In the Bible, parents had a massive responsibility to train, teach, exhort, discipline, and love their children.
But what did it look like to make the context for such matters?
Consider just a sampling from the book of Proverbs the many artistic forms of training for children:
Proverbs were given from Solomon to his son.
Encased within proverbs and stories, we find warnings, illustrations, and commands.
We find if-then scenarios.
Daddy Solomon used metaphor and vivid imagery to brand his message in his child’s imagination.
We find tons of repetition, explanation, and reasoning.
Personal stories (“When I was a son…”)
Imagery from life (“consider the ant…”)
Vision-casting (“A wise son does such and such…”)
Solomon often helps his child’s imagination consider the goodness of life that comes from pursuing wisdom.
Besides Proverbs, we find story and song (in Psalm 78) and proclamation (*cough, singing psalms) to the future generations (Psalm 48). Generations were meant to brag on God’s mighty acts to the next (Psalm 145).
