The world is changing rapidly around us, and our children and grandchildren are growing up in an America 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 an entirely new generation of people—a generation 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 with whom God could work.
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 the 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 week’s Out of Zion podcast titled 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! {eoa}
Dr. Susan Michael is USA director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and host of the Out of Zion podcast.
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