The husband and wife share the responsibility of raising their children while maintaining ardent affection for each other. The woman’s chief role is to maintain stability in the home, while her husband provides for it. This partnership demands faithfulness; sexual sin represents “a squandering of powers that were designed for the founding of a true family that should be one’s own, and close-knit, and divinely blessed” (Kidner, 46). Such infidelity undermines the very foundation this teamwork requires.
The Training of Children
The training of children includes the rod, but more significantly, the “torah”—the parents’ instruction and law. As one source notes, “the rod is no panacea…The parents’ chief resource is constructive, namely their ‘law’, taught with loving persistence” (Kidner, 47). Parents are charged with dislodging foolishness from the child’s heart and embedding the conditions where the character of seeking wisdom can thrive.
Parents are charged with dislodging foolishness from the child’s heart and embedding the conditions where the character of seeking wisdom can thrive.
The Limits of Parental Influence
Yet parents must recognize the limits of their influence. “Many are the reminders, however, that even the best training cannot instil wisdom, but only encourage the choice to seek it” (Kidner, 47). They must encourage the child’s choice to seek wisdom, but cannot force the outcome. Ultimately, “while there are parents who have only themselves to thank for their shame (29:15), it is ultimately the man himself who must bear his own blame, for it is his attitude to wisdom (29:3a; 2:2ff.), his consent given or withheld (1:10) in face of temptation which sets his course” (Kidner, 47).
The Broader Context of Family
Beyond the parent-child relationship, there is the relation of “brothers,” which serve as encouragers or villains in one’s quest for wisdom. The family becomes an excellent laboratory for witnessing the way of wisdom in its various manifestations and consequences.
Disclaimer: Information in my “slip-box” doesn’t necessarily reflect my agreement with the source or all its content. Recording diverse perspectives helps strengthen one’s position beyond the echo chamber of like-minded thinkers. By documenting alternative viewpoints, we engage in the intellectual wrestling match that ultimately deepens our understanding.
I aspire to post one note from my “slip-box” every weekday. If you want to learn more about how to work with knowledge, click this link: What is knowledge management?
Pastor Dan Patrick, raised in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., holds both a Bible degree and a Master’s of Divinity. He has ministered across five states from coast to coast, serving in various capacities, including pastoral leadership. Dan’s primary mission is to help people love God’s Word and find their purpose in God’s work.
Leave a Reply