“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren…Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God…You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.””
Deuteronomy 4:9, 23-24, 40 NKJV
The majority of parents I know would share one common desire: that life would go well for our kids.
The Hebrew word used in verse 40 for “go well with” is yāṭaḇ – and in this passage means to be well for, to be well with, and to go well with. The verse could say:
You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today that it may be well for, that it may be well with, and that it may go well with you and with your children after you….
In other words – may things happen or progress in a positive manner throughout their lives, constantly moving forward and improving over time, so that they would have and be strong in mind, body, and spirit. May they have a good life – not perfect – but a good (morally excellent, virtuous. righteous, satisfactory in quality and quantity) life. Finally, something we can all agree on and aspire to!!
Now for the how – thankfully G-d gave us the answer: take heed of ourselves to obey His commands and teach them to our children. Take heed and obey.
The Hebrew word šāmar is used four times in the passage above and means to “hedge about with thorns”, to protect, to guard, to observe, to set watch at – like a watchman at a gate. I love this word and this visual imagery. Only things of high value or worth are guarded and protected with such diligence.
In order to position our children (or grandchildren) as best as we can for a good life, we have to start with guarding ourselves – specifically guarding and protecting our relationship with Him. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder – but I wager that’s only if you guard your heart while the one you love is away. We have to nurture relationships with those we love whether we are physically with them or not.
It’s the same with G-d. When we miss days in His presence and prioritize other things over Him, our hearts and minds wander and tend to forget. It’s only by engaging the object of our affections with intention and resolve that we can nurture the relationship. In WW1, a guard who was caught sleeping on duty faced death by firing squad. Being a watchman is serious business – am I up to the task? May He find me alert, attentive, and ready for duty.
Father – thank You for Your Word and Your wisdom. Teach me to number my days. You are good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 3-4