After God brought Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery, he gave them a set of laws written by His own hand. He was fulfilling His promise to make them into a nation that they might be a light to a world filled with idolatry. The Israelites were to be governed not by the whimsical laws of man but the unchangeable law of God.
Parenting is not about me being in control but about my responsibility to show my children what it means to follow God. The ten commandments help me do this in three primary ways.
First, they teach us, as they did the Israelites, about the holy character and nature of God. When we understand God's holiness, a true "fear of God" grows within us that is rooted in reverence, respect, veneration. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) The ten commandments are rooted in the holy character of God.
Secondly, the ten commandments teach us how to demonstrate our love for God. All God's laws flow from the ten and can be summed up with love God and love others. When one of my children need discipline/instruction, I try to always ask, "What did you do? What does God say about that?" The offense can usually be traced back easily to one of the ten and thus one of the greatest two. I want them to know that the goal is not pleasing mommy and daddy. We are all under God's authority, and our responsibility is to help them learn what honors God.
Thirdly, the ten commandments are a mirror to see our sin. I've asked the boys, "If you try really really hard, your very best, do you think you can obey all God's commandments?" Initially each one is inclined to say yes. Just like the Israelites thought they could keep God's law and even promised they would do everything God told them to do, we too often fool ourselves into thinking we can be good enough. Using the ten commandments in our discipline gives us a runway for the gospel. Not always but by God's grace hopefully many of our conversations go something like this...
- By asking "What did you do? What does God say about that?" and referring to His commandments, they are constantly reminded it's impossible to keep God's commands perfectly all the time. I remind them we, including mom and dad, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
- Disobeying God is sin, and the consequence of sin is eternal death, separation from God forever. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a)
- Hence, our desperate need for a SAVIOR. "But God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
- We talk about the importance of confession and pray together. "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Here are a few ideas, resources, and teaching aids for helping children learn the Ten Commandments.
Last year I typed and printed out the ten commandments making column headings to divide the ten into the greatest two categories: Love God, Love Others. Started totally simple; the key is simply to start somewhere, right?!
Picture This: This year I took some extra time and decided to make our learning aids a little more durable since this lesson continues to be one God puts on my heart as foundational in the discipleship of our kids. I added visual pictures to help with word association. Visual images are by nature very memorable in themselves and scientifically shown to dramatically improve memory.
We start with memorizing the preface to the ten commandments because it teaches us as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments." (Luke 1:74, 75; 1 Peter 1:15-19) He redeemed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and redeems us from slavery to sin.
Then we categorize the commandments in two columns that are the summation of them all: Love God and Love Others. For according to Christ, the greatest two commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves. (Matt 22:37-39)
We watched this video that uses almost all the same pictures or very similar ones to help reinforce the visual association. Plus the kids are always eager to watch a video!
Memory in Motion: Gestures are another way to enhance our ability to remember something. Anytime my children are memorizing, especially scripture, I've begun trying to come up with hand motions aka gestures. Cognitive science shows that physical movement accompaning speech also strengthens memory.
I really like the hand motions found on Future Flying Saucers: The Ten Commandments, so instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we went with these. You'll find photos and descriptive text illustrating each motion.
Games: Ten Commandments Memory Game. Love to play games.
Catechism: Caleb, my first grader, used the Westminster Shorter Catechism to dive a little deeper into the depth of meaning in the Ten Commandments. He lined up each of the ten commandments with "what is required" and "what is forbidden" in each one. This, as well as the memory game above, was an activity in his Bible curriculum from Veritas Press Genesis - Joshua.
Lastly, I'm compelled to earnestly ask God to help me use His law to show my children their need for a Savior and for His Holy Spirit to illuminate that truth in their hearts. I never want His law to be seen as a way to gain His favor or MINE. When the Lord gave Israel the ten commandments, He had already saved/ delivered them from Egypt to be a chosen nation. The ten commandments did not bring salvation but were a gift of wisdom. I pray we too will see them as such in awe and humility.
"Be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statues, and say 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statues and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?" Deuteronomy 4:1, 6-8
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