A Devotional Thought From Judges

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.     Judges 2:10

“The times they are a-changin’.” The author of Judges would agree with Bob Dylan’s classic protest song. At this point in Israel’s history with the tribes inhabiting most of the promised land, he notes that all the generation who entered in with Joshua had died. That’s the way of history. People die, whole generations pass away. This is what Israel was experiencing, and the tremendous change the nation faced was that the rising generation, the new generation, would be a generation that did not have a faith relation to God. The author says it this way, There arose another generation after them which knew not the LORD. This is the worst thing that can happen to any nation whose founding was directly related to faith in God. America take note, our founders in the Declaration of Indepence declared; “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” From the beginning it was with reliance on the God of the Bible.

As the generations pass away, historians can relate the movements of history in any given country to how many of its people continue to know, and obey, and express their faith in the living God. The book of Judges tells a story of a declining nation, sliding down into the mire of moral depravity. In Israel at the time of the judges we see the approval, or the acceptance, or at least the appearance of things like: adultery, aggressive homosexuality, false religion, use of prostitutes, and conspiracy. This happens because , as the author of judges writes it, In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes (21:25). The immoral society resulting from such behavior is not a safe one. In peace or in war it is no longer safe

How does a generation grow up in a land that is ostensibly religious, and not know the LORD? While there are many factors the bottom line is that those who named the name of the LORD forgot, or ignored, or moved away from the foundation of God’s revelation, His word. They lost touch with what God was saying to them about daily life. That’s how it happened in ancient Israel. And today, instead of basing faith and action on an authoritative word from God, the Bible, the liberal church accepted literary criticism thus rendering, for many, the Bible into little more than a book of religious stories, interesting, but in no way a document requiring belief and obedience. The evangelical church is trying to hold the line and help people to understand that God has spoken and for the best of life for individuals, communities, societies, nations, and the world, obedience to God’s word is the proper lifestyle. Obedience to the principles of God’s holy word would transform the world for good. When people and communities, and nations do what is right in their own eyes rejecting God’s revelation it also transforms the world, for evil. With each individual who makes the choice for the living God of the Bible his family, and her nation, and their world, the world does becomes a little better.