The Generation That Forgot God

Series: Judges: The Cycle of Sin and the Faithfulness of God Lesson #2

Thesis: Every generation must personally know and follow the Lord, because faith cannot be inherited—it must be embraced.

Central Truth: When God's people fail to pass on the knowledge of God to the next generation, spiritual decline is inevitable.

Introduction

One of the greatest concerns for any Christian parent, grandparent, pastor, or church member should be this question:

Will the next generation know God?

Not merely know about God.

Not merely know Bible stories.

Not merely attend church.

But truly know God.

Throughout history, many great movements of God have lasted only one generation. One generation experiences revival, but the next generation becomes comfortable, and the generation after that abandons the truth altogether.

That is exactly what happened in Israel.

Tonight, we will examine how an entire generation drifted from God and what lessons we must learn to prevent the same thing from happening today.

I. A Faithful Generation Passed Away (Judges 2:6-10a)

The chapter begins by looking back to the days of Joshua.

Judges 2:7 NKJV

So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

Joshua's generation remained faithful.

Why?

Because they had personally witnessed God's power.

They had seen His provision.

They had experienced His faithfulness.

They knew what God had done.

Joshua himself had challenged the nation: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve..." (Joshua 24:15)

For a time, they responded positively.

But eventually Joshua died.

The elders died.

The spiritual leaders died.

The eyewitnesses were gone.

A crisis emerged.

Every generation eventually passes from the scene.

Parents grow older.

Pastors retire.

Teachers die.

The question is not whether one generation will leave.

The question is whether they have prepared the next generation to stand.

Have we? Dear friend, serving in a church is not enough. Every single leader in this church and everyone who has been saved for a while has an obligation to teach the younger ones to stand for Christ and not just know that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

When we say that, we are teaching them a lie because Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and not a whale. A whale is a mammal and not a fish. Even in trying to teach the Bible, we teach our children lies, lies that they cannot defend or stand upon.

Yes, it is great to teach the Bible to our children, but the question is not whether our children or the next generation can tell someone about Jonah. The question is whether or not the next generation is ready to stand for God, and quite frankly, the church has failed for years in preparing a generation to do that, but I am seeing hope in this new generation. For the first time in a long time, younger people are more spiritual. Hopefully, they will use that spirituality in serving God.

II. A New Generation Arose That Did Not Know God (Judges 2:10)

This may be the saddest verse in Judges.

Judges 2:10 NKJV

When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Notice what it does not say.

It does not say they had never heard God's name.

It does not say they had no religious background.

It does not say they had never attended worship.

The idea is that they did not know Him personally.

They had no relationship with Him.

The God who had transformed their parents' lives was not the God they personally followed.

Somewhere between Joshua's generation and this new generation, discipleship broke down.

Dear friend, you ask why church attendance is down. The answer is because discipleship is down. Instead of grooming new leaders to emerge, the church stayed stale linked to old traditions that have long gone by the wayside.

Do you remember the Great Commission? Of course, you do, and we all can recite the “GO” part of that commission, but that commission just does not say go.

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Churches grow stale when they do not ready new leaders to step up. Admittedly, they need to be willing to step up, but many times they are reluctant because they are met with cynicism over new ideas.

Well, dear friend, we are not picking cotton anymore, and we need to have a new generation of leaders ready to step in at Beech Grove, and I do not mean stepping in when they are 50 and 60 years-old. I mean stepping in when they are young, vital, and energetic, but do you know what that means?

That means some of us older ones have to loosen our grips a little and let them assume responsibility. Are they going to fail? YES!!!!

Moses failed, Joshua failed, I have failed, and so have you in your Christian journey. From those failures arises a resolve to please and serve God Almighty.

The parents in Israel failed to impress God's truth upon their children, and guess what? That is one of the major issues in the modern church. We have failed to impress God’s truth upon our children.

The goal is not merely to raise children who attend church. The goal is to raise disciples who know Christ.

III. The New Generation Turned to Idolatry (Judges 2:11-12)

Oh, boy! How apropos Judges is for us today!!!

The new generation of Israelites turned to idolatry because they were not discipled to have a right relationship with God.

Whenever people stop worshiping God, they begin worshiping something else. Something must fill that void that was created when Adam sinned.

Judges 2:11–12 NKJV

Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

Notice the progression.

First, they forgot God.

Then, they forsook God.

Then, they followed false gods.

Spiritual decline rarely happens instantly.

It usually occurs gradually.

People stop reading Scripture.

They stop praying.

They stop worshiping faithfully.

Their hearts become cold.

Then compromise enters.

Then sin becomes acceptable.

Then truth is abandoned, and LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY AND DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT BAAL WORSHIP HAS CREPT INTO THE MODERN CHURCH!!!

The gods of Baal and Ashtaroth promised pleasure, prosperity, and fertility. They appealed to human desires.

Today's idols may have different names, but they still exist.

Money.

Success.

Entertainment.

Sports.

Popularity.

Politics.

Self.

In the letter to the Church at Thyatira, Jesus Christ warned the church about that prophetess Jezebel. Now, I really believe that Jesus is warning that church and all churches to be on watch for the worship of Baal in the church.

The churches and preachers that promote a prosperity gospel are Baal worshippers. People that have to be entertained like they are going to some ungodly concert somewhere are engaged in Baal worship, and if you do not think so, you do not know what the Bible says about Baal worship.

If our musicians try to turn worship into a performance, someone needs to have the courage to stand up and say NOPE!

Anything that takes God's rightful place in our hearts becomes an idol. Yes, we may not call it Baal worship, but the worship of Baal has inundated churches all across the globe.

As you can tell, I have been deeply convicted about this, and the Holy Spirit really opened the Scriptures up to me concerning this, and you can do with it what you want.

IV. God Disciplined His People (Judges 2:14-15)

Because God loved Israel, He would not ignore their rebellion.

Judges 2:14–15 NKJV

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

God removed His hand of protection.

The nation began experiencing the consequences of its choices.

This is not evidence that God stopped loving them. It is evidence that He did love them.

Hebrews 12:6 NKJV

For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

A loving father disciplines his children.

A loving God disciplines His people.

Many times we want God's blessings while rejecting God's authority.

But God does not bless rebellion. Israel learned that lesson repeatedly.

Can I tell you something without you getting mad at me?

God may have removed His hand of protection from you because you are living in rebellion which is why we are to constantly examine ourselves to correct our rebellious lifestyle.

V. God's Grace Appears Even in Judgment (Judges 2:16-23)

Thankfully, the story does not end with judgment.

Judges 2:16 NKJV

Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

What a beautiful word—"Nevertheless."

Israel failed.

Nevertheless, God showed mercy.

Israel sinned.

Nevertheless, God responded with grace.

Israel deserved judgment.

Nevertheless, God provided deliverers.

We discussed the cycle found in Judges in Lesson #1:

Israel Sinned

God Disciplined

The People Cried Out

God Raised a Deliverer

Peace Returned

The amazing truth is not how sinful Israel became.

The amazing truth is how patient God remained.

Again and again He gave them opportunities to return.

Again and again He extended mercy.

Again and again He demonstrated grace.

What a picture of God's character.

Christ Connection

Every judge in this book points forward to a greater Deliverer.

None of the judges could permanently solve Israel's problem.

The real problem was the human heart.

Only Jesus can transform the heart.

Only Jesus can provide lasting salvation.

Only Jesus can break the cycle of sin.

Israel needed more than another judge.

They needed a Savior.

And that Savior is Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Judges 2 is a warning to every generation.

One generation knew God.

The next generation did not.

One generation served the Lord.

The next generation served idols.

One generation remembered God's works.

The next generation forgot them.

The lesson is clear:

Faith must be intentionally passed down.

The gospel must be intentionally proclaimed.

Disciples must be intentionally made.

Every church is one generation away from extinction.

If we fail to teach the next generation, the next generation will learn from the world.

Invitation

Perhaps God has spoken to your heart tonight.

Parents: Are you intentionally teaching your children about God?

Grandparents: Are you investing spiritually in your grandchildren?

Church members: Are you helping disciple younger believers?

Young people: Do you know God personally, or are you relying on someone else's faith?

God is looking for people who will know Him, love Him, and faithfully pass His truth to the next generation.

Let us determine that the next generation will not be known as the generation that forgot God.