Isaiah 54:13 gives the promise, “All your children shall be disciples of GOD, and great shall be the happiness of your children” (Isa 54:13 JPS). This speaks of all our children knowing the Lord and following His ways. Why? Because they will enter a relationship with the Lord where they know Him and learn from Him as His disciples. Jesus tells us this kind of disciple relationship is where we are truly blessed. Isaiah says that children who are disciples of the Lord are greatly happy. Great is their shalom: i.e., great is their peace, prosperity, happiness, well-being, completeness, and satisfaction.
Isaiah 54 speaks of the Lord initiating times of restoration and the building of His kingdom. Ancient Jewish tradition interprets verse 13 as the children who are well-educated in the ways of the Lord, these are the ones who will be the cultural builders of the next generations.[1] And, if discipleship producing the knowledge of God is a prelude to building God’s kingdom society, it is also a central feature of it.[2]
It is believed that Jesus referred to this verse when He told those who were listening to Him, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me” (John 6:45). Jesus also prioritized allowing the little children to come to Him, because to them belongs the Kingdom of God—to children belongs this relationship of knowing God and being taught of Him. Jesus’s admonition to parents, teachers, and leaders of communities remains “Do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matt. 19:14).
Let us not be limited to what traditional educational methods and systems can produce. There is more that children can learn to be equipped as those who will impact the generations to come—to build a society that is truly blessed. Kingdom discipleship is not only teaching Jesus’s words to the nations; it is also equipping and encouraging parents to intentionally teach their children to know the Lord and learn from Him. For as we bring our children to Jesus, the promise is that they will know Him and learn from Him. The Holy Spirit will be their teacher. They will personally know the love and shalom of God as they become disciples who carry on His kingdom work
[1] Michael A. Fishbane, Haftarot, The JPS Bible Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2002), 15. Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, and Michael Fishbane, eds., The Jewish Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 893–894.
[2] John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34–66, Revised Edition., vol. 25, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2005), 800.