As the book of Judges closes, the future of Israel is so dismal. It had been that way for hundreds of years. Centuries before, the Jews had entered a land which flowed with milk and honey. Under the leadership of Joshua, they had conquered thirty-one kingdoms (Josh. 12:24). They could have had more if they had conquered the nations on their southern and northern borders.
God had blessed them. “The Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it” (Josh. 21:43). Two verses later, the Holy Spirit says, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” The future outlook was so glorious.
As you read the book of Judges, you cannot fail to see how dismal the situation had become. How had all of this come about? To answer that question might help us understand what is happening in our land right before our eyes!
The generation which entered the Promised Land was so different from the preceding one. Their fathers had left Egypt and, even before crossing the Red Sea, they murmured, failing to remember what God had just done. They crossed the Red Sea and, before arriving at Mt. Sinai, complained about the lack of water and food. He gave them water out of the rock and over 12,000 days of free food from heaven. They then complained for the next forty years until the death of Moses.
That second generation was so much better. They knew God and obeyed Him. From the time they entered Canaan, they worshiped him. The Bible describes it this way, “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua…another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor His work” (Judg. 1:7-10).
How did they leave God? They failed to listen to Moses. “The words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them to your children…“ (Deut. 6:7). The situation came about because they failed to teach their children!
The very same thing is happening in America. Our fathers knew the Bible. They knew about seventy-one men in the Bible whose thumbs and big toes were cut off; the dead man who as he was being quickly buried and came alive again; the king whose skull was crushed by a stone throw at him by a woman; fields of grain which were burned by foxes; the woman on the moon; the floating iron axe head; the man who killed a lion when it was snowing. They taught us about God and what He has done. What have we done? Look at the list above. Do your children know these things? Do you? Think!