Deut. 1:3: And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them.

Deuteronomy means “second law”. It does not mean a second set of law as different from the first but a “Repetition of the Law.” It is mainly a record of Moses’s series of sermons in which he restated God’s commands originally given to the Israelites some forty years earlier in Exodus and Leviticus.

Forty years had passed since the Israelites came out of Egypt. Unfortunately, those who came out of Egypt perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief. The children who had left Egypt were now adults, ready to conquer and settle down in the Promised Land. But, before that could happen, the LORD reiterated through Moses His covenant to them. These new adults probably didn’t know what had happened forty years ago. They were children then and most were born in the wilderness. Hence, Moses had to remind them through a series of sermons and warnings so that history would not repeat itself.

The theme of the book is faith and obedience: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

Deuteronomy teaches us that we must constantly remind our children to be faithful so that they would not fall into unbelief. The book reminds us that it is the responsibility of parents to bring up children to faithfulness: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates,” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9).

Parenting is a most difficult task and spiritual growth is one area most neglected by today’s parents who are more concerned that their children do well in schools than in spiritual education. It requires much patience, much prudence, much judgment, and much piety in the parents, to enable them to do this good and most important work in the best and most effectual manner.

As Deuteronomy means “repetition of the Law”, it is reminding us to keep repeating the word of God to our children. Children must start from the very young age to know the stories of the bible and keep on repeating to them until they are firmly ingrained into their minds. And, by the time they are teenagers, they are ready for the doctrines taught in the bible and these doctrines must be taught to them over and over again so that they will know between truth and error when they reach young adults.

Indeed, repetition is the mother of learning and church leaders should not be embarrassed to repeat a curriculum just because it was taught three years ago. I have heard many sermons on the plan of salvation and I have not heard any two exactly alike.

Brethren, you need to tell the story of Jesus over and over again and not feel embarrassed about it. Young parents, start your family devotion early with your child. Cradle roll class should start in the family. You simply need to repeat and repeat and repeat those stories and teachings. I can assure you that by the time your child is in his late teens, he will have enough knowledge to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2).

Jimmy Lau
Psa 119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.