How can parents effectively pass on their faith to the next generation? Some let their children choose for themselves and hope for the best. Others rigidly enforce their standards for as long as their children are at home. Is there another way? A major clue comes to us as we unpack the subtle differences between the two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5), especially as found in the fourth commandment. Look at the original context of both passages.
The law was first given at Sinai (Exodus 20) in the first few months of Israel’s escape from Egypt. Forty years later, on the plains of Moab, just before crossing the river Jordan, the Ten Commandments were again proclaimed (Deuteronomy 5), but they were not exactly the same. “While Exodus 20:11 focuses on creation and God’s rest as a paradigm for humanity’s rest, Deuteronomy 5:15 highlights YHWH’s mighty deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and thus emphasises liberation . . .”1 and salvation. It is important to note that the command itself does not change, but the rationale for observing it does quite dramatically. In this we find the clue to ensure the nurture of the next generation’s Jesus-focused values.
Two different law codes were delivered to two sets of people a generation apart. Why the change between the two accounts? Is there more to this than just a change of venue (Mt Sinai to the plains of Moab) and a change of generation (from those who left Egypt to those entering the Promised Land)?
To answer this we must examine the different perspectives of the two Exodus generations. The first generation came directly from slavery, where their entire lives were ordered by pagan slave masters. Not only were they locked into the endless routine of slavery, but they had also lived among, and been deeply impacted by, Egypt’s religious culture. The Israelites would have felt dwarfed as they walked among the imposing temples and huge monuments. They had also witnessed the regular exuberant processions of Egyptian gods being paraded through the streets. They regularly saw the trappings of the great sun-god Ra and the animals closely associated with him, especially the bull. So the fourth commandment in Exodus 20 confronts them with the Creator-God. They are told to “remember” that the God delivering them had created the universe and all that is in it. So the mighty Ra (and his golden-calf symbol) proved to be quite insignificant in comparison to the Creator of the galaxies.
The second generation had very vague childish memories (if any) of Egypt. They had grown up as wanderers through some of the most inhospitable regions on the planet. They knew their parents had escaped from slavery, but the delay of years and the unending desert put them out of touch with settling down and a “normal” life. They needed to learn how to establish and live in a society that would last—one based on the very different values of God’s primacy and the sacredness of human life. Modern examples (eg Libya and Iraq) adequately demonstrate the challenges of establishing a new nation by people without any previous nation-building experience. So, the Israelites were instructed to “keep or “guard” this regular memorial of God’s action of freeing His people. Their own slavery was to be a warning to them not to abuse others as they had been (Leviticus 25:41,42).
The fourth commandment states, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), “because in six days God made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the seventh day and set it apart” (v11). God’s desire for humanity is for them to rest on the Sabbath. The reason given to “remember” is based on God resting after completing His work of creation. So the command concentrates on a cycle begun in God’s activity and completion. God’s work was completed. There was nothing more He could add to it, for He saw that it was all very good (Genesis 1:31).
When the command is repeated in Deuteronomy 5, we see a subtle but dramatic change. After stating the command, “Observe (literally: keep) the Sabbath day carefully to keep it holy (v12)” the rationale is given, “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and God led you out from there with a strong hand and an extended arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day (v15).” In the rewording of the law code for the new generation, the essence of the fourth commandment remains the same, but the rationale for observing it is quite different. The imperative in Deuteronomy 5 is to keep or guard, rather than to remember.2 These verbs have a stronger weight than those in Exodus 20, so the second generation is under greater obligation than their parents. But it is the change in the rationale clause that is most significant. Instead of being attributed to a memorial of creation, rest is justified on the grounds that previously the people had been slaves in Egypt and now they are free.
On a very practical level, two different explanations for the Sabbath command, tailored for two quite diverse generations, sets a precedent for us in the way we pass faith and values to the next generation. That process cannot be handing over a carbon copy of parents’ answers to their children’s concerns. Instead, new rationales must be carefully thought through to suit the context of the new generation. They need to claim ownership for their own faith and not mindlessly copy their parents.
How, for example, do we credibly explain to our youth the need for sexual purity before marriage and for fidelity afterwards? Or how do we coach our young to deal with the peer pressure of alcohol and drugs? My parents were of little help to me in my youth, as their outdated explanations did not seem relevant to my situation. Similarly, the paltry explanations I tried to share with my own sons in their youth were totally inadequate for them. The involvement of good mentors, significant adult others, allowed me to safely explore and process issues that my parents were out of touch with.
The two generations involved in the Exodus affirm that while values must be passed on, they must be creatively contextualised for the next generation with explanations that are relevant and values they can internalise. If Moses, the founding father of the nation of Israel, saw the need to repackage God’s non-changing values in a different way for the young, then we must do the same, rather than sticking to traditional explanations that become more and more obsolete with each passing generation.
- Gerald A. Klingbeil, “The Sabbath Law in the Decalogue(s): Creation and Liberation as a Paradigm for Community,” Revue Biblique Vol. 117, No. 4 (October 2010): 502. ↩︎
- Eugene H. Merrill suggests that the verb “to keep” is more active than the verb “to remember,” The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Scripture, vol 4, Deuteronomy, Broadman and Holman, 1994, 150. ↩︎
David Tasker is a retired pastor and Old Testament professor who served at Avondale, AIIAS and PAU.
