Judges 2-3

I don't have much to pour out this week so this will be short but sweet.  In Judges 2, Joshua has died and so has the generation of Israelites who directly experienced the Lord's provision and deliverance.   And then we read this verse, which I believe sets the stage for all that is to come.

"...another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel"  (2:10)

At some point, someone forgot about the command to love and obey the Lord and to teach your children to do the same.  And eventually, an entire generation grew up who didn't know the Lord or what He had done.  They didn't have hearts set on loving and obeying Him.  They were not clinging to His promises or reminding each other of His faithfulness.  They were not seeking Him first or even seeking Him at all.  And the consequences are devastating.

The coming verses tell us that they forsook the Lord, they followed and worshiped the gods of the people around them, they provoked the Lord to anger, they prostituted themselves to other gods, they turned from the way their fathers walked, they turned away from obedience to the Lord, they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways, they took foreign daughters in marriage and gave their daughters to foreign sons and they served the gods of the inhabitants of the land.

They did everything the Lord had commanded them not to do.  Over and over He had reminded them to love Him, to obey Him, to remember Him.  And still they gave into the temptation of the gods and idols and people around them.  Why?  Because they didn't know the Lord or what He had done.

I can't get past the significance in that verse.  The Israelites entered into a vicious cycle of rebellion, oppression, crying out in distress, being graciously delivered and then rebelling again.  There were grave consequences for their disobedience.  They experienced a life of struggle and futility instead of hope, promise and blessing.  Because they didn't know the Lord or what He had done.

What does this mean for us?  First, we have to know the Lord and all that He has done.  We have to be daily experiencing Him, loving Him, seeking Him, knowing His promises, reminding each other of His faithfulness, being renewed in Him and walking in obedience to Him.  And then, we have to ruthlessly teach the next generation to do the same.  Whether it is our own children or somebody else's, we have a significant responsibility to raise up the next generation to know the Lord and all that He has done.