When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10)

The Next Generation Lost

Twenty-five years earlier, the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River and conquered the land of Canaan. Joshua, in his eighties, led the victorious Israelites on a seven-year campaign to complete what had failed to materialize forty years earlier. God delivered the Canaanite nations to Israel as He had promised Abraham. At the age of one hundred and ten, Joshua encourages the people to choose to serve the Lord God with sincerity and truth and to put away the gods of their ancestors. The son of Nun exhorts the people to decide who they will serve, but his house will serve the Lord. There is no hesitation in his voice. His firm conviction is established in the promises of God without reservation.

The people of God respond with firm conviction that they would never forsake the Lord to serve other gods because they know what God has done for them. They recount how God delivered them from Egypt with great signs and preserved the nation throughout the wilderness wanderings. The hearts of the people affirm their oath to serve the Lord who drove out the people of Canaan, including the Amorites. They will serve the Lord God and Him alone. Joshua warns them not to make a hasty decision unless they are fully convinced in their hearts. Again, the people respond that they will only serve the Lord. The people say to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey.” 

Joshua died and was buried within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. When all that generation had died, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the great wonders He did among the people in Egypt and the forty-year wanderings. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. There was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It did not take long for the hearts of the people of God to be turned aside to idolatry and the whoredom of the land. One generation fiercely protects its faith, promising to follow the Lord God and Him alone. It takes very little time for a generation to come that does not know the Lord and turns away from righteousness. The next generation would not listen to the judges who taught them the truth. Their hearts longed for the pleasures of the idolatrous world, so they played the harlot with other gods. They turned quickly from the way in which their parents walked in, keeping the commandments of the Lord. Faith was lost in the next generation.

The scriptures do not reveal the exact reasons why the following generation became so wicked, considering their parents and grandparents before them. By virtue of human nature and other stories in the Bible, it seems that the generation of Joshua knew the word of the Lord and lived according to the Lord’s commandments, but they failed to impress upon their children and grandchildren the love of the Lord. They affirmed without reservation that they would never forsake the Lord to serve other gods. What God had done for them was firmly planted in their hearts. They promised to serve the Lord and to obey His voice – and they did exactly that. What they failed to do was to show their children the way of truth.

Israel forgot God because the parents failed to teach their children to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, and minds. Generational faith is not accomplished by osmosis. Men and women of faith must teach and demonstrate to their children the love of God by keeping His commandments. Taking them to a church building has its benefits, but if the children do not see God in the daily lives of their parents, they will turn to the world for their pleasures. Parents can be good commandment keepers who send their children to Hell for lack of showing them the love of God. A generation arose who did not know God – do not let that generation be your generation.