Each Generation’s Choice (Week 11)
The world is changing rapidly around us, and our children and grandchildren are growing up in an America that is very different from the one we grew up in. But if they turn to the Lord and dedicate themselves to Him, He will be with them, and they, too, can do mighty things in Him.
They can reach their generation and world. Our responsibility is to pass on to them a knowledge of God and His mighty works in history. We learn this lesson from the story of the Israelites.
God first revealed Himself to the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then the family ended up in Egypt due to famine. Centuries later God had to reveal Himself to a whole new generation of people—one that was broken and abused—and He freed them from slavery. Due to their disbelief, they had to wait and wander in the wilderness for 40 years until a new generation was in place God that could work with.
Moses then reviewed the covenant with this faith-filled generation, and they dedicated themselves to it. After miraculously crossing the Jordan River, they dedicated themselves again to both of God’s covenants— the covenant with Abraham when God had promised the Land and the covenant given through Moses when they became the people of God.
However, after all that, Judges 2:10 tells us the faith-filled, land-possessing generation had passed away, and the new one did not know God nor what He had done for Israel. They led the nation into apostasy and away from God for generations to come.
God clearly understood the need to reveal Himself to generation after generation. The problem seems to be that the previous generation had not prepared their young people with a knowledge of God who wanted to initiate a relationship with them. And they fell away.
The lesson for us is to teach the younger generations about God, His ways in history, and His desire to walk in fellowship with them. He is the same generation to generation.
To better understand how God deals with His people, join me for this Out of Zion podcast episode, “Each Generation’s Choice.” Walk Thru the Bible with me each week by downloading our Bible reading plan, and get started reading right away! Invite your friends and family to join us! I can’t wait to Walk Thru the Bible with you!
About this episode:
This week we hear the miraculous story of the fall of Jericho and why that ancient city was the first on God’s list to conquer. The Israelites then go on to take the Land and divide it up amongst the tribes. Only problem is they did not teach the next generation about the mighty acts of God and set the stage for apostasy. This episode complements the daily readings from our Walk Thru the Bible reading plan for April 12-18, covering Joshua 9-24; Judges 1-5.
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Going Deeper in Week 11: Evidence of the Conquest
Susan interviews Tim Mahoney, film producer of Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus and Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea. Find out about the archaeological finds at Jericho and other sites in the Israelite conquest of the land of Canaan as well as the controversy over their date.