"After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress." - Judges 2:10-15
This is a powerful text of Scripture in the Holy Bible. It underscores that an ENTIRE GENERATION of people in ancient Israel did not know God. They were His chosen people in the Old Testament. They had received the law of God from Mt. Sinai, which provided them with a whole host of instructions ranging from how to worship God to how to keep kosher with the food they ate. At some point in Israel's history, these instructions were not passed down to the next generation. The Bible is clear: "Another Generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel." Translation: they lost connection with the Creator of the universe and forgot what He had done for them throughout their own history. Does this sound familiar folks?
In the United States today there is a whole generation of people that does not know God. We have become a society of lawlessness covered under the umbrella of laws. Because we as a nation have removed God from the public and private square of our lives, it should not shock us that we see a startling and growing divorce rate, a distortion and redefining of marriage, sanctioned homosexual marriage in some states, more broken families, violence, corporate scandals manifested by stealing people's retirement benefits while CEOs receive grossly exaggerated amounts of money, an unequal justice system, and hate crimes of all kinds. I see why the kids are out of control with anger and rage. They are confused, many of them abandoned, and they think they've found love and acceptance in gangs. But at the end of the day, they, too, are accountable for their actions.
As ancient Israel forsook the LORD as recorded in the book of Judges, God gave them over to their enemies, they were no longer successful as a nation, and they reaped what they sowed. None of us is perfect by any stretch of the imagination. We all need to humble ourselves before our Maker and invite Him to bring about the kind of transformation in our lives that will bring about a greater good for not only us as individuals but for our society at large. My prayer for all of us is that we learn from history, so that we can make better decisions today, which can profoundly and positively affect tomorrow's outcome. May God help us in this endeavor.
Remember ... GOD WANTS YOU!!!!
