"AND all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." From the morning of Israelitish history traditions were handed down from one generation to another. Moses, the great leader and lawgiver, required that parents should teach their children to love God supremely and to be obedient to His commandments. This teaching was to be so clearly impressed upon their thought that it would become as a frontlet between their eyes.
What conviction of faith in God's goodness was expressed in Moses' message of farewell to the children of Israel before they entered into the promised land! This poem, called the "Song of Moses," pleads for loyal obedience to God and continued confidence in His ever-present protection. Moses strengthened his plea by the use of a vivid word picture, the symbolism of which clearly represented God's patient, tender mercy during their desert experiences: "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him."
There is great significance to youth in this picture of the early training of the fledgling, which from the very beginning is taught obedience and trustfulness. These habits help to develop the necessary power and confidence required in order that it may use its wings successfully. Here is shown the eagle preparing its offspring to direct its future flights unerringly.
