The book of Joshua closes with Joshua declaring, “Me and my household will serve the Lord.” Judges 2:10 reads, “After (Joshua’s) generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” How tragic! What happened? Let’s study the topic of parenting based on the book of Judges.
Even if your present experience with God is dynamic, it is no guarantee the next generation will maintain that dynamic. Joshua surely shared with his children truth about God and His mighty acts. What went wrong?
Some of the answer is found in the first chapter of Judges. It says the men of Judah were unable to drive the people from the plains and the Benjamites failed to dislodge the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. God promised to drive out the inhabitants, yet they were unable to accomplish this. Probably verse 28 clarifies the problem: “When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.” They were strong enough to do it, but didn’t. When we disobey we essentially ask God to stand aside while we do our own thing. God says in Judges 2:3 this inevitably results in undesirable consequences.
Children observing such lack of faith and disobedient behavior will question their parent’s faith and what they’ve told them about their God and his accomplishments. This disconnect intensifies with each generation. Only God’s intervention can turn things around.
