Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 173

Day 173 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Deuteronomy 6:20-25 and reflect on how parents can answer their children’s faith questions with testimony. This devotional helps families consider how to pass on faith not merely through rules, but through the story of God’s salvation, faithfulness, and real work in daily life.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 173 of our reading journey. 

In family life, children often ask many questions. Some are simple: “Why do we pray?” “Why do we go to church?” “Why do we read the Bible?” Others are much deeper: “Does God really hear us?” “Why do good people suffer?” “Why is our family different from other families?” “Do I have to believe?”

These questions can sometimes make parents nervous. We may fear that we will not answer well, or that the child will keep asking harder questions. But Deuteronomy Chapter 6 reminds us that a child’s question is not a problem to avoid. It can become a doorway for passing on faith. When children ask, “What mean the testimonies?” God does not call parents to give a cold religious answer. He calls them to tell the story of what He has done.

Moses taught Israel that when children ask about the testimonies, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, parents should answer, “We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” Faith does not begin with rules. It begins with redemption. Before children are told, “This is what you must do,” they need to hear, “This is how God saved us.”

A Minute of Grace

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 continues the teaching that came earlier in the chapter: “thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Moses knew that faith must not remain only in one generation’s heart, nor only in worship gatherings and holy days. Faith must enter the home, daily life, and the questions of children, so that it may be passed from one generation to the next.

This passage gives us a family scene. In the days to come, children will ask their parents, “What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?” This is not only a question about information. It is a child looking at the faith life of the family and asking: Why do we live this way? Why does God’s Word matter so much? Why do these commands have anything to do with us?

Moses does not tell parents to begin by explaining every detail of the law. Instead, he tells them to begin with the history of redemption: We were bondmen in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out with a mighty hand. He showed great signs and wonders before our eyes and brought us into the land He promised. In other words, parents are to answer their children’s faith questions with testimony.

This is still important for families today. Children do not only listen to our explanations; they also watch our lives. They see how we face pressure, how we handle money, how we make peace after conflict, how we pray in weakness, and how we return to God after failure. When they ask, “What does this mean?” they may really be asking: What does faith have to do with real life?

Today’s theme, “When Your Children Ask, What Mean the Testimonies?” invites us to reflect: Are we able to tell the next generation what God has done? Do we give children only rules, or do we also help them see grace? Are we willing to share our testimonies in the home so that children know we do not follow God merely out of habit, pressure, or tradition, but because we have truly experienced His salvation, guidance, and faithfulness?

Whispers for the Heart

1 Moses expected children to ask, “What mean the testimonies?” In your family or ministry, have children ever asked about faith, prayer, Bible reading, church, suffering, or obedience? Do you usually rush to give an answer, or are you willing to first listen carefully to what they are truly asking?

2 When Israelite parents answered their children, they began with, “We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out.” If a child asked you, “Why do you believe in God?” how would you tell your own testimony? Can you share, in words a child can understand, how God has saved, guided, comforted, or changed you?

3 This passage reminds parents that God’s commands are not heavy burdens, but loving protection given after His deliverance. When teaching children faith, do you tend to emphasize only “what you must do,” while speaking less about “what God has already done for us”? Is God inviting you today to carry truth through the story of grace?

As you read Deuteronomy 6:20-25 today, may we learn not to pass faith to the next generation merely as family rules, but as the story of God’s salvation, faithfulness, and real work in our lives. May children’s questions become doors for family devotion, and opportunities for us to count God’s grace again.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your family, children, the next generation, and your hopes and anxieties about passing on faith before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 (KJV)

20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought · Tell God’s Story to the Next Generation

After reading Deuteronomy 6:20-25, we see that God deeply values faith conversations in the home. He knows children will ask, “What does this mean?” And His direction to parents is not only to explain rules, but to tell the story of salvation; not only to tell children what they should do, but to tell them what God has already done to save, lead, and love His people.

As we close this page and return to our families and daily life, perhaps children’s questions may make us nervous. Perhaps we worry that our answers will not be good enough. Perhaps we are still learning how to live out faith ourselves. Remember this: God is not asking us to be perfect parents or perfect teachers. He is inviting us to be honest witnesses.

May today’s Scripture remind you: when children ask, “What does this mean?” do not be afraid. You can begin with your own story and tell how God has led you, forgiven you, comforted you, and changed you. May our homes become not only places where rules are passed down, but places where God’s grace is told, His faithfulness is witnessed, and the next generation is guided to know the Lord.

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