And Jesus spoke in parables so that: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” Matthew 13:13

I never said it wasn’t talking about real families, in fact, it’s pretty obvious that I said the opposite. What I’m saying is that you are looking at the wrong part. When you were a child, you could have seen it as “I’m supposed to turn my heart to my parents” but now that you are a parent, you should be focussing on turning your heart to your children (which you are obviously doing). It’s not your job to turn your children’s hearts to their parents–that’s the job of the gospel message. You may be the one to share that gospel with them, but only the Holy Spirit convicts and can turn them toward you.

I won’t get into the whole honor/obey debate, because I don’t think it really would make a difference. But what you say makes perfect sense isn’t always the easy thing.

Children were given ONE command: “honor/obey your father and mother”. It would make perfect sense then, that the parents would need their children’s hearts so they could be turned toward God and not the influences around them.

I also see it as a restorative work, one that is already mostly done. John already did his job before Jesus came along. They were repenting in droves–repenting because they had abandoned God. John’s message was clear: Look out, the kingdom is coming–you better repent and keep an eye out for the King, he’s on his way. John’s message awoke a sleeping people, and Jesus finished that work with his redemptive work on the cross. Sure, it is a work still being done, but it is a prophecy about Israel returning to worship of the One True God.

A couple of verses related to these:
Genesis 18:19 “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

Deuteronomy 7:9-11 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.”

And what exactly were the Israelites doing in Malachi to bring the destruction of God?

1:6-14: Defiling the temple with defective sacrifices
2:1-9: The priests were not honoring God in other ways, as well.
2:10-12: Marrying foreign pagan women was against God’s commands at that time, too.
2:13-16: Rampant divorce and unfaithfulness in marriage
2:17: wearying the Lord with cynicism
3:5: they were sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, unjust employers, oppressing widows and orphans, injustice to foreigners, and not fearing God.
3:6-12: Not tithing, which was the main means of support for the priesthood.

And this was AFTER the exile ended.

God said Elijah (John) was going to come and bring a message of repentance. I don’t really see how these verses are about US very much at all.

Perhaps if this scripture (and others) were taken more literally, we would never have to wonder why rebellion and immorality enters the lives of our children when they are older.

Great post, Kelly.

I pray this for my husband and children often. My goals are usually aimed at strengthening our family, but my husband can be pulled in so many different directions(not that I can’t) in the workforce and with friends. I pray he is strengthened and renewed daily as to what we are to work for and the future generations. So, I like this verse…

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11

I would say give me an undivided home as well.

Let us close with quotation from Thomas Oden: “Some would argue that it would do little good to begin in Crete, of all places, with the tiniest bits of behavior and try to reshape the world toward godliness from the ground up. It might seem at first that the pastoral effort was too microscopic, inordinately micromanaged, and that systemic, institutional, or political evils might better have been first addressed. Yet this is just the point most misunderstood by “systemic” reformers who have not adequately grasped the Apostle’s way of transformation: only by descending to reshape social existence beginning with the smallest, least conspicuous matters of daily social conduct is the society changed. This has longer, surer consequences than legislative or ideological posturing.”