"Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
Paths are created by frequently traveling the same route. Over time, they become more established, recognizable, and accessible. One definition of a path in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "a way of life, conduct, or thought." As a parent, I create paths for my household through the habits and rhythms of my life that my family will inevitably follow. There is no question that paths will be formed; the question is where they will lead. Will there be a "good way" to find "rest for rest for [their] souls?" Reflecting on the word of the Lord through Jeremiah, I recognize the need to "look and ask for the ancient paths."
It was one such ancient path that caught my attention when I was having dinner with a tour group at the beginning of a Sabbath in Israel. My tour guide invited his family to join him for "Shabbat," and it began to shape the rhythms of my home. After fixing their plates at the buffet, the guide's two young boys, without any prompting or instruction, walked up to their "Abba," leaned their forehead against his, and received their father's blessing. It was not overly emotive or ceremonial but the intentional, routine nature of what happened arrested my attention and stirred my heart.
I was familiar with the Sabbath liturgy and recognized what I saw as one of the many blessings and prayers welcoming the Sabbath. At that moment, watching this father bless his children, I decided I would tread this ancient path with my family. The weight of a father's blessing and a child's anticipation to receive it began to lay heavy on my heart, and I knew this was a "good way." I started to consider the beauty of this weekly rhythm of blessing.
The more I considered it, the more convinced and committed I became to walk this ancient path with my family. While the blessing of the children was the catalyst, I found the blessing that preceded it to be the most profound: the blessing of the wife. The wisdom of our Heavenly Father began to unfold as I thought about the impact of speaking a blessing over my wife with our children as the audience. In addition to what it would communicate to my children, I saw how this was a path to "rest for our souls." I realized if I knew that I would always be no more than a week away from standing before my family speaking a blessing over my wife, it would leave little room for anything but honor and love in my heart. Similar to David's worship driving away the evil spirits that clung to Saul, this rhythm of blessing has the power to dispel anything that could come between me and my wife. How long could I let a disagreement go unresolved? How could I let anger fester? And how easily would she and my children sense it if the blessing were not heartfelt and sincere?
Drawn by the wisdom and beauty I discovered on this ancient path; I felt no compulsion of religious tradition and embraced my freedom in Jesus. On Friday nights, my family honors the Sabbath with a combination of Jewish liturgy and elements I added to make our own traditions. We light candles at a time determined more by the children's bedtime than sundown, and I ask one of my children a question with the same two-part answer.
"Why do we light these candles?"
"We light these candles because God commands us to honor the Sabbath and because Jesus is Jewish and made us a part of His family."
I will unpack the second part of that answer in another blog; for now, I will keep our focus on the remaining elements of how we walk this ancient path. After the candles, I read a portion of Proverbs 31 as a blessing over my wife. Next, I bless each of my children, oldest to youngest, with a prayer I wrote that uses portions of traditional Jewish liturgy. Finally, inserting some nostalgia from my childhood, we have cookies. Their anticipation may lean more toward the cookies than the prayers at their current age, but I have every confidence that, in time, it will shift. I am also confident this ancient path will be etched in their hearts and one day enjoyed by children of their own.
I encourage you to look at the ancient paths of the biblical calendar as an invitation to create rhythms of blessing and discipleship in your own home. If we look and ask, we will find “a good way” marked by our Heavenly Father’s compassion and wisdom. I trust that as you walk those paths, you will indeed find rest for your soul.
Shalom,
Michael Onifer
Israel Projects Coordinator
