Megan Evans, Women’s Ministry Director, LHBC
Judges 2:8-10 (ESV)
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years… And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
“Mama, it moved all by itself,” my teenage daughter whispered. Her wide eyes looked up at me as though she had just seen a ghost. We had been browsing at our local antique mall, and there on display was an old typewriter. She pointed at it, confirming my suspicions. My modern, high-tech teen had just encountered yesteryear’s keyboard, and pressing the return key had sent it soaring to the left. I calmed her fear of the paranormal while explaining features of the extinct machine. After a good laugh, we continued browsing.
I wondered what other ways of life were becoming unknown to this young generation? Could God become unknown to them too? Surely that seems impossible, but scripture reminds us that it has happened before.
Joshua 24:31 says,“Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.” But Judges 2:10 explains that after that generation died, a new generation of Israelites grew up who did not acknowledge God or the mighty things He had done for Israel. How was this possible? Their ancestors had been freed from slavery and had been led through the Red Sea by Moses, and Joshua led their relatives across the Jordan River into the promised land! Perhaps the extraordinary had just become ordinary. Did they stop telling these accounts to one another, or most importantly, to their children? God never forgot His chosen people, but His chosen people, had forgotten Him.
We are commissioned to take the gospel throughout the earth (Matthew 28:19), and there is a generation of children and adults in your community, next door, or even in your own home that need discipleship. I recall a child named Tilly that I taught one summer during Vacation Bible School. This sweet girl was 11 years old and had never even heard of Adam and Eve. A neighbor invited and brought her VBS that week, and I remember her hunger for God’s Word. She not only learned of the Bible that week, she asked Jesus to be her Savior. How many like Tilly, are growing up without ever knowing their mighty God? The thought frightens me, and perhaps you as well.
Deuteronomy 4:9 implores us not to let God’s love, acts, and commands fade from our heart but to teach them to those around you. Today you are placed exactly where God wants to use you. You have a special talent, personality, and location that God want to use. Be encouraged to tell the next generation that God loves them, teach the Bible, and show how the Lord is at work in your life.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, burden my heart. Open my eyes to the lost near me and in my daily walk of life. Teach me how to be your disciple and a disciple-maker. Teach me how to tell of my relationship with Jesus to others. Give me boldness and clarity as I speak of your love and mighty works in my daily conversations. In Jesus Name, Amen.
VERSE FOR TODAY:
Psalm 145:8
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.