Genesis 18:19

For I know him. Abraham could be trusted; he would not betray God. Happy tribute to the aging patriarch! The intelligent discharge of his divinely appointed task required that he share in a knowledge of God’s purposes. Abraham’s posterity must also understand, lest they share the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was to be his duty to pass on to future generations what he knew of God’s dealings with the human race. God’s moral and ceremonial laws were also part of the sacred heritage he was to transmit to future generations. Abraham not only prayed with and before his family, but interceded for them as priest, a practice followed by other patriarchs and holy men of old (see Job 1:5). As a prophet he instructed his family in both the theory and the practice of religion, with emphasis on the practical virtues. He taught his family not only to know these things but to do them as well.

God could trust Abraham, for he would “command” his family, not by dictatorial methods, but by clear precept and consistent example. In training children, every word, look, and act has its effect. In many homes, there is little training by way of either instruction or example. Parents are held accountable for the sacred trust of children and should therefore combine firmness with love, as did Abraham. This task of training up children in the way they should go cannot be delegated to another, custodian or teacher, without grave danger of loss. The influence of godly teachers should not be expected to supplant, but rather to supplement, home training. Each has its place, and is incomplete without the help of the other to aid and reinforce it.