“Another Generation After them…”
Let me complete the quote in the title from Judges 2:10:
“…and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”
That is such a sad statement! If only the rest of the quote in the title were “who loved the Lord and obeyed His Word.” But before we tsk tsk Israel, I think this statement aptly describes the a large part of the church today and maybe our own households.
During my study of Ezekiel 20, which details the idolatrous history of Israel, I came across Joshua 23-24 and Judges 1-2 and I felt compelled to post my thoughts on this segment of Israel’s history because it is a vital lesson to all of us parents and future parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles and … everybody!). Let me provide a quick rundown for you.
In Joshua 24, the nation of Israel had entered the promised land. Under Joshua’s godly leadership, they had destroyed many of the nations who occupied Canaan following God’s command to wipe out the nations along with their idolatry in the process (Numbers 33:50-56) which was a command that had been given long before their entrance into Canaan. When Joshua grew old, he gathered all of Israel together to give them a statement from God. He reminded Israel to continue in obedience especially to the command to destroy all idolatry and people out of the land.
Joshua 23:6-8
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefore to the right hand or to the left; that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: but cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.
To continue in obedience, would bring the Israelites blessings. To continued in disobedience would bring curses. Joshua then reminds the people of the idolatry that plagued their ancestors as well as the deliverance God had provided to Israel. Joshua once again urges the people to choose to follow God alone.
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Of course, at this point, the people agree to serve the one true God. They do so until Joshua dies and all the generation who saw the mighty works of God.
Joshua 24:31
And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.
But after Joshua died, and Israel continued to take the land of Canaan as their inheritance, they began to disobey the command to drive out the nations and idolatry completely from Canaan. The tribes would leave the people there and make them tributaries instead. What this did was allow the idolatry of the people to continue in the land, and that idolatry eventually winds up infiltrating Israel just as God promised that it would (Exodus 34:12, Deuteronomy 7:16, Joshua 23:13, Judges 2:3).
Exodus 23:32-33
Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
So now we come to the place in Judges 2 that holds the title of this post. The next generation that arises doesn’t know the Lord or the works that He had performed for Israel. Because of this lack of knowledge of God, the Israelites fall deeper and deeper into sin and idolatry.
How did Israel arrive at such a sad state? There are two aspects I want to highlight:
1. Infiltration of idolatry
By not following God’s command to eliminate completely the people of the land and to destroy their gods, Israel had opened the door to idolatry in their own nation. For many, the Old Testament seems like a pretty harsh book especially when we read how God ordered the utter destruction of people groups. Of course, this topic is a great one for another post, but while it may seem cruel, these nations had chosen idolatry and lived out their idolatry (even participating in child sacrifice), so these were not good people. It was only a matter of time that they would draw the people of God away from God towards idolatry.
Doubtful? Well, this scenario has literally been the case since the beginning of time!
Genesis 6:1-4
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Back before the flood, the people are described as wholly wicked except for one man and his family: Noah. But people didn’t start out that way! God had dealt personally with Adam and Eve. What happened? Well, of course, sin happened. But after that, there were those who followed God. So where did they go? They married people who did not follow God. Over time, the entire world but one man was considered wicked by God, and wicked enough to totally destroy to boot.
The fact is, when we allow even the slightest idolatry into our lives, we put ourselves at risk. As Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “Anything that does not draw us closer to God takes us away from him.” I have told my children to find friends that love God and make sure those people are your best friends. As for those who do not love God, be kind to them and minister to them but they shouldn’t be your best friends. It is often the case that those who don’t love God will pull you away from God easier and faster than you will pull them to God. So you must protect yourself from sin. The same truth goes for who you marry.
As parents, we have the ability to reduce idolatry in our children’s lives. The elimination of idolatry starts with us, even in our own lives. Our children are watching us. They will likely continue in our idolatry if we don’t control it.
2. Failure to teach the next generation
If we don’t teach our children, the world will. In fact, for many of us, our children spend more time away from us than with us beginning at the age of 5 (and even younger with the prevalence of 2 income homes). Homeschooling is a great option to combat the influence that the world will hold over our children, but that is not possible for everyone. Therefore, we must be more active in teaching our children than ever before.
God instructed Israel to actively teach their children about God in the following passages:
Deuteronomy 4:7-9
“For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Deuteronomy 11:19
And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Sadly, Israel did not listen. Because the children did not know God, they continued in their sin. God did send prophets to them, but they did not repent. Eventually, Israel is destroyed by God with only a small remnant left who believed.
The same fate is awaiting our children if we neglect to teach them God’s Word. We say we love our children and would do anything for them, but why do we refuse to do the one thing that lasts FOREVER: teach God’s Word? I want my children to inherit the blessings that God has for them and that is my greatest job here on earth.
Psalms 132:12
If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
Our children are an investment. They are not actually ours. We are given the gift and responsibility to raise them but then we will need to give God our return on His investment. Will we have anything to give to Him?
Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25:14-30
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Are you too busy to teach your children about God? Make time. Do you think taking them to church will cover it? It may not. Ultimately, the decision to accept Christ is everyone’s own responsibility, but you can either help your children or hurt them. It is up to you.
Conclusion
If Israel’s history teaches us anything about how we handle our children, it is that we must actively 1) fight idolatry in their lives and 2) teach them about God and His marvelous works. This is not something we can do passively. We must be ACTIVE. It must take priority.
Our fight for our children is on 2 fronts: 1) Putting the truth in their minds and 2) Keeping the lies out of their minds. Both of these work together to give our children the best chance for their spiritual decisions as adults.
I want the next generation to be described not as forgetting God, but loving God and not as forgetting His might works, but proclaiming His mighty works!
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.