60 Seconds – The Heritage of the Lord.

There is a story of old Rome which tells of a fashionable lady who, visiting the noble Cornelia, did nothing but boast of her fine clothing and jewels. She inquired, “You must have jewels, too. Could you show me your most precious possessions?” Cornelia rose and went out, returning with her two little sons. Holding each by the hand, she said, “These are my jewels.”

In Psalm 127:3, we read, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” The word “heritage” means “to receive as a precious possession, and to acquire wealth, as in an inheritance.” A woman arrived home in the United States after a long stay in Europe. She had with her a young nine-month-old son. When she came to customs, her heart sank as the official looked at the large pile of baggage. “What articles of value have you acquired abroad in the last twelve months?” he asked. “Well, there’s the baby…” began the woman. He looked at the sleeping infant, and then, with a wave of his hand, said, “Lady, original works of art are exempt from duty!”

Proverbs 22:6 advises, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” In both Psalm 7:12 and 11:2, we find the same word way to describe an archer with his bow and arrows. The Psalmist describes how the bow is bent before the arrows are released to the target. Bent or bending the bow is the same word in verb form translated way in Proverbs 22:6. The Amplified Bible states, “Train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Concerning the Word of God and His precepts, parents are commanded in Deuteronomy 6:7, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” “Diligently” means “to pierce, sharpen, or whet.” The Hebrew word refers to the sharpening of a dull tool or sword–that it may more deeply enter into the heart.

“Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim: ‘Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?” (Socrates).