The Need for Home Education Part 2

Matt. 22:34-39
    
    Last week we looked at a deeper mean of Jesus giving the great commandment and how it was not only to love God, but to teach about God. I want to bring up another important point. What happens when you fail to teach your child God’s word? “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6) In 1 Samuel, there are several main characters that are often remembered, Samuel, Eli, Hannah, Saul, David, Goliath, but what about Hophni and Phinehas? Hophni and Phinehas were sons of Eli, the priest. They can be seen in 1 Samuel 2 sinning publicly by debasing the offering (1 Sam. 2:13-17) and taking advantage of the women who served at the tent of meeting (1 Sam. 2:22-25). While Eli did rebuke them in their older age, one has to ask, “How did the sons of the priest get so far away from God?” The answer is revealed in 1 Sam. 2:12-13, “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord and the custom of the priests with the people.” Why would the sons of the priest not know the Lord? Because they weren’t taught. The need for home education is clearly seen here. Similarly, the sons of Aaron, who would become the Levitical priesthood (Numbers 3:2), died because of their lack of reverence that can stem from lack of education. In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, are killed for offering unauthorized fire to the Lord. God’s law was specific about what to offer (Lev. 16:12), and either due to their arrogance or their ignorance, they offered something else. Here, lack of home education had a grave consequence. Let us pray that the Lord’s church will follow the example of Lois and Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5), and not the example of Aaron and Eli when it comes to teaching our children about the Lord. I love you all!


In His service,
Steven Hugley