So That When Your Children Ask You…

In Joshua 4, the people of Israel are getting ready to take back the land God had promised to Abraham. But first, they need to cross the Jordan river. The priests carry the Ark of the Covenant down to the river, and as soon as their feet touch the water, the river dams up and all the people of Israel cross on dry land. Joshua instructs a man from each tribe to take a huge stone from the river and set it up in the place they made camp their first night in the Promised Land.

Why?

“That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in a time to come saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the water of the Jordan were cut off and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:6-7

It’s common knowledge that children ask a lot of questions. Sometimes the endless queries are cute, and sometimes their sense of wonder is inspiring, but often it’s just tiring.

But God made children to ask questions. God didn't have the Israelites set up an altar so they could worship him for his mighty act. Instead he told them to set up a monument, so that children would have something to ask about.

When Jesus was surrounded by children in Matthew 19, do you think they were sitting quietly at his feet? You must have never spent any time around children. I’m sure they were climbing all over Jesus, peppering him with questions. When the disciples tried to put an end to it, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not forbid them”

Don’t forbid the children you teach, whether as a parent or a teacher, from asking questions. Inquisitiveness is a God-given trait, and it is the primary way children learn about the world, and about the God who created them.