Inspirational Instruction

 “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.” Genesis 49:33 KJV

The last minute instruction of Jacob to the twelve patriarch reveals the huge task in the business of parenting. Compared to the apparent indulgence of Simeon and Levi’s cruelty at Shechem, the sharp rebuke of their anger and wrath at his deathbed is quite instructive. And considering the sacredness of Jacob’s instructions in this passing moment, parents must always think about the inspirational backing of the scriptural instruction  “Train up a child in the way he should go…”. It is alarming the impact of untrained children that are turned criminals and social security threats in most nations’ streets and correctional centres. Yet, effective training is far more than speaking out the commandments to children. The turbulent dynamics of Jacob as an instructional model of orderliness must have sharpened these children more than his speaking. Notwithstanding, it is evident that Jacob trained himself to grow as a student in the school of God’s parenting, rather than depending on his own ineffective abilities. Likewise today, despite the spate of negative influences of social media and the pervasive culture of impunity, parents cannot stop or outdate the required leveraging on inspirational instruction in the training of their children.