I’ve been studying in the books of Joshua and Judges the past couple of weeks and there’s so much packed into these books that we should pay close attention to for direction.
In Judges 2, you read about the deaths of Israel’s strong leadership – Joshua, that led them into their promised land and directed the defeat of so many of their enemies; and, Eleazar, their high priest/spiritual leader. Although the Isrealites had general success in taking their land, there were many failures, as they didn’t push it to completion – they didn’t drive out some of the inhabitants, allowing them to live among them. In other words, they didn’t fully complete the mission given to them by God.
“The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, ‘I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.’” (Judges 2:1-3 NLT)
“The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God’s great work that he had done for Israel.” “Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:7 & 10 MSG)
Why did this generation not know anything of God and what He’d done for their people? Apparently, the older generation had failed in their duty to instruct their children. The results of that failure were disastrous for Israel. The younger generation had not been taught that when they obeyed God’s laws they would succeed and prosper; but, when they didn’t they would face adversity.
The importance of parents passing on moral and spiritual truths to their children is reflected often in the Bible. Here are a few examples: “‘…you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deut. 6:5-7 NLT) “‘So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine…Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.’” (Deut. 11:18a & 19 NLT) “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4 AMP) “Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 AMP)
“The incomplete conquests have left Israel vulnerable to the pagan influences around them…The combination of national sin and unconquered inhabitants results in dominance and oppression by various pagan peoples, just as God predicted. During this time the Israelites go through repeated cycles of sin and oppression, but, fortunately, of repentance as well. And for each time the people came to their senses God raises up a leader to deliver them.” (Quote from The Narrated Bible, narration by F. LaGard Smith)
So there was a long period of time (at least 335 years) when God would put into place a judge to lead the people – “But then God raised up judges who saved them from their plunderers.” (Judges 2:16 MSG) “Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.” (Judges 2:18-19 NLT)
We read about the pattern of the lives of this generation that hadn’t been trained up properly by their parents. In Judges 3:7,9,12,15 and into 4:1 & 3, you read “the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight” – then, “the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.” You have to wonder how humans can be so dense – so hard-headed – so downright stupid, that they can’t seem to learn from their mistakes and from history.
Reading about all this can be a bit puzzling and even frustrating. Yet think about it – are we really so different? Look at how we as a society peat and repeat mistake after mistake. Look at the condition of our world today. The greed, the corruption of the powerful, the blatant twisting of normal, moral behavior. How did we get here?
I personally believe that for generations, parents have neglected to teach their children by word and example the way of God. That has put society on a slippery slope to bad behavior and the loss of upstanding moral behavior. Rather than good strong teaching and training in our homes, our children’s instruction has been abdicated to outside sources – schools, peers, social media, etc – that don’t necessarily teach Godly morals.
Adults let their busy lives overrule their most important charge – training up their children as they should. They disregarded their obligation to do their due diligence to truly know who they’re putting into positions of leadership over their daily lives – all the way from elected leaders nationally down to their hometown; for leadership in the schools where important instruction is meted out to the impressionable minds of our children; even leadership in our churches, where too many today are compromising on moral issues that should never be tolerated in society at large, much less in the church.
So what’s the solution? I believe it’s at least a two-fold answer. First, if like the Israelites, we could face our sins and omissions and cry out to God for mercy – He would answer us and give us help. Second, we need to take the responsibility seriously of bringing up our children as we are instructed. (Reference the verses above in the 4th paragraph.) That may seem simplistic. But I believe staying off that slippery slope, avoiding disobedience – thus adversity – can be that simple. Remember, with obedience comes peace and prosperity. The decision is ours to make.
Written by Karran Martin – March 16, 2024
[All bold emphasis is mine]
Karran's Korner 