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A Study in the Scriptures
"Children are a blessing from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." Psalms 127:3
SAFE
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FOR LITTLE
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Dogz & Catz,
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.Puzzlemaker
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Mark Kistler's
Winnie the Pooh -
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....Email:
Diane@dianedew.com
Diane Dew
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....Email:
Imagination Station
An Expotition
P.O. Box 340945
Milwaukee, WI 53234
Jesus loved children.
"Let the little children come unto Me," He said,
"for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Copyright © 1999 by Diane S. Dew
I. Children are a blessing from God.
Genesis 30:1;
33:5; 49:25
Deuteronomy 33:24
1 Samuel 1:1-18
Psalms 113:9;
127:3-5; 128:3
Proverbs 17:6
Luke 1:42
1 Timothy 5:14
A. In Bible days, barrenness was viewed as a reproach (1 Samuel 1:6, 7; Luke 1:25) and affliction.
Genesis 1:17; 15:2, 3; 20:17
2 Samuel 6:23
Jeremiah 22:30
B. God hears the cries of the barren who pray in faith.
Genesis 25:21; 30:22
1 Samuel 1:1-18, 27
Judges 13:3
Luke 1:7, 13
C. A large family is a special blessing.
Psalms 115:14; 127:4, 5
II. We were in God's heart even before we were born.
A. God knew us while we were yet in our mother's womb.
Job 31:15; 33:4
Psalms 22:10; 71:5, 6; 139:14-16
Isaiah 44:24; 49:1
Jeremiah 1:5
Luke 1:13
B. He had a plan for our life even before we were born.
Jeremiah 1:5
C. God, not "nature," gives life to the unborn child.
Genesis 2:7; 4:1, 25 "from the Lord"
1 Samuel 1:19, 20 "...and the Lord remembered her"
Ruth 4:13 "...and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception..."
Job 33:4
Acts 17:25
III. God has a special care for the children of the righteous.
Psalms 25:12, 13; 37:25; 102:28; 112:1, 2
Proverbs 11:21; 14:26
Isaiah 54:13; 65:23
Matthew 18:10
John 6:45
1 Corinthians 7:14
Philippians 4:19
IV. Teaching and training children.
Judges 13:8
A. Parents' responsibility.
1. Scripture exhorts parents to instruct their children.
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7;11:18-20; 31:12, 13
Psalms 22:9; 34:11; 78:1-6
Isaiah 38:19
Joel 1:3
Mark 10:14
John 21:15
Acts 2:39
Galatians 4:19
Ephesians 6:4
2 Timothy 3:15
Hebrews 2:13
a. Childrearing is the most important task
assigned to parents.
Mark 7:27
b. Proper training will guide children throughout life.
Proverbs 22:6
c. Those who train their children will enjoy them later.
Proverbs 10:1 "...A wise son maketh a glad father:
but a
foolish son is the heaviness of his mother."
Proverbs 13:1 "A wise son heareth his father's
instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke."
Proverbs 23:15, 16
Proverbs 23:24, 25 "The father of the righteous
shall
greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise
child shall have joy
of him. Thy father and thy
mother shall be glad, and she that bare
thee shall rejoice."
Proverbs 28:7 "Whoso keepeth the law is a wise
son: but he
that is a companion of riotous men
shameth his father."
3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that
my
children walk in truth."
2 John 1:4
d. Disobedient children are a strain on their parents.
Proverbs 17:21 "He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his
sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy."
Proverbs 17:25 "A foolish son is a grief to his father,
and bitterness to her that bare him."
Proverbs 19:13 "A foolish son is the calamity of his
father..."
Proverbs 10:1
e. Neglecting or ignoring a child causes deep problems
that
eventually will surface and affect everyone: parents
and society, as
well as the child..
Proverbs 29:15 "...a child left to himself..."
1 Kings 20:40
Matthew 23:23
Colossians 3:21
2. Parents should bring their children to meetings to worship God.
1 Samuel 1:24
Joshua 8:35
2 Chronicles 20:13
Joel 2:12-16
3. Children should be treated gently.
Matthew 18:10
Luke 1:17
Ephesians 6:4
Colossians 3:21
1 Thessalonians 2:7 "But we were gentle among you,
even as a
nurse cherisheth her children"
4. Children need to be loved.
Titus 2:4
5.
Parents must exercise patience in dealing with children,
as God
deals patiently with us.
Ephesians 6:4 "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to
wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord."
1 Thessalonians 2:11 "As ye know how we exhorted and comforted
and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children"
Romans 2:4
6. Parents should pray for guidance on childrearing.
Judges 13:12 "And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?"
7. Scripture instructs on how to discipline unruly children.
Proverbs 13:24 "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he
that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."
Proverbs 19:18 "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let
not thy soul spare for his crying."
Proverbs 22:15 "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;
but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
Proverbs 23:13 "Withhold not correction from the child: for if
thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die."
Proverbs 29:17 "Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest;
yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul."
8. Church leaders, as examples to the flock of God, must
have their families
in order.
1 Timothy 3:4 "One that ruleth well his own house, having his
children in subjection with all gravity"
1 Timothy 3:12 "Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife,
ruling their children and their own houses well."
Titus 1:6" ...having faithful children not accused of riot or
unruly."
Galatians 4:1, 2
9. Parents who do not control their children are accountable
to God.
Their training must include more than talk; they
must punish
them for disobedience.
1 Samuel 2:22-25 "Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress.... Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them."
1 Samuel 3:13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not."
1 Kings 1:1 "Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat."
1 Kings 1:5, 6 "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?..."
1 Kings 1:16-21
Proverbs 29:15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
Luke 15:12, 13 "And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living."
10. Such a lack of discipline is evidence of not fearing God.
1 Samuel 2:29 "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?"
1 Samuel 2:30 "Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."
1 Samuel 2:12-17
11. Even children who have been trained correctly can go wrong.
We all have a free will. Look at the children of Israel, how
they rebelled – and God is the perfect Father!1 Samuel 8:1-5 "And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.... Then all the elders ... said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."
Mark 13:12, 13 "Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Matthew 24:10 "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another."
Proverbs 2:16-18 "To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead."
12. Because of their inexperience and immaturity, children
are not accountable to the same degree as adults (Isaiah
28:9; Hebrews 5:14) – some behavior is acceptable
only in childhood (1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:14)
– but children who know right from wrong and still
choose to rebel will receive severe punishment for their
rebellion.a. For mocking their parents.
Proverbs 30:17
b. For cursing their parents.
Exodus 21:15
Mark 7:10c. For hitting their parents.
Exodus 21:15
d. For disobeying their parents.
Deuteronomy 21:21
e. For dishonoring their parents.
Deuteronomy 27:16
f. For mocking a man of God.
2 Kings 2:23, 24
g. For committing acts of rebellion like drunkenness
and sexual sins.1 Samuel 2:12, 17, 22, 30, 31; 4:11-18
Deuteronomy 21:20, 2113. Parental favoritism causes problems.
Genesis 25:27, 28
Genesis 27:1-18
Genesis 37:3, 4B. The responsibility of children.
1. Toward parents.
Jesus is the best example of how we should treat our parents.
Luke 2:51
John 19:26, 27a. Obedience (unless the parents are evil: Ezekiel 20:18).
Genesis 28:7; 47:30
Proverbs 1:8, 9
Proverbs 6:20
Ephesians 6:1 ".. in the Lord..."
Colossians 3:20 "... in all things..."b. Respect.
Exodus 20:12 (the promise is for a long life)
Leviticus 19:3
Ephesians 6:2
Proverbs 20:20; 23:22
Hebrews 12:9c. Submission to discipline.
Proverbs 29:17
Hebrews 12:9d. Attention to instruction.
Deuteronomy 4:9; 11:19
e. Provision.
Genesis 45:9, 11; 47:12
1 Timothy 5:42. Toward God.
a. Do not forget him.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them."
b. Obey him.
Deuteronomy 30:2 "...obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children..."
c. Fear him.
Proverbs 24:21 "My son, fear thou the Lord and the king..."
d. Learn from the Scriptures.
2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation..."
e. Draw near to Jesus.
Mark 10:14 "Let the little children come unto me..."
f. Receive spiritual instruction.
Deuteronomy 31:12, 13
Proverbs 22:6g. Praise God in song.
Psalms 8:2 "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings..."
Psalms 148:12, 13 "Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the Lord..."
Matthew 21:15, 16 "And when the chief priests and scribes saw ... the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they ... said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?"h. Yield to the Holy Spirit. God might use you,
even as a child!(1) Jeremiah was just a youth when God called him to be a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:4-9 "Say not, I am a child..."
(2) God will prophesy through the youth in the last days.
Joel 2:28 "And it will come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions..."
(3) Samuel "ministered before the Lord, being a child." He heard the voice of God.
1 Samuel 2:11, 18
(4) God used "a little maid" to bring a message of hope and healing.
2 Kings 5:1-17
(5) God can give you wisdom beyond your age. Consider the story of Daniel and the other three children in the lion’s den: "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."
Daniel 1:17, 20, etc.
(6) David was "but a youth" when he confronted Goliath. In fact, his faith was greater than that of the adults’ in leadership – i.e., Saul (see verse 37).
1 Samuel 17:33, 37
(7) Paul exhorted Timothy to "let no man despise thy youth..."
1 Timothy 4:12
(8) The sound of children praising God invokes a reaction in others.
Matthew 21:15, 16
Nehemiah 12:43
Psalms 148:12, 13(9) "A little child shall lead them."
Isaiah 11
