In the Beginning: The Devil’s Target

What is a primary target for the devil? Is it children? There’s definitely a war on children, as we consider shockingly evil abortion and transgender issues. In fact, consider some of the issues that seem to be almost daily news items these days: inclusion, Critical Race Theory, LGBT, gender, gay marriage, pedophilia, transhumanism, wokeism, racism, abortion, social justice, pornography, and the list goes on.

But as you stand back and consider these issues, notice that they are all a war on the family. The devil hates the family!

Illustration by Viktor Miller-Gausa

Ken Ham, President/CEO
Answers in Genesis

The family is the first and most fundamental unit that God ordained in Scripture. He made the first family when he created Adam from dust and Eve from Adam’s side and told them to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:27–28, 2:7, 2:21–24). God set up the family unit to be the educational unit for the culture.

The family is the unit God ordained to transfer a spiritual legacy (the truth of God and his Word) to the next generation, and for each generation to also impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why the devil will do all that he can to destroy the family. He knows if you can stop that spiritual legacy of truth with one generation, it’s not easy to get it back because of man’s sin nature.

In Malachi 2:15, the prophet is dealing with men divorcing their wives and marrying pagans. Through the prophet, God asks the question, “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring.” Who is the “them?” It’s obviously a reference to Adam and Eve, whom God made “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), as God made Eve from Adam’s side. In other words, the prophet is asking, “Why did God make two one? Why did God make marriage?” And the answer given is that God was seeking “godly offspring.”

In other words, a primary importance of marriage is to produce not just offspring but “godly offspring.”

So why did God create the family? The family is to raise godly offspring, who will influence the world for the Lord Jesus Christ and marry godly offspring, to produce godly offspring generation after generation. Parents, be diligent to spend the time training your children as God instructs.