Children: "Set Apart for the Way” 8-24-25

Overview

Set Apart for the Way

Proverbs 22:6 is one of the most quoted verses in Scripture: "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray." Read as a formula, it has caused real heartache. Faithful parents who taught the Bible, prayed with their kids, and brought them to worship sometimes watch those same children walk away. Was the promise broken? Did they fail? A closer look at the Hebrew tells a different—and far more comforting—story.

The word translated "train" appears only five times in the Old Testament, and in the other four it means to consecrate or set apart—and it is used of buildings, like a house or the temple, being claimed and inhabited for God's purposes. A more literal reading is: "Set apart children according to their way, and when old, they will not stray." The verse is less a parenting technique and more a declaration about what God does when He claims a child as His own dwelling.

That claim happens decisively in baptism. When the disciples tried to keep babies away from Jesus, He rebuked them: "Let the little children come to me… for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs" Luke 18:15-17. The Greek word there includes nursing infants. Jesus also told Nicodemus that one enters the kingdom by being "born of water and Spirit" John 3:5, and He commissioned the church to make disciples by "baptizing them" Matthew 28:19-20. The book of Acts records entire households being baptized, and the church has, in unbroken succession from Pentecost forward, baptized infants. In those waters, Scripture says, sins are washed away Acts 2:38, we are born again John 3, clothed in Christ Galatians 3:27, given the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5-7, saved 1 Peter 3:21, made new creatures Romans 6, made holy Ephesians 4, and joined to the body of Christ as brothers and sisters 1 Corinthians 12.

This reframes the verse pastorally. As Lutheran writer Chad Bird has put it, Proverbs 22:6 is not so much about what we as parents do, but about what the Father does when He claims our children as His own. That is good news for every weary parent. Trust the One who grasped your child in the waters of baptism. The God who claims does not unclaim. He pursues His own relentlessly, and His promise—not our performance—is the foundation of their way.

Transcript

Would you open up your Bibles, please, with me to Proverbs 22nd chapter. 2s

If you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find Proverbs 22 on page 7s

567 in the Old Testament. 13s

Proverbs 22nd chapter for our study today. 16s

Parental advice parental advice 23s

parental advice abounds doesn't it? 27s

There's good parental advice out there. 31s

I think of the parental advice that you should always sleep when the baby sleeps. 35s

Right? When the baby nafs you should nap. 42s

That can be a real challenge, so because when you get stuff done, right? 45s

For the parental advice of setting limits being consistent, spending time with the children. 50s

On and on this advice goes and so much of it is just really, really good. 62s

Our verse from Proverbs today, it reads like parental advice doesn't it? 72s

But it carries, of course, the weight of being God's word in Holy Scripture. 80s

Look, please with me at chapter 22 verse 6. 88s

Train children in the right way. 93s

And when old, they will not stray. 97s

Train children in the right way. 101s

And when old, they will not stray. 104s

That is one of the most famous and most often quoted Proverbs in Holy Scripture. 109s

Train children in the right way. 118s

And when old, they will not stray. 121s

It really seems like an outcome type of promise, right? 128s

That if parents do this, then this will happen. 132s

If you train your children in the right way and when old, they will not stray. 140s

That sounds an awful lot like outcome, doesn't it? 145s

Do this, then this is the outcome. 150s

But does it always work? 158s

Does it always work? 162s

I think of parents that share stories of, I trained my children in the right way. 167s

The difference between right and wrong, but as they got into the teenage years and in the college years, 175s

they just had a whole host of things that were wrong that's continued into adulthood. 185s

I think of parents' stories that say, you know, I brought my children to church. 193s

I brought them to Sunday school. 200s

Now is there grown and flown the coop, it doesn't seem like there's any interest in church or Sunday school at all. 205s

I think of parents' stories that say, I taught my children the Bible. 216s

I prayed with them. 222s

But now that they're older, it doesn't seem like they ever even crack the book. 226s

Much less offer a prayer. 232s

I think the stories of parents that say, I trained my child in the right way. 237s

But it seems now that they've just departed from it. 247s

And then of course you've got the opposite side of the coin. 255s

Don't you, I think of the story of Jonathan in Scripture. 257s

Jonathan's father was Saul, so almost a terrible father. 263s

He was a terrible father and he had Jonathan turned out, okay, didn't he? 266s

So what about the stories or what about the person that says? 277s

Well, probably chapter 22 is six. It didn't work for me. 283s

It didn't work for me. 289s

That's not my experience and so what did I do wrong? 292s

What did I do wrong here? 296s

Because the outcome certainly isn't what it says here in verse 6. 299s

What did I do wrong? 307s

You know, in school, I never really liked the sciences. 317s

Not at all. 321s

Hate it biology. 323s

Hate it. 325s

Dissecting things? 327s

That was a poorant, I thought. 330s

But the one thing that I liked in biology class, the one thing I liked was the microscope. 333s

I loved looking through the microscope at things and seeing things in such such detail. 341s

I'd like the microscope. 350s

What I'd like to do with you this morning is I'd like to take this verse. 353s

Proverbs 226, and I'd like to put it under the microscope with you. 358s

Take a really, really detailed look at it. 365s

In order to answer the question, what do we see? 371s

What do we see? 377s

Verse 6, again, train children. 381s

Let's stop there. 385s

To be honest, I'm not too wild about the translation and use of train here. 389s

This is why. 395s

The Hebrew word here translated as train. 398s

It occurs five times in the Old Testament. 400s

Five times. 404s

This is the only time it's ever translated train. 405s

And to get to the translation of train, you have to use a form of the Hebrew that developed long after biblical Hebrew. 411s

That's how you get to train. 425s

So not wild about the translation here. 429s

Because when you look at the other four uses of that Hebrew word, 433s

the other four times it's used, it means to to consecrate, to set something apart. 439s

That's different than train, isn't it? 449s

And here's another little tidbit. 453s

In those four other times that this Hebrew word appears, it's associated with buildings, 456s

a house or the temple at Jerusalem. 466s

A setting aside, a consecrating of a building. 472s

And we have a chapel here with the preschool kids. 479s

As they come in, first thing we talked to them about is what is this space? 482s

What is this building? 488s

It is, it is God's house. 489s

It's set aside to worship God. 493s

It's God's house. 498s

So the word here then should be consecrate. 502s

It should be set aside. 507s

That which is claimed for use. 513s

That which is inhabited. 517s

So let's get more precise and more literal here as we look under the microscope. 524s

Set aside children, set aside children, 530s

consecrate children, set them aside. 538s

Then notice what it says. 545s

Set aside children in the right way. 547s

And we'll let's get more literal there. 553s

In the Hebrew it's according to his way, according to her way, according to their way. 554s

Set them aside, according to their way. 563s

So here's a more precise translation, I would offer. 571s

Set apart children, according to their way. 576s

And when old, they will not stray. 582s

Set apart children according to their way. 586s

And when old, they will not stray. 590s

So here's another question. 596s

How do you apply that? 598s

In other words, how is a child set apart? 600s

And how does that setting apart of the child affect their way? 608s

Love the gospel text for today. 620s

From Luke the 18th chapter. 624s

Scripture tells us, people were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. 627s

And when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. 634s

But Jesus called for them and said, let the little children come to me and do not stop them. 638s

For it is too such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 646s

In the very first words, verse 15 is, as people were bringing it says, even infants. 652s

Even infants to Jesus. 661s

That word in the Greek means a child from the moment of conception until their ween. 666s

That changes the picture that's so often we have of that doesn't it? 676s

It changes the picture that we have of the children coming to Jesus because it gives us the understanding that the children 682s

included within that group were babies. 692s

Babies being brought to Jesus. 700s

What did Jesus say? 703s

To such as these belong the kingdom of God. 707s

What does Jesus say about how one enters the kingdom? 714s

John 3. 720s

Very truly. 722s

I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit. 723s

What's water and spirit? 735s

Spaputism, right? 738s

So you see the picture here? 742s

Children being brought to Jesus? 744s

Disciple say don't bring it. 746s

And who is included within the children? 750s

Babies. 754s

And what does Jesus say? 755s

To such as these belong the kingdom of God. 757s

Did you know that there is an unbroken line in the church from pentacost to today? 768s

And then of course beyond of the church, baptizing babies. 776s

It is an unbroken line. 785s

Did you also know it wasn't even disputed? 789s

You had a heretic by the name of Tatulian. 795s

He died in 2015 AD. 798s

He didn't like it. 800s

And then in the 1520s, he had another fellow by the name of Thomas Munzer. 801s

He didn't like it either. 806s

He was roundly condemned. 808s

When he said, we should be baptizing infants. 811s

The church Catholic Lutheran, reformed. 815s

They all resoundly condemned that criticism. 818s

It is an unbroken line in the church of baptizing babies. 824s

What did Jesus say in Matthew 28? 831s

He said, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. 836s

And in the very next words, how are disciples made? 842s

Baptizing them. 847s

In the name of the Father in the Son and the Holy Spirit. 850s

And then what do you do with the disciple? 853s

You teach them all Jesus says that I have commanded you. 855s

And low I'm with you always to the end of the age. 859s

Unbroken line. 863s

Jesus says, words, how a disciple is made. 865s

They're made through baptism. 868s

Jesus says, let those babies come to me. 870s

Let the children come to me. 874s

For it's such as these belong the kingdom of heaven. 877s

We see in the book of Acts entire households being baptized. 883s

We see in Scripture that circumcision was replaced by baptism. 888s

When did circumcision in the Old Testament occur? 897s

It occurred on the eighth day. 900s

What happens then? 903s

We're going to apply Proverbs 226. 905s

What happens then at baptism? 908s

But a child is set apart. 911s

A set apart. 917s

What happens at baptism? 920s

A child is claimed for use. 922s

You hear this building imagery here? 927s

What happens at baptism? 930s

A child is in habitat. 933s

By the Holy Spirit. 939s

As God in His grace comes to us who are lost in a way that we are quite familiar with, 943s

the way of our sin and rebellion against Him and takes the victory of the cross and the empty tomb 956s

and applies it personally to us. 964s

That victory of the forgiveness of sins one through the sacrificial death of Jesus, 968s

that victory of that declaration that the sacrifice had been accepted because the tomb is empty 975s

and to us rooted in the way of our sin. 982s

God comes and claims us as His own. 988s

And what does the Scripture tell us happens to one who is set apart in baptism? 992s

What happens? 1001s

Our sins are washed away. 1004s

That's Acts 2. 1006s

We are born again and given faith. 1008s

That's John 3. 1011s

We're cloaked in the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1013s

That's Galatians the third chapter. 1019s

We are given the Holy Spirit that is Titus the third chapter. 1021s

He saves us. 1027s

That's first Peter 3. 1029s

We become new creatures. 1032s

That's Romans 6. 1034s

We become holy. 1036s

Ephesians the fourth chapter. 1039s

We become part of the body of Christ. 1041s

That's first Corinthians chapter 12. 1044s

That's why at the end of the baptism we say, 1047s

Here's your new brother or sister. 1049s

That's family language, isn't it? 1051s

That's first Corinthians the 12th chapter. 1053s

What happens in baptism? 1056s

But one then is set apart. 1059s

Set apart. 1064s

In all of these victorious promises through the cross and the empty tomb are applied to that one. 1067s

And they then can live in light of that way of who they are in the waters of baptism. 1076s

Lutheran theologian, Chad Bird puts it perfectly. 1092s

He says this quote. 1097s

Proverbs 226 is not so much about what we as parents do. 1100s

But it's about what the Father does when he claims our children as his own. 1113s

That's the first chapter. 1123s

Proverbs 226 is not so much about what we as parents do. 1124s

It's about what the Father does when he claims our children as his own. 1132s

Set apart children. 1149s

According to their way, 1155s

In when old they will not stray. 1161s

Mind of the little guy walking with his father. 1168s

He's walking along and they hit this icy spot in the little guy falls. 1174s

Pics him to the top, the brushes himself, 1181s

off and he turns to his father and says, 1183s

Daddy, I better hold your hand. 1188s

I think you better hold my hand. 1192s

I think you better hold my hand. 1213s

Parents 1221s

Trust in the one who grasps us as his own in the waters of baptism. 1226s

Parents 1240s

Trust in the one 1242s

That says 1247s

Mind 1250s

In baptism 1253s

Parents 1257s

Trust 1260s

That the one who claims in baptism 1263s

Does not unclaim 1269s

Parents 1275s

Parents 1280s

Trust 1282s

In the relentless 1285s

Persuute 1286s

By God 1289s

Of His own 1293s

For Proverbs 226 1298s

Is primarily about 1302s

What the Father does 1308s

For His children 1315s