God prepared the people to enter into the Promised Land with a vision. Read Deuteronomy 6:1-3. God gave the Ten Commandments to the people in order to maintain their covenant with God. God gave the invitation, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” Eventually, the Hebrew people would finish their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. It would take forty years. The people who heard the words of Deuteronomy were not the same people who would cross the Jordan River. A new generation would be the ones who fulfilled God’s vision of giving them a land flowing with milk and honey. So, when God instructed the people to keep the Ten Commandments, God emphasized that these commandments be taught to future generations. God’s instructions to “teach them to your children and their children” were not just for the Hebrew people who left Egypt, but for every generation after that. It is hard to imagine a society with so little written information. Moses wrote five books 3,400 years ago. These books became not just the foundation of a religion but of society itself. The most common way that information was passed down to the next generation was through simple conversation. Grandparents were the keepers of wisdom. Parents instructed their children and their children’s children on how to keep the covenant by following the commandments. Now it is our turn. Today we are followers of Jesus, and we are to teach our children and grandchildren to love God and love people by following Jesus too.

Lord God, we are grateful for grandparents who inspire us with your wisdom and teaching. Help us continue the tradition of passing on wisdom to future generations. Amen.