Grandchildren are great! I am blessed with five granddaughters and one grandson. When I think about them, I wonder what they will be like when they grow up. Will they remember me? Will they know anything about me? Will they have memories of talking to me and playing with me? I often think about what I can pour into them as they grow up that will stick with them. What values or perspective on life can I relate to them? How can I demonstrate godliness to them?
Our Torah portion for this week exhorts us to inculcate into our children and grandchildren the story of the great work of God in delivering our ancestors out of Egypt. We read right at the beginning of the portion, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians, and how I performed My signs among them; that you may know that I am the Lord’” (Exo. 10:1–2). Notice that the verse says that God does the signs, and we are to tell our children and grandchildren.
The story of the exodus is meant to be a defining moment in the history of Israel (or salvation history) that is meant to be perpetuated for the generations to come. There are two other places in the Torah where we are exhorted to speak to our grandchildren. We read in Deut. 4:9, “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen, and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and to your grandchildren”. In Deut. 6:1–2, we read, “Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it so that you, your child and your grandchild might fear the Lord your God . . . . ”
The ancient history of Israel is designed to be handed down from one generation to another. It is the responsibility of each generation to inculcate into the next generation the history and reality of God. This does not happen automatically. We must never assume that just because Mom and Dad have made professions of faith in Yeshua, and are part of a congregation, that the children will respond in the same way simply because they attend services. We can proactively model a godly way of life and teach our children the Scriptures. These are good ways of pouring the truth of God into younger generations. Of course, we know that while we may have grandchildren, God does not. Every person has the responsibility of embracing Yeshua. But we are called to witness to, or testify of, the reality of God to them.
Notice that the passages in Deuteronomy are about telling future generations about the commands and way of life that God has given to us. But the passage in Exodus, our portion for this week, is a command to tell future generations the story of deliverance (see also Exo. 13:8 & 14). Stories are a remarkably effective way to pass down values, beliefs, and vision. Stories can be inspiring and moving, and can leave an indelible mark upon us.
The good news of God’s faithfulness to Israel gives us hope for the future because the nature of God does not change. Just as God was with our people in the wilderness, He remains faithful. The stories of Joshua, David, Elijah, Elisha, and others in the Tanakh teach us much about the nature of God and how He interacts with us. The account of the life of Yeshua is one big story that teaches us how to be forgiven of our sins, how to live, and how to relate to God, have hope for the future, and of course know how much He loves us. The main way that Yeshua taught his disciples was through stories about farmers, vineyards, fathers and sons, Samaritans and Jews, and a host of other characters.
Whenever we celebrate Passover, we are retelling the story. We use food, language, and songs to remind ourselves and tell our children and grandchildren about the marvelous works of God. May I suggest that each of us has a story to tell when we know the Messiah. One effective way of sharing the good news is through the telling of our own story of deliverance. Today, a popular description of sharing a “testimony” is the phrase “journey story.” I encourage us all to share our journey story with one another, and especially with our children and grandchildren, as well as other younger people. You may think that your story is mundane or boring. But the story is not about you. It is the continuation of the story of deliverance in the great miracle that God did for the Jewish people in Egypt—and the story of what Yeshua did for us two thousand years ago! May we be those who apply what Psalm 48:12–13 says about Jerusalem and the Temple: “Walk about Zion and go around her; count her towers; consider her ramparts; go through her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation. Think about your life and all that God has done so that you can tell it to the next generation!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Howard
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