Sunday: The First Family
We haven’t been given many details – none, really – in the initial pages of Scripture regarding the kind of family education that went on in the earliest days of human history, though we can be sure that it was in the family structure itself that education took place back then.
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“The system of education established in Eden centered in the family. Adam was ‘the son of God’ (Luke 3:38), and it was from their Father that the children of the Highest received instruction. Theirs, in the truest sense, was a family school.” — Ellen G. White, Education, p. 33.
And though we don’t know exactly what was taught, we may be sure that it dealt with the wonders of creation and, after sin, the plan of redemption.
What do the following texts teach, and why would these surely have been part of the education that Adam and Eve imparted to their children? Genesis 1:1-2:25, Genesis 3:1-15, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Luke 10:27, Galatians 3:11, Revelation 22:12.
“The system of education instituted at the beginning of the world was to be a model for man throughout all aftertime. As an illustration of its principles a model school was established in Eden, the home of our first parents.” — Ellen G. White, Education, p. 20.
Christian education is a commitment to educating families and members in doctrine, worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service. Home is where you minister to family members about the love and promises of God. It is where Jesus is introduced to children as their Lord and Savior and friend, and where the Bible is upheld as the Word of God. Family is where you model what a healthy relationship with our heavenly Father looks like.
In Genesis 4:1-4, we have both Cain and Abel bringing their offerings to the Lord. We surely can assume that they learned about the meaning and importance of the offerings as part of their family education regarding the plan of salvation. Of course, as the story shows, a good education doesn’t always lead to the kind of outcome that one would hope for.
| Whatever your home situation is, what choices can you make in order for it to be an environment where truth is taught and lived out? |
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I grew up on a dairy farm where Dad and Mum were always home. There was always work to be done. Cows to be milked, chooks (chickens for non-Australians) to be fed, fences to be mended, ragwort to be killed, thistles to be cut, drains to be cleaned, and so on. Right from an early age there was an integration of work and family life. It wasn't until I was a teenager that we went for our first holiday in the "Big Smoke" (Auckland for those who need to know the detail)
Looking back on my childhood from my dotage, one could accuse my parents of using child labour. We were not paid for the work we did. I don't ever recall thinking that my parents that my parents were using us. In fact most of my schoolmates could tell similar experiences. Working together was all part of family life, and there was no doubt that we were loved. One of the benefits of the farm lifestyle was that Parents taught by modelling. We did everything together. We worshiped together, morning and evening, we ate together around a table facing one another, and we played together - games were real in those days, not coloured pixels on sheets of glass. And it all this, even when we were naughty and rebellious, we knew we were loved.
I am sure that the first family was very much like our family in that respect. And yet we know that even for the first family ultimately the effect of sin became evident and one brother murdered another. And perhaps it is worth noting that even having a really great family experience does not prevent, although it may lessen the exercise of choice to do the wrong thing. (Incidentally, I have no intention of murdering my brother)
I am not saying that we should all go back to country living, and work the land together. It would be nice but that we live in a very different world today and we need to explore ways of creating that atmosphere where working together and teaching by modelling can be effective.
What did Adam and Eve teach Cain and Abel about the plan of redemption?
The LORD had explained it all to Adam and Eve and they had passed on the knowledge to their children. Adam and Eve loved the LORD and acknowledged Him as the Creator and promised Saviour of the world. Did they teach their children to love the LORD? Abel did but Cain not so much.
We still see this problem today, parents can pass on knowledge but each child as they reach the age of responsibility has to develop a personal love of the LORD.
Is it possible to teach one to love? How did I come to love the LORD? By getting to know Him and by an appreciation of His character and the realization that He loves me.
Shirley - Again, thank you for providing Ellen White's so well fitting insights into today's lesson! I have not come across anyone who expresses Truth so easily and clearly understood as Ellen White.
I would love to hear more discussion about this question.
"Whatever your home situation is, what choices can you make in order for it to be an environment where truth is taught and lived out?"
I think we can choose to use encouragment instead of critisim. And choose to have family worship every day. Also, Both parents must be in the faith and supportive.
What do you think?
Hello Kahn - as a response to your request for more discussion, you can find my comments pointing to what I believe we can do to establish a better balanced home-environment.
In previous comments, I have also pointed out that we need to demonstrate spiritual Integrity - bringing both - actions and words - into alignment with the living Word of God and so give Honor and Respect to God's Authority over our lifes.
We can only do this if our focus is firstly on learning to love God with all our heart, mind and being.
Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov 22:6
"Whatever your home situation is, what choices can you make in order for it to be an environment where truth is taught and lived out?"
Khan- We/I/Us can look at the family as a whole but we aren't save as a family. Our homes can be a model for SDA Christians. Christian Edu from the cradle to the grave yet still our sons and daughters are in jail/prison for wrong doing. I knew of situation whereby PK join gangs. Were the Pastors too busy taking care of the church/s that he neglected his home?
We can use all constructive words and pattern the home like heaven, yet the family if they do not know Jesus for themselves will not be saved. Some people married SDA Christians, some came into the church after, while one spouse joined the church and another didn't. In those three circumstances the home might look different. Remember we as adults came from two totally different background with likes and dislikes. One might be a miser or a saver the other a spend thrift, one a giver the other a taker, one a hard worker the other a chair warmer etc. At times we end up compromising with many things. Then we teach the children two different laws according to the parents. Do we instill/teach the children the need to give even when we have a little? Do we live out truth in our homes as it is found in the bible? Do our children see us the same way as we are both in our homes and at church or are we like the 'two Carolyne' in the bedtime story? Many SDA Christians are afraid what might come out of our children/grand mouth while in church with others. Some think the children/grand are taking their business outside. Is our business a good witnessing? Do we teach the young one to lie/steal/cheat? Do we teach them to work hard? How many of us had our children who were under our care enlisted in Adventurer or Pathfinder club or attended AY? Attended night church with us?
Kahn, to me the choice is to personally be a faithful servant of God. Without this foundation, nothing else will work. Living a mandate is more likely to succeed than merely giving a mandate for others to follow.
Yes, being equally yoked will make such a vital difference. Ask anyone from a home where the parents were not united from the children's perspective.
I am glad the lesson acknowledged disobedience inspite of a good education."Of course, as the story shows, a good education doesn’t always lead to the kind of outcome that one would hope for"
We are sometimes quick to draw in parents if their child is wayward or lawless to good teachings from both home and church. Parents can cover all the nine yards of good Christian parenting but still the outcome could produce almost nothing in their children. So we should not be quick to discern on such parents as failures. We have put love first before condemnation. Amen 🙏
Reading Ellen White’s comments in today’s lesson: “Theirs, in the truest sense, was a family school” brought a thought to mind.
The educational forum usually separates learning into two parts – theoretical and practical; learning which takes place in a formal, academic school setting and the learning which takes place in the home when being part of a family, the nucleus of society. Some families, like we did for a while, combined the two; we called it Homeschool and considered our children to be ‘home-schooled’.
Looking at these two learning environments, it appears that we place much emphasis on the successful teaching and learning of the theoretical, academic curriculum, and not as much on the successful teaching and learning taking place when being part of a family’s home-environment. Our dedication might be focused more on learning what makes us successful in this world then what makes us successful, good citizens in the Kingdom of God.
Many people, now Christians, did not grow up in a Christian home-environment which ‘potentially’ provides receiving an education that includes spiritual nourishment to complete the balanced children's soul.
In those, there was present an instilled longing to reunite with the source of our physical and spiritual life which eventually led us to Jesus Christ – John6:44.
Now, as adults, we are eager to take up our Walk by Faith from where we were found; the cross we carry might be quite a bit heavier, but every one’s burdens are made ‘easier’ when we carry them according as Jesus taught - Matt.11:27-30 .
Jesus’ words recorded in Matt.22:37; Luke10:27; Mark12:30 all point to the most important lesson we all need to learn and heat - whether being brought up in a Christian home or joining the family of God later in life - whether as children being taught by their parents, parents teaching their children, or adults who learn through applying faith – we all need to first and foremost focus our attention on this crucial aspect of our Faith: LEARNING TO LOVE GOD, our Heavenly Father, with all our heart, mind and being.
This is the foundation our 'Walk of Faith' rests on and needs to be learned/understood by all who believe - Then Truth can be taught and lived out successfully!
And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given to by Moses. 2 Chron 34:14
The First Family
The law given to the 1st family was an oral law. The Lord taught then what to do and what not to do to be happy and stay in connection with him. Do we saw the mystery of Cain killing Abel. How did his mind got so evil? Cain never heard about any other human killing another.
After the oral law came the written law. The laws given to the people of God through Moses were both oral and written. But as we read and study the books of Kings and Chronicles we saw a pattern. That is- great, God fearing men have 'produced' evil, rebels sons who became Kings. On the other hand, evil rebel sons who were Kings, 'produced' God fearing sons who became Kings and love the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and might.
Solution to our home situations as SDA is to teach our families to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbors as ourselves.
What I have done- I never gave up my rights as a mother. My children when they were small tested me but I always maintain my allegiance to God. I never sent them to families/friends get together/parties/sleepover/school sports/weddings/graduations etc, from Friday sunset to Sabbath sunset. We do not participate in Halloween in neither of its form-whether give the neighbor children chocolate, neither took from them. When I understood what Valentine meant, that was it. I got rid of the celebration in all of its form. I taught the children to love others also. I denied them things so others can have and told them the reason why.
They didn't see me as a good mother at that time, now they appreciate me so much. Every birthday/anniversary they gave me gifts even though I told them I don't want.
We have to do our best and leave the rest to Jesus.
Hi Lyn - Yes, I found when we determine to love God with 'all our heart, mind soul and being' we establish integrity between the members of our body - the hands and feet with the heart, mind and spirit.
When following the prompting of the Holy Spirit and consciously aligning our thoughts and actions to be in accordance with the loving will of God, He in turn will direct our path. Prov.3:1-8
Because we understand God's Will to have been established according to His Love for His Creation, our willing, trusting actions express our trust and gratitude toward Him regardless the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Love's power, brought to life by loving acceptance of doing the Father's Will, acts as a balancing influence to calibrate the spiritual effects our behavior has toward our 'self' as well as toward others. Actually, as we do for or against others, we do for or or against ourselves!
This is the wisdom encapsuled in the advise to love God with all our heart, mind and being and to love our neighbor as God has loved us.
God applies His Love by His ultimate wisdom and justice; it balances everything out - Rom.8:28-31
I don't believe we can 'teach' our children to love the LORD.
We can introduce them to the LORD and describe how wonderful He is, they can observe our relationship, but they have to develop their own relationship.
Here are two examples:
I told my daughter how much I enjoy a certain song by a certain group and I sent her the link so she could listen. Once she did her response was "now I am a fan"
If you want your friend to marry a certain man, you can tell her how wonderful he is and you can introduce them to each other, but if they don't fall in love with each other the marriage won't work.
This is the reason why often children go astray, even if they have all the knowledge about Jesus, even if they have gone to Sabbath School every week and they attended SDA schools, have taken part in youth groups, if they don't develop a personal relationship with the LORD they can be deceived or led astray by the wiles of the devil like Eve.
This is the problem, we can pass knowledge down to the next generation but unless we explain to them the difference - between obeying and complying with the rituals - and personally accepting the LORD as our King and Saviour, surrendering our will to Him and worshiping Him with our whole being it won't make a difference.
Perhaps the problem is too often that parents don't demonstrate love for God? Teaching something we don't practice will rarely, if ever, succeed.
I have heard of many who sent their children to church or church schools to "straighten them out", only to see it fail miserably.
A true shepherd leads the flock.
Powerful message