Ask and Tell

This morning, we take a break from our journey through Ephesians to focus on youth. As the world celebrates and exults the youth at this time, so do we at Family Church as the youth put together this morning’s service - part of a faith-at-home series based on the concept that faith is caught, not taught. Today’s scripture tells the family unit to remember God, the days of old, and the stories of generations gone before.

Scripture

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Bible Study Questions

Remember

The first word in this verse is remember. Remember is a powerful theme in the Bible. When we celebrate the Lord’s table, Jesus tells us to do this in remembrance of Him. The word remember is used 17 times in Deuteronomy alone. Why is it important to remember?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

1 Corinthians 11:24-25 ESV and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Joshua 1:8 ESV This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Younger generations are to ask

The youth and young adults today have it hard. The world comes at them and tells them what to think about and how to think about it. This is not what God had planned. Jesus’s way is counter-culture. God calls the youth to ask. Why do you think this is?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Matthew 19:14 ESV but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Who to ask?

The problem for many of us today, especially the youth is that there are so many “gurus” telling us how to live. What they say is alluring and offers us a quick fix for our circumstances. This morning’s verse is very specific about who we should ask. Who should we be asking?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Proverbs 18:10 ESV The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

What to ask?

When we are going through life’s downs, we tend to ask for a way out of our trouble - those quick fixes. What should we be asking instead?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Psalm 119:99 ESV I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

Psalm 19:7 ESV The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 

Acts 24:14 ESV But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

Older generations are to tell

The older generations are to tell the younger ones about the ways of the old - essentially about God, life, and our purpose here on earth. How are the older generations told to tell the younger ones?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Deuteronomy 6:6-8 ESV And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  (7)  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  (8)  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

What to tell?

What are the younger generations to be told by the older generations?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Romans 8:28 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

In practice

For the youth, it is not always easy to ask the older generations. Likewise, the older generations often struggle to tell the younger ones. How can each generation put these instructions into practice, so that we obey?

Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.

It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (New York: John Lane Co., 1909), 109.