Moses Song includes this phrase: “Ask your father and he will show and your elders and they will tell you.” [Deuteronomy 32:7]
Why should we ask about history from previous generations?
1. Because we need to know that some things never change.
God has established some things that remain in place, fundamental to His purposes and plans. In a world designed for change, some catastrophic, God put some things into place that do not change. We can ask our fathers and grandfathers, ask the elders who give us trans-generational perspectives on history and the future. They remember. They are a source of common sense, the way things work that is undeniably unchanging. They have wisdom, putting understanding and knowledge into strategic implementation.
Difficult to comprehend in the modern mind, that some things are unchanging, because of the state of accelerated flux that has gripped our lives, metronomed our time, and captures our conscious minds with continuous input.
Some things are as they are because they are supposed to be that way. Water is wet. Sky is blue. People and animals are not equal in value. Men marry women. God is God. Jesus saves. These things don’t get updates.
2. Because we need to understand the reason for the beginnings so we can measure their purpose today and tomorrow.
Sometimes things lose their meaning and purpose after use and misuse. We need to visit their origins to recover their definition.
3. Because we need to measure the accuracy of today’s definitions and descriptions.
