Teaching kids the hard scriptures can be tricky. But if you sanitize the scriptures by omitting the hard stuff when they’re young, you’re setting them up for a crisis of faith when they discover the hard verses later.
From our last post, you probably know I’m working on incorporating my daughter into our weekly in-home Bible study. We’re working our way through Deuteronomy. This week was Deuteronomy 21.
And there are some hard verses. (As if Deuteronomy was easy the 20 chapters prior!)
In Deuteronomy 21: Murder, war, taking a captive woman as your wife, stoning a rebellious son, and taking dead bodies off their poles. Fun stuff, right?
Depends on how you look at it. Think of the hard scriptures as gems to mine. We know they’re good. But at first glance, they’re just dark and dirty. After some digging and polishing, we can present them proudly to our tiny disciples for the eye-widening they’re due.
Let’s tackle the first.
Murder. The Hard Scriptures of Deuteronomy 21:1-9
Let’s tackle the murder first.
Basically, if someone found a murdered body, and no one knows who did it, what now?
Long story short, it still requires an atoning sacrifice—for forgiveness upon all God’s people of that town.
Even though the whole town didn’t commit the crime.
This is a really hard concept in our culture today. We are so individualistic. Everything is about my identity. My character. My decisions. It’s never about the collective identity or actions.
But back then, it was.
They really were their brothers’ keepers—more than individuals. They were one unit.
And we need to be, too.
It matters if we see another Christian sinning. Even in the small things. Because the small things become normal and the bigger things come next.
It matters:
- If we don’t nip it in the bud.
- If we don’t reach in and yank them out of it.
- If we aren’t saving each other from the death grip sin can have.
Because the blood gets on our hands, too.
And this is eye-opening to my daughter.
My Brothers’ Keeper: Applying It
It’s one thing to know the scriptures. And another to understand what they meant back then and to us today. It’s yet another to put them to practice.
But this is what separates the men from the boys. Or the women from the girls. And although my daughter is just 8, I’m training her for Christian womanhood. She’s a disciple now, and the small things matter.
Although we don’t need to sacrifice animals to receive forgiveness anymore, we still need to pray and ask for forgiveness for our sins.
Last year she had a playdate. A first playdate with this particular friend.
The friend had a great time. But she didn’t obey when I told her “no”, she was not respecting my daughter’s toys, and she even threatened to steal one.
Although my daughter held it together during the playdate, she cried after she left. Needless to say, my daughter didn’t invite her back.
But this friend keeps asking. Almost weekly to come over again. My daughter just says “no.”
And her friend keeps asking why. And my daughter is too shy or afraid to say.
So, I urge her:
“Girl. Your friend sinned. And she doesn’t even seem to realize it. It’s your duty to tell her the truth about why you’re not inviting her back.
Because we are our brothers’ (and sisters’) keepers. And she can’t pray for forgiveness if she doesn’t even realize she sinned.“
I can see she’s starting to understand.
But she’s still scared.
Connecting the New Testament (the covenant we’re under now)
And I try to convince her telling her friend is a good thing, not a bad one—even if it puts her in a place of discomfort and hurts her friend’s feelings.
“Jesus said hard things, too.
There were plenty of times He hurt people’s feelings. But to Him, it was more important that He change their hearts for the better. And it should be for us, too.“
Her eyes widen.
Sometimes the changing only happens when the sinner is broken a bit. Like building muscle. You have to break it down. It’s the repairing the builds the muscle back stronger. Better.
She’s getting braver.
We’ve been talking about this for ages. Every time her friend asks her. But this time, with scripture to back it up, she understands this hard thing God calls us to.
And she’s finally convinced to the core.
“I’ll answer her next time she asks. I’ll tell her I’ll answer after school so it’s not in front of people.”
(Always the compassionate one, that girl.)
And whether or not that chance comes, we need to pray now, “Father, forgiver her. She knows not what she did.”
Forgiveness for Others’ Sins: Praying It
This is the prayer that’s severely lacking from my Christian life. Can you relate?
Oh, I ask for a lot of good things. And I thank even more than that. But I don’t pray forgiveness for others’ sins.
Jesus taught us to pray, saying: And forgive us our trespasses.
It wasn’t “forgive me my trespasses.” It was forgive us. And lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.
This Means Church Matters. Immensely.
We are our brothers’ keepers. And this is exactly why church matters.
We need a group of committed believers meeting regularly together who aren’t afraid to call us out when we’re screwing up.
Adults and children.
We need friends who aren’t just our cheerleaders but also are willing to yank us from the dangers of sin. Even if an arm gets twisted in the process.
And in a superficial, your-truth-is-your-truth, individualistic age, this can be hard to find.
We need those people willing to hold us even to the hard scriptures.
My family has them. And our prayer is you do, too.
P.S. Drop us a line and tell us what hard scriptures have helped your tiny disciples!