 1Ch 28:9. To bless them. -- Ge 48:15; Heb 11:20. To pity them. -- Ps 103:13. To provide for them. -- Job 42:15; 2Co 12:14; 1Ti 5:8. To rule”
- Genesis ““As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, -- Genesis 9:9”
- Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 12:9: 12:9 The author argues from lesser to greater (see study note on 9:14). Here, the lesser situation is the respect shown to an earthly father when he is giving discipline. We should submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits in the more important context of our relationship with God. We should adopt a posture of yielding to God as to a good Father, trusting that he is helping us grow even through painful circumstances.”
- Proverbs (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Proverbs 1:8: 1:8–9:18 My child (Literally My son): Like other wisdom literature of the ancient Near East, much of chs 1–9 is a father’s (and occasionally, a mother’s) instruction to a son. Because the son is being trained to follow in his father’s profession, much of the teaching concerns the son’s occupation. The NLT usually translates the term as child, since the lessons are applicable to both sons and daughters. 1:8-19 There are two paths (1:15) in the book of Proverbs: a wise, just way and a foolish, evil way. The parents represent the wise way and encourage their child t”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 9 (introduction): Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family, the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives us an account, of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance because from this family we are all descendants. Here is, I. The covenant of providence settled with Noah and his sons (Gen 9:1-11). In this covenant, 1. God promises them to take care of their lives, so that, (1.) They should replenish the earth (Gen 9:1, Gen 9:7). (2.) They should be safe from the insults of the brute-creatures, which should stand in awe ”
- Proverbs (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 1:8: After the author has indicated the object which his Book of Proverbs is designed to subserve, and the fundamental principle on which it is based, he shows for whom he has intended it; he has particularly the rising generation in his eye: 8 Hear, my son, thy father's instruction, And refuse not the teaching of thy mother; 9 For these are a fair crown to thy head, And Jewels to thy neck. "My son," says the teacher of wisdom to the scholar whom he has, or imagines that he has, before him, addressing him as a fatherly friend. The N.T. representation of birth into ”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 6:4: 6:4 Fathers can often provoke their children to anger by being harsh or unjust (see Col 3:21). Parents should give their children the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord (or the discipline and instruction about the Lord) so that they will learn a way of living that is good and pleases God. Such discipline is not to be excessive, but loving and gentle, so that children are not turned from the Lord but are drawn to him (cp. Heb 12:5-11).”
- Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 23:12: Here is, 1. A parent instructing his child. He is here brought in persuading him to give his mind to his book, and especially to the scriptures and his catechism, to attend to the words of knowledge, by which he might come to know his duty, and danger, and interest, and not to think it enough to give them the hearing, but to apply his heart to them, to delight in them, and bow his will to the authority of them. The heart is then applied to the instruction when the instruction is applied to the heart. 2. A parent correcting his child. A tender parent can scarcel”
- Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 13:9: 13:9 The annual celebration of the Passover was a visible sign to identify oneself as the Lord’s possession. It was a mark of his ownership, the physical reinforcement of a spiritual reality. • Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: The second part of the verse may be interpreted either as a statement to be recited (as in the NLT text) or simply as a description of the Lord’s work.”