Remarkably Different
(F. T. Wright)
Picture: Title Picture
To be successful in the work of bringing salvation to children, it is critically essential that both deliverance from the spirit of disobedience and proper training be given them. One aspect must not be stressed at the expense of the other. Today, we recognize that the message on bringing the new birth experience to the unborn child was completely lacking in the past. This guaranteed that the children would grow up to join the world no matter how skillful and thorough their training had been.
Care must now be taken not to swing to the other extreme by making the achievement of the new birth everything and the training nothing. When, in this paper, there appears a study on the one phase or the other, it must be understood that only a part of the whole is being considered. If consideration is being given to the necessity for the child to be reborn, this is not to lessen the force of the truth that diligent and skillful training must follow. Likewise, if the material being presented is devoted to the subject of training, this is not to suggest that this is the all-sufficient element needed for success.
Having established the need for this balance, the rest of this article will be devoted to the study of the importance of thorough and skilled child training. The lesson will be taken from the lives of Moses and Aaron.
There was a remarkable difference between the characters of these brothers. This difference is best illustrated in the golden calf incident.
At God's command, Moses had departed from the camp to meet with Jehovah on the mountain top, while Aaron was appointed by God to manage the camp and its inhabitants. Moses' older brother was required to maintain law and order till Israel's leader returned from his meeting with the Almighty. It is important that no one overlooks the fact that it was God who appointed Aaron to take charge while Moses was away. This fact is confirmed in the following words: "In the absence of Moses, the judicial authority had been delegated to Aaron, ... He to whom God had committed the government of the people in the absence of Moses, was found sanctioning their rebellion." Patriarchs and Prophets, 316, 323.
When one becomes aware of the weakness of character displayed by Aaron, one is led to meditate upon the wisdom of God in appointing him to this tremendous responsibility. God, who certainly understood the character and weaknesses of this man, did not act as men would act if they, knowing the same things, were called upon to decide who would fill this position. These things do stimulate thought and study as we seek to better understand God's principles and procedures, and to work within their framework.
What was it that generated the crisis?
During their lengthy sojourn in Egypt, the Israelites had become accustomed to seeing visible deities every day. When these idols were left behind, the people naturally tended to look for something or someone to take their place. They were so spiritually impoverished that they could not commune with an invisible God in heaven. The mightiest miracle-working man among them was Moses, and they developed the disposition to look upon him as God on this earth.
"While Moses was absent it was a time of waiting and suspense to Israel. The people knew that he had ascended the mount with Joshua, and had entered the cloud of thick darkness which could be seen from the plain below, resting on the mountain peak, illuminated from time to time with the lightnings of the divine Presence. They waited eagerly for his return. Accustomed as they had been in Egypt to material representations of deity, it had been hard for them to trust in an invisible being, and they had come to rely upon Moses to sustain their faith. Now he was taken from them. Day after day, week after week passed, and still he did not return. Notwithstanding the cloud was still in view, it seemed to many in the camp that their leader had deserted them, or that he had been consumed by the devouring fire." Patriarchs and Prophets, 315.
God's separation of Moses from the people for this lengthy period afforded them a special opportunity to realize their excessive dependence on a man and their need to establish a personal relationship with their heavenly Father. Instead, they became more and more restless as they felt their deprivation of a visible god or leader, and this led them to yearn for the familiar land of Egypt where there was no shortage of deities that could literally be seen. Their superstitious frame of mind was such that they could return to those gods without a visible god to take them back. Thus came the appeal to Aaron to make the golden calf.
Many think that the day is gone when men seek a visible god or leader upon whom to lean and in whom to trust. But the tendency is still there. It leads many to fix their eyes on the man whom the Lord sends. In their eyes, he can do no wrong, and they elevate him onto a pedestal. They fail to realize that he is but a man, with the same passions and human weaknesses that they have. Furthermore, his position subjects him to greater and more numerous temptations than the people, and he is thereby more apt to fall than they are. When he does stumble as did Aaron, Moses, David, Paul, and many others, they discover too late that they built their house upon the sand and the storm washed it away. Then, how quickly these poor souls seek another god, another messenger, another church, to fill the place of their former idol.
Thus the crisis came to Israel, and Aaron suddenly found himself confronted by a determined mob bent on inducing him to make a golden, visible god for them.
"Such a crisis demanded a man of firmness, decision, and unflinching courage; one who held the honor of God above popular favor, personal safety, or life itself." Patriarchs and Prophets, 316.
That is the kind of man that God needed at this critical hour, "But the present leader of Israel was not of this character." Patriarchs and Prophets, 316.
What kind of person was he then?
He was timid and wavering. He lacked courage and decisiveness. "Aaron feebly remonstrated with the people, but his wavering and timidity at the critical moment only rendered them the more determined." Patriarchs and Prophets, 316.
"Aaron feared for his own safety; and instead of nobly standing up for the honor of God, he yielded to the demands of the multitude." Patriarchs and Prophets, 317.
He then directed the people to bring their golden earrings to him. A furnace was built, a mold produced, the gold melted, and the calf formed. It was the image of a beast held sacred by the Egyptians. Then followed a wild, licentious, pagan, religious festival which was a dishonor to the God of heaven and man whom He had created.
In the mountain, the Lord informed Moses of the developments going on in the camp below. God's faithful servant hastened into the camp and, charged with righteous indignation, confronted his weak and vacillating brother who had betrayed sacred trusts. Aaron then displayed further weakness of character which made his situation worse and would have cost him his life but for the intercession of Moses. He sought to dismiss all blame from himself by charging the people with his guilt even going so far as to claim that the forming of the calf was a miracle performed by divine power. This was a lie. The real fact was that he had deliberately molded the calf exactly as the people demanded he should.
"The great leader summoned his guilty brother and sternly demanded, 'What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?' Aaron endeavored to shield himself by relating the clamors of the people; that if he had not complied with their wishes, he would have been put to death. 'Let not the anger of my lord wax hot,' he said; 'thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.' He would lead Moses to believe that a miracle had been wrought-- that the gold had been cast into the fire, and by supernatural power changed to a calf. But his excuses and prevarications were of no avail. He was justly dealt with as the chief offender." Patriarchs and Prophets, 320.
Aaron did what he did because of what he was. Most would tend to conclude that he was still unregenerate but this is not the case. He was timid and weak. He was not endowed with the kind of character which would have enabled him to withstand the pressures of the people. It was that, and not the presence of unforsaken sin in his life, which caused him to do what he did. He deserves our sympathy and understanding, not our condemnation. It is not the purpose of this study to show how seriously he failed. The purpose is to discover why he failed so that we, as parents, can give our children the kind of preparation that will make them strong rather than weak.
"The fact that Aaron had been blessed and honored so far above the people was what made his sin so heinous. It was Aaron, 'the saint of the Lord,' (Psalms 106:16), that had made the idol and announced the feast. It was he who had been appointed as spokesman for Moses, and concerning whom God Himself had testified, 'I know that he can speak well,' (Exodus 4:14), that had failed to check the idolaters in their heaven-daring purpose. He by whom God had wrought in bringing judgments both upon the Egyptians and upon their gods, had heard unmoved the proclamation before the molten image, 'These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' It was he who had been with Moses on the mount, and had there beheld the glory of the Lord, who had seen that in the manifestation of that glory there was nothing of which an image could be made--it was he who had changed that glory into the similitude of an ox. He to whom God had committed the government of the people in the absence of Moses, was found sactioning their rebellion. 'The Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him.' Deuteronomy 9:20. But in answer to the earnest intercession of Moses, his life was spared; and in penitence and humiliation for his great sin, he was restored to the favor of God.
"If Aaron had had courage to stand for the right, irrespective of consequences, he could have prevented that apostasy. If he had unswervingly maintained his own allegiance to God, if he had cited the people to the perils of Sinai, and had reminded them of their solemn covenant with God to obey His law, the evil would have been checked. But his compliance with the desires of the people and the calm assurance with which he proceeded to carry out their plans, emboldened them to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds." Patriarchs and Prophets, 320, 323.
That must have been the blackest chapter in Aaron's life. He certainly endured hours of mental and spiritual anguish as he realized how miserably he had failed. How he must have grieved over his weakness of character and hated himself for failing God when so much trust had been placed in him!
By contrast, what a strong, resolute, uncompromising, decisive character was possessed by Moses! Had he been in the encampment, the incident would never have happened. Moses, by firm, decided refusal of the people's demands, would have checked the problem at the outset. During his forty years of ministry for Israel, Moses faced crisis after crisis. In the face of each, he displayed a strength of character which made no room for any compromise with evil. It was Moses' strength of character which enabled the Lord to channel His mighty power to gain the victory.
Every Christian father and mother would prefer that their children be blessed with the character of Moses in preference to that of Aaron's. This is not a matter of chance, for it is plainly written that: "Children are what their parents make them by their instruction, discipline, and example." Testimonies for the Church 5:37.
It does not say that children are necessarily what their parents aim to make them, but they are what their parents have made them to be. There are parents who reject the above statement even though the words were penned by inspiration and are absolutely true. These parents set out to develop in their children the strength and purity of character displayed by Moses. They were consecrated and diligent in their endeavors, but were disappointed when the young people abandoned the faith of their fathers and went out into the world. They view the apostasy of their children as something done in spite of their diligent efforts and cannot see that, what their children are, is exactly what they have made them.
The parents neither understood nor experienced the new birth, so were unaware that the endowment of this gift on their children was the first vital step in their being trained for God. Then, because their unsanctified offspring had in them the spirit of disobedience, the parents were left with no other choice than to rule by force if they were to get any respect or obedience at all. Such a kingdom is satanic in form and inevitably, training in that kind of kingdom can only prepare a person for the world. How tragic it is that parents expend so many years of time, effort, and money thinking they are building righteousness into their children when in fact they are unwittingly preparing their children to be subjects of Satan's kingdom.
Moses, then, was what his parents made him, and so was Aaron. But if they both had the same parents, how was it that the results were so different? To fully understand the answer to this question would require access to a wide range of information so that every element bearing on their respective trainings could be analysed. God, in His infinite wisdom, has not made all this information available to us. But He has revealed certain factors which can only be a blessing to the earnest parents who are seeking the development in their children of a character like Moses' rather than one like Aaron's. Let it be repeated here that we are not disparaging Aaron. He was what his parents made him, and therefore cannot be blamed for what he was.
Inasmuch as Moses and Aaron were so different in character, and yet were both what their parents made them, it follows that the parents gave each of them a different training from that given to the other and so it is in fact shown to be.
Moses was the youngest of three children. Miriam was the eldest, and Aaron, who was three years older than Moses, was the middle child. See Spiritual Gifts 3:196.
Despite the fact that the eldest was the one upon whom the birthright rested and therefore the one usually chosen for leadership, the call of God rested on the youngest. Such was again the case when David was chosen by God for the kingship ahead of all of his elder brothers. This was so because God's view of qualification was different from man's. Even the mighty prophet, Samuel, would have chosen differently from God. This is another confirmation of the fact that there must be no human election in God's church. Moses' faithfulness and strength of character above that possessed by his elder brother Aaron vindicated God's choice in the end.
It has already been concluded that Moses must have been given a home training superior to that received by Aaron, and the sacred records confirm this fact:
"God had heard the mother's prayers; her faith had been rewarded. It was with deep gratitude that she entered upon her now safe and happy task. She faithfully improved her opportunity to educate here child for God. She felt confident that he had been preserved for some great work, and she knew that he must soon be given up to his royal mother, to be surrounded with influences that would tend to lead him away from God. All this rendered her more diligent and careful in his instruction than in that of her other children. She endeavored to imbue his mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence. She showed him the folly and sin of idolatry, and early taught him to bow down and pray to the living God, who alone could hear him and help him in every emergency." Patriarchs and Prophets, 243, 244.
The key sentence in this paragraph is: "All this rendered her more diligent and careful in his instruction than in that of her other children."
So Moses was given a training superior to that received either by Miriam or Aaron. This was not due to any favoritism on the mother's part. Instead, there was the factor of her keen awareness that he had been called to do a special work for God, and that he would be environed by the subtle evils of Egypt for many long years. For the first, he needed special training; for the second, special protection. It was her knowledge of these things which motivated her to extra care and diligence in his education and training. Since these were better, the results were too. So it will always be.
One cannot ignore the fact that there were other factors which magnified the difference between the characters of Moses and Aaron. The heredity of each would be somewhat different even though they came from the same parents. It is a well known fact that each child in a family is given a different set of inherited characteristics from the others. In some areas there is a strong likeness, in others, there are marked differences. However, heredity is not the main factor, for, no matter what the heredity may be, through early new birth and proper training, the child can be safely prepared for the kingdom of God.
Another decided advantage enjoyed by Moses over Aaron was his forty years in the desert while Aaron spent the same period still in Egypt ground down by cruel bondmasters in a life of miserable servitude specifically designed to break a man's spirit and destroy his faith and courage. This made it much more difficult though not impossible for Aaron to build a strong, decisive character. For him to achieve this under those circumstances would have required a remarkable understanding of the principles of character development in relation to submissive service. This is something which is not usually found in individuals unless they have very wise and experienced parents to train it into them. It seems obvious that he did not enjoy the tremendous advantage of this knowledge or the ability to apply it if he did. Rather, he exhibited something of the degradation afflicted on those who are forced for interminable years to slavishly and habitually obey the will of a despotic slave master.
While Aaron was passing through those seemingly endless and apparently hopeless years of slavery, Moses was free. Daily he beheld the products of God's creative power in the massive mountains, the heavens above, and the creatures who inhabited the earth beneath. He saw and received the righteousness of God as never before. Continually, his concepts were enlarged and his character strengthened, until, after forty years of learning and unlearning, he was ready to go forth as heaven's leader of God's people.
It is easy for us to understand why God chose Moses to lead the Israelites to Canaan. Here was a man with both the talents and the character necessary to do the work. We feel that, if we had been called to vote for the needed leader, that Moses would have been our choice too. We are confident that this would be one election in which the will of God would be done. Of course, this is easy to say now that we have inspired hindsight to guide us, but what would have been the case if we had lived back there. Things would have borne a different appearance and we certainly would have voted for someone else.
The question must arise as to why the Lord, knowing Aaron's weakness and its result, appointed him as the caretaker during Moses' absence. Surely the Lord would have sought a more qualified leader and not imposed on poor Aaron a task beyond his capacities!
One fact is clear. The Lord does not see as men see, nor does He appoint those whom men would choose. After Aaron revealed his weakness of character at the golden calf, what believer would appoint him to be Israel's first high priest, a position second only to that of Moses in sacredness and importance. Yet this is the very man the Lord chose.
God chose Aaron because, first of all, He cannot find faultless and perfect men to do His work in the world. He knows that they will fail under heavy pressure, but he also knows that this will serve to purify them from the defects within them and make them even better fitted for His service. Aaron had some wonderful qualities. Though his training had been less thorough than that of Moses, nonetheless, he had been well trained and could serve God satisfactorily. For these and other reasons, the Lord appointed him to his various positions of trust and honor.
When Jochebed realized the awesome responsibilities to be borne by Moses, and saw the fearful dangers with which he would be faced, she was motivated to make special efforts for this son. Today, parents have the same mighty motivations to inspire them to the utmost diligence in the training and preparation of their children. The final battles of the ages are soon to be fought. In that hour, God will need men and women with the strongest of characters; souls who will stand for principle though the heavens fall; messengers who can be depended upon to obey the voice of God no matter what the cost might be to themselves.
Parents are to understand that the most important role they can play is to successfully train their children for the coming storm even as Jochebed educated Moses for his divinely appointed mission. Make this your great lifework. It is the work to which the Lord has appointed every God-fearing parent. He guarantees success to all who make Him their Counsellor and Guide.

Picture: Success In Any Field Requires Proper Training Diligently Applied
My Lament
(F. T. Wright)
The greater part of my life is now behind me. Enough of it has passed for me to see what the reaping of my sowing is and will be. The harvest is very different from what I wanted it to be, and from what it could and should have been. That which makes the loss and suffering more bitter is the realization that, though some of the blame must rest with myself, much of it is attributable to the appalling ignorance in regard to the purpose of marriage and the true responsibilities and possibilities of family life. The light we now have on child salvation shows with frightening reality how little we knew in my younger days, and how that lack of knowledge assured me of failure in making a marriage after the divine order and of successfully bringing up the children. Under those circumstances we had no hope of success.
It is a tragic and heartbreaking story that fills me with the deepest regrets when I look on my marriage and children and see what they would have been if I and my wife had only known back then what we know today. My only consolation is that, because of the message we now have, today's generation of young people can be saved from repeating our tragic mistakes.
As I look back on my youthful days, I can find little fault with my dedication to the highest ideals. I was filled with faith, hope, confidence, and a determination to reach to the highest ideals. I did not have a youthful fling before settling down, as most young people do. Raised in the country, I followed the principles of healthful living. I never smoked a single cigarette or drunk a glass of alcoholic liquor in my life. I consecrated myself to a life of single-minded, self-sacrificing service to God's cause. I had no thought of seeking a heaven on this earth. I left all to follow Christ.
My purpose in mentioning all this is not to extol any virtues of mine. What I wish to strongly emphasize is that one can be totally dedicated, consecrated, and self-sacrificing, yet still fail disastrously, for, essential as these things are, they are not enough. That is zeal without knowledge. It is highly commendable, but it does not compensate for ignorance. Tragically, all those zealous ones who operate from a platform of ignorance are the ones most confident that they have the formula for sure and certain success! At the time, it certainly appeared to me to be the way of success. I did not even question the "certainty" of the "rightness" of the course I had adopted. But, with the glorious light we now have, we have learned that, while all that dedication, clean living, and so on were very essential to success, they were not enough. One could have all that and more, and still fail as miserably as I have.
If the present generation is not to follow in the footsteps of practically all who have gone before, then its members must be possessed of all the good that we had and all the knowledge that we did not have. I will now outline to you where I lacked that which was essential to the achievement of the high ideals the Lord had set before me.
First of all, though the gospel is the indispensable factor in successfully establishing a marriage and bringing up children, no one in the church ever told me what the gospel is. I entered upon my family responsibilities in total ignorance of God's power to save from sin. It was not taught in the church even though they claimed to be teachers of it. Worse still, when the Lord finally offered it to the Adventists through Elders Waggoner and Jones, it was rejected by most with hostility and contempt.
Without the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, it is impossible for anyone to understand or achieve the divine purpose and ideal in marriage. So what hope did my generation of Adventists have of establishing homes governed by divine principles of child training?
The answer is none!
I did understand, at least vaguely, that every Christian home is to be a divine kingdom where angels love to visit, abide, and shed abroad their hallowed influence, but I was terribly ignorant of the fact that from a divine kingdom, every instrument of coercion is banished and the use of force is found only in a Satanic kingdom. Had I known these things, I would have recognized that my home was a satanic kingdom because my wife and I maintained our authority and discipline by using force. The children either obeyed almost without question, or they were punished till they did. I am not prepared to admit that we were harsh and inconsistent. On the contrary, I believe that we maintained a firmer, kindlier, and more effective discipline than most, but, nonetheless, it was a kingdom ruled by force.
Had I seen things as I do now, the stage would have been set for me to take a giant step in the right direction. I would have seen to it that a new order of things took the place of the old. I would have labored with a dedication and diligence to ensure that only the divine principles were followed out in my home. What an incredible difference would be seen between what would have been and what has been.
In addition to this, I needed to know that it is impossible to prepare a child for membership in the kingdom of heaven, by training him in a satanic government. On the contrary, after a child has spent fifteen years or more in a home government of satanic form, the only kingdom for which he has been prepared is the devil's. No longer is it any surprise to me that teenagers turn their backs on their parents' religion and join the world where they find themselves entirely at home. Though we confidently thought otherwise, the fact remains that, throughout all the days of their childhood, we were preparing them for nothing else. This is a terrible realization, especially after the damage is done and has become practically irreversible. But this is the cruel fate that we parents must suffer because we were victims of terrible darkness and ignorance at a time in life when it was critically important that we have the light.
One of my greatest regrets is that I was misled by the church's teaching that our responsibilities to the church took first place above our obligations to the family. So it was that I gave unstinted service to the church while I imposed on my wife and children an enforced sacrifice. I reasoned that by this means they were being educated to sacrifice. There is some validity to this reasoning, but in actual fact it does not work as desired. The children grew up correctly assessing that the church had robbed them of that which was rightfully theirs.
Were I granted the privilege of living my life again, I would make the family's welfare and training my first consideration. Only when I had given them my best, would I serve the church with what was left. This does not mean that I would abide at home every day and devote every waking moment to their interests and needs. I would recognize that I was the breadwinner and must go to work, but, when I was home, mornings, evenings, and weekends, the time and care would be theirs. I would not use this time to pamper them, but to educate and train them to face the trials and responsibilities which are certain to come to them in time.
Today, when I see a young father devoting his time and interests to minister to a youth outside his own family, while he neglects his own children, my heart is saddened. I know that he is making a tragic mistake for which he will pay very dearly in the end. The time will come when he will long to relive his life so that he can work the home mission field first and foremost. If I had my life over again, I would not have the slightest interest in working any mission field if, in the slightest way, it deprived me of time, energy, and money needed to cultivate the family field. I know now that the Lord will never bless our missionary work outside of the home until this field--our own homes--have been properly cared for.
I wish I had the power to convey this thought so strongly that it would be seen and believed by every one who professes to be a servant of the Most High. Do not be deceived by your apparent success as a missionary outside your family. Satan is quite happy to let you have what seems to be success if thereby he can divert you from your true obligations to your own home.
Back in those days when I was freshly married, I had only dim ideas of the vital importance of prenatal influence. I did not know that during those first nine months the very foundations of character and personality are so solidly laid down that very little in after life will ever change them. Furthermore, I did not appreciate the marvelous opportunity given to parents to rightly educate the unborn infant. I did not know that the way the father treated the mother had a powerful formative influence on the fetus. Because of this appalling ignorance, I failed to take advantage of the blessed opportunities afforded me at the time. Now it is forever too late to do so or to undo the damage done.
The salvation of our children is the single most important work given to God's people. There can be no question about this. Observing the trends of history, it can be seen that every movement in the past has done well in the first generation, but, when that generation failed to finish the work, the members of the next proved themselves far less capable of doing so. This led me to conclude that, unless the people who were there when the movement was formed did not finish the work, their children certainly would not.
Those conclusions were drawn before I understood the truths on child salvation. Since that light has come, I must modify my former conclusions. Now I see that, if the parents do no better than their forebears in bringing up their children, then we can rely on the fact that the second generation certainly will not finish the work. However, if the present generation will diligently and successfully apply the principles of child salvation, then their children will have a far better capacity for finishing the work than their parents ever had. Therefore, the adult generation today who are in effect the founding members of the movement, should turn aside from evangelizing the world, for their chances of being the people through whom God will finish the work, based on the performance of past movements, is rather minimal. Instead, let them concentrate on bringing up children who, from their earliest moments, are blessed with the indwelling presence of Jesus. These are the ones who will be truly Christlike all their days and will be powerful forces in bringing light and truth to the entire world.
How I pray that the young people in this movement will realize the marvelous privileges which are theirs, will get their priorities straight, will ensure that they achieve the qualifications for parenthood, and will bring into the world a small but invincible army of truly born again children to grow up in the perfection of Jesus and bring the entire world to the point of final decision. Then we can be assured that these families will come to the place where they will not find their old age filled with sad laments and bitter regrets.