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Train Up A Child:
By: Shannon - Age 14
Prologue
by YahChannah
One of the most important duties, we have as humans is the rearing of our children. We may all be familiar with the old saying, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”
Let us share some other old sayings which have authority:
Shlomoh said:
Prov 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
YHWH said of Avraham:
Gen 18:19
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of YHWH, to do justice and judgment; that YHWH may bring upon Avraham that which he has spoken of him.
Deut 4:9
9 Only take heed and keep yourself diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life: but rather teach them your sons, and your grandsons;
The familiar Shema:
Deut 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: YHWH is our Elohiym is ONE:
5 And you shall love YHWH, your Elohiym with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your might.
6 And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart:
7 And 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 up.
8 And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as marks
between your eyes.
9 And you shall write them upon the posts of your house and upon your gates.
David says,
Ps 78:2-8
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come
the praises of YHWH, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he has done.
5 For he established a testimony in Ya’acov, and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their
children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be
born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in Elohiym, and not forget the works of Elohiym,
but keep his commandments:
8 They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and rebellious
generation, whose hearts were not loyal to Elohiym, whose spirits were not
faithful to him.
The following is from one of those children. Shannon is 14 years old
Why Do We Keep the Sabbath and Sabbath Feasts?
Why do we keep the Sabbath and the Feast days?
Are these feasts our idea? No.
Are they days we decided to take off work so we can rest? No.
Sabbath
The Sabbath is a day we can not do any work. We are to remember this day and
keep it special. We keep the Sabbath because YHWH created the heavens and the
earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, a day to be kept separate from
the other days.
This day YHWH blessed and consecrated. We observe the seventh day as it is
commanded in the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20: 8-11
8
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to YHWH your Elohim; you shall not do
any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your
livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
11 For in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in
them, but rested the seventh day; therefore YHWH blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it.
sabbath – 7676. shabbath, shab-bawth'; intens. from H7673; intermission, i.e. (spec.) the Sabbath:-- (+ every) sabbath.
Passover (Pesach) and Hag HaMatzot
We keep Passover because that is when YHWH killed all the Egyptian first born
males and all of the first born of the livestock.
When Pharaoh's son was killed, he finally let YHWH's people go.
Passover is an occasion to remember that day. When the people were leaving,
YHWH told Moses to tell his people not to eat any leavened bread because they
were taken out from Egypt by the strength of his hand.
Every year you shall remind your children what YHWH did on that day.
Exodus 12: 29
29
At midnight YHWH struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.Exodus 13: 3
3
Moses said to the people, "Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because YHWH brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten.Exodus 13: 6-8
6
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to YHWH.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be
seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your
territory.
8 You shall tell your child on that day, 'It is because of what YHWH did for
me when I came out of Egypt.'
passover -- 6453. pecach, peh'-sakh; from H6452; a pretermission, i.e. exemption; used only tech. of the Jewish Passover (the festival or the victim):--passover (offering).
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)
During the Days of Unleavened Bread when the sickle is first put to the
standing grain we are to count seven weeks from the weekly Sabbath.
We are not to do any work on this day. We are to rejoice on this day and give
freewill offerings because of all the blessings YHWH has given us.
Deuteronomy 16:9-11
9
You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.
10 Then you shall keep the festival of weeks for YHWH your Elohim,
contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have
received from YHWH your Elohim.
11 Rejoice before YHWH your Elohim--you and your sons and your daughters,
your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the
strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you--at the place that YHWH
your Elohim will choose as a dwelling for his name.
feast -- 2282. chag, khag; or chag, khawg; from H2287; a festival, or a victim therefor:--(solemn) feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity.
weeks -- 7620. shabuwa', shaw-boo'-ah; or shabua', shaw-boo'-ah; also (fem.) shebu'ah, sheb-oo-aw'; prop. pass. part. of H7650 as a denom. of H7651; lit. sevened, i.e. a week (spec. of years):--seven, week.
Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
On our days of rejoicing at our appointed festivals and at the beginnings of
our months we are to blow a trumpet.
It should be a reminder that YHWH is our creator and our savior. We are to blow
the trumpets for assembling and departing.
We are also to blow the trumpets in war so that YHWH will remember us and HE
will save us in time of need.
Numbers 10:10
10 On your days of rejoicing, at your appointed festivals, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your sacrifices of well-being; they shall serve as a reminder on your behalf before YHWH your Elohim: I am YHWH your Elohim.
Leviticus 23: 24-25
24 "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.
25 Do no regular work, but present an offering made to YHWH by fire.'"
Numbers 10:1-7
1
YHWH spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Make two silver trumpets; you shall make them of hammered work; and you
shall use them for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp.
3 When both are blown, the whole congregation shall assemble before you at
the entrance of the tent of meeting.
4 But if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the tribes of
Israel, shall assemble before you.
5 When you blow an alarm, the camps on the east side shall set out;
6 when you blow a second alarm, the camps on the south side shall set out.
An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out.
7 But when the assembly is to be gathered, you shall blow, but you shall not
sound an alarm.
Numbers 10:9
9
When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before YHWH your Elohim and be saved from your enemies.trumpets -- 2689. chatsotserah, khats-o-tser-aw'; by redupl. from H2690; a trumpet (from its sundered or quavering note):--trumpet (-er).
Atonement (Yom Kippur)
We are to deny ourselves and do no work and offer an offering by the fire for
we are to make atonement for ourselves.
If you do not practice self-denial you will be cut off from HIS people. If you
work, you will be destroyed. We will neither drink nor eat from evening to
evening.
Leviticus 23: 27-30
27
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH.
28 And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement,
to make an atonement for you before YHWH your Elohim.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day,
he shall be cut off from among his people.
30 And whatsoever soul that does any work in that same day, the same soul
will I destroy from among his people.
Leviticus 23:32
32
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from evening unto evening, shall you celebrate your sabbath.atonement -- 3722. kaphar, kaw-far'; a prim. root; to cover (spec. with bitumen); fig. to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:--appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth)
We are to live in booths and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles ( or Feast of
Booths) because when YHWH brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, the
Israelites lived in booths.
We are to celebrate the feast Tabernacles for seven days and on those seven days
we are to offer offerings by fire. We are not to work on the first day of the
Feast or the Last Great Day.
Leviticus 23: 42-43
42
You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths,
43 so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live
in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am YHWH your Elohim.
Leviticus 23: 36
36
Seven days you shall present YHWH's offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present YHWH's offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.Leviticus 23: 39
39
Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of YHWH, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.
Epilogue:
I think that in this day when most of the news we hear about teens relates to whatever trouble they may be in, we should take comfort in this message by Shannon.
Let us strive to help any child within our realm of influence to seek deeply within Tanakh for what pleases YHWH and then to obey what they find.
Pray for all our young people.
References:
Prov 22:6
Gen 18:19
Deut 4:9
Deut 6:4-9
Psa 78:2-8
Ex 20:8-11
Ex 12:29
Ex 13:3 6-8
Deut 16:9-11
Num 10:10, 9, 1-7,
Lev 23: 24-25, 27-30, 32, 42-42, 36, 39
Questions For Discussion
1. What does, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree” mean?
2, What ‘yardstick’ do we use to determine how much Torah study we should
expect a child to do?
3. Why do we keep the Sabbath and the Feast days?
4. Do you know what the Feasts of YHWH are and what do they ‘represent’?
5. Can you tell us when these Feasts occur?
Comments? Questions?