So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Psalms 78:7

There is a reason we need to pass on Biblical Truth to the next generation. That reason is found in Psalm 78:7: “So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.” It’s been said that hope is just a generation away from being forgotten. This seems true of a lot of things. Truth in our era is lost. We live in a world where the very definitions of things that used to be fact and truth are now considered fluid and redefinable. How did we get here? And can we go back to the way things used to be? How do we help the next generation to know the Truth about God? I think the answers sometimes are simpler than we make them out to be, and they are always found in the Word of God.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we see Moses giving a command first that answers our question. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home, when you are on the road, when you are going to bed, and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.”

Notice the command of God first and then the practical application. Love God with everything and be committed to God’s truth. To continue in that truth and have our kids continue in that, we have to teach it, repeat it, live it, practice it, and tell it over and over all the time. Psalm 78 is another reminder of that, with some great reminders of stories we can share of God’s goodness, provision, love, and Grace.
Please understand this command is to the people of God. Not the Church… Yes, the people of God are the Church, but my distinction is important.

Individually, we are charged and challenged to obey God and pass on truth. Growing up in Church, I have seen many people somehow ignore God’s commands personally and take them as, “Well, the Church is doing that, so I don’t have to.” This means I don’t want to do that because it might interfere with how I live. If you’re relying on the Church to do something God told you to do, then you are in disobedience to God.

There are generations of people walking this earth that need to know God’s truth. My challenge and encouragement to us this week is to commit to doing what the Word of God says we should do. Psalms 78:4: “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.” For the amazing purpose of the next generation setting it’s hope in our amazing God!