Serve God in Your Generation

Judges 2:6-15
Gregory Perry | Sunday, June 16, 2019
Copyright © 2019, Gregory Perry

In the Bible, God often speaks in terms of generations:

Ps. 145:13; 146:10: “The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.”

Acts 13:36 [Paul to Pisidia Antioch]: “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep”

The rough definition of a generation is “a people born & living at about the same time, regarded collectively.” Generations often have certain characteristics that are generally true of them.

For example, in 20^th century American society, there are many generations that can be described in certain ways. Just to name a few:

GI generation (Greatest)— generation raised in great depression and fought in WWII; known for sacrifice and patriotism.
Baby Boomers (Me)— generation of yuppies and hippies, known for self-centeredness.
Gen Y (Millennial)— a nurtured generation, known for sense of entitlement.

There are also generations in the church world that tend to share particular characteristics. We would say that this generation of the evangelical church in America is particularly marked by a prevailing Antinomian spirit—people want a Jesus who will save their souls and improve their life here and now, but not a Jesus who will rule them and require them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.

And there will most often be multiple generations in a single church. In a church like ours, which is now in its 45^th year, we have three generations represented: a first generation, their children (and people around their age), and their children’s children.

Salvation is certainly individualistic in a very important sense. You yourself are accountable to God & must stand before Him on your own two feet in Christ. No one ever will or even can be saved based on someone else’s faith.

At the same time, it is good to step back & see yourself as part of a bigger picture. Yes, God knows us intimately & individually, but He also sees us part of a whole generation.

In Judges 2:6-13, we see the bigger picture. The writer steps back to give us the generational perspective. In this passage we read about three generations:

First: the people led out of Egypt by Moses who mostly died in the desert.
Second: the people led by Joshua who conquered the enemies and entered the promised land.
Third: the people settled in the land who forsook the Lord and turned to other gods.

In looking at this passage, I want to examine these three generations of Israel and derive what valuable lessons we can learn from each of them. I will present three lessons to learn from each of the three generations.

Through this message I want to spur you on to have a greater vision for serving the Lord in your generation.

Lessons learned from each generation:

First (Unfaithful) Generation

This First Generation is not directly spoken about in this passage, but it is actually the generation to which Joshua belonged. This generation witnessed the greatest miracles (such as the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea), but they proved unfaithful.

When it came time for them to take the Promised Land, they failed to do so. This generation will always be known for paralysis and convulsion. When God tells them to go into the land, they refuse to do so—that is paralysis. And then when God tells them not to go, they go anyway—that is convulsion.

This is a generation marked by unfaithfulness, with a few notable exceptions—namely, Caleb and Joshua.

This generation is held out in Scripture as a warning. Nearly 1500 years later the apostle Paul warns the Corinthians not to be like this unfaithful generation.

1 Cor. 10:1-11: “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea…. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did…. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”

This First Generation (the Unfaithful generation) was marked by unbelief and rebellion. They kicked against the rule of God and His delegated authorities (see Num. 14 & 16). What a tragic thing it would be if we are part of such a rebellious, unbelieving generation that would serve as a warning for generations to come.

But let’s look specifically at what lessons we can learn from this generation.

Lessons: The first thing that this generation teaches us is that…

1. With greater knowledge comes greater responsibility

Knowledge is great. Knowledge is necessary. But the truth is that greater knowledge does not always equal greater faith. This first generation was most privileged, yet it didn’t result in gratitude and love for God.

Their unbelief does not make sense. After the miracles they had seen in being delivered out of Egypt and provided for in the desert, how could they not obey God’s instruction to go and take the land of Canaan? The only answer is that sin is irrational.

Greater knowledge gives us opportunity for greater faith, but it also increases our guilt when we fail to add faith to what we know.

Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

This first generation could tell great stories about what they had seen and heard, but in the final analysis they were cursed because of their unbelief. Their knowledge will only be used against them on the day of judgment. May that not be true of us.

We here at GVCC are most privileged to have the whole counsel of God preached to us clearly and fearlessly week in and week out (multiple times each week). Moreover, the Christian life is lived out before us by godly men and women, beginning with our Pastor and his family. We have here a rich oasis and the brightest of light, but all of this is only a blessing if we respond to it all with the obedience of faith.

John 13:17: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The second lesson of this generation is…

2. The serious cost of unfaithfulness

Sin and unfaithfulness have severe consequences. In this whole generation, all but two were not allowed by God to enter the Promised land. All 603,548 of them were killed off in the desert over the span of 40 years. Their punishment was harsh because their knowledge was great.

God makes neither empty promises nor hollow threats. He does not pronounce curses for disobedience, but then when the time to punish comes change His mind because He just can’t bring Himself to do it.

We get used to the lenient, wavering parent who threatens the disobedient child but does not follow through with the threatened punishment—but God is not like that. His curses for disobedience are just as real and just as sure as His promises for obedience.

The penalty for not hearing and doing the word of God is not just loss—“my life could have gone a little better if I had obeyed God.” No, the foolish man who builds his house on sand—who fails to hear and do the words of Christ—his house will come crashing down. Just like the Jews who did not enter the Promised land, the unfaithful professing “Christian” will not enter Heaven.

He will be “surprised by hell”—

Matt. 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

The third thing we learn from the first generation is that we…

3. Need to stand even when others fall

We learn this lesson from the example of Caleb & Joshua. Even when everyone else was rebelling and complaining and disobeying, they stood firm in the Lord and wholeheartedly obeyed His word.

In the midst of an unbelieving generation, we need to stand like Caleb & Joshua. These two inspiring exceptions show that we can stand for Christ even when our surrounding environment is not. It is a tremendous blessing to serve God with others who are faithful, but when people around us are unfaithful we must be prepared to stand alone.

It is always easy to fall when others fall around you— go along to get along. It is much more difficult to stand up and stand out. Truth be told, we cannot and will not stand in our own strength. We will only be able to stand with God’s help:

Eph. 6:11: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

As individuals and as a church, we must not join our increasingly wicked generation. We must not conform to the pattern of our depraved culture. Many evangelical (“Bible-believing”) churches have done just that. Not only is our American culture corrupt and immoral, but we live in a generation of evangelical churches marked by unfaithfulness.

The story of this church since its inception has been that we have faithfully stood for the Word of God, in spite of the depraved culture and compromising churches that have surrounded us. We have heeded Paul’s charge:

2 Thes. 2:15: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

There are forces of evil that are against us, but we are to stand firm:

1 Pet. 5:9: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

The challenge is for us to persevere in standing firm, for it is only “he who stands firm to the end [who] will be saved.” (Matt. 10:22).

CH Spurgeon: “I know of nothing which I would choose to have as the subject of my ambition for life than to be kept faithful to my God till death.”

The first generation that was delivered out of Egypt was marked by unfaithfulness. The first generation of this church, however, has been marked by faithfulness. That being said, it is important to note that there were many in the first generation of this church that rebelled and turned away from Christ. The church today is made up of the faithful who stood, even when many others (family & friends) were forsaking Christ and His church.

Second (Greatest) Generation

Our text really focuses on the next two generations. We will look now at the second generation.

Judges 2:6-7: After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

We call the generation that fought in World War II the greatest generation because of the sacrifices they made to ensure our freedoms.

In a sense, this generation that conquered the Canaanites and inhabited the land can be considered the greatest generation of Israel. These are the people who went in faith & obedience, fought Lord’s battles and took the Promised Land.

Lessons: The first lesson of this generation is that they are…

1. Example to follow

This generation sets a faithful example that we should strive to follow. You can find flaws in this generation. We remember the failure of Achan, who took for himself from the forbidden plunder. Some tribes at times also failed to dislodge the inhabitants of the land. But here we see that the general tenor of this generation was unquestionably positive—by faith they took the land & remained faithful.

The people had promised to follow Joshua into the Promised Land and fight the Lord’s battles:

Josh 1:16-17: Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.”

And with the help of their God, these people indeed took possession of the land. You read about their victories throughout the book of Joshua.

Joshua 10 gives an account of defeat of Amorite kings and southern cities conquered: “He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded” (Josh. 10:40). Joshua 11 tells of the defeat of the northern kings: “As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.” (Josh. 11:15).

They did what the previous generation failed to do. The first generation lacked the faith to act, while the second generation showed what the obedience of faith is. And by this faith they were used by God to do great things for His kingdom. We should follow their example and expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.

And this generation persevered. They were fourth soil hearers that did not fall away. They served the Lord “throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the elders who outlived him.” Even after they took the land and settled, they remained faithful to the end.

This generation also teaches us that we…

2. Do not need to follow unfaithful predecessors

This generation did not repeat the failures of the preceding generation. They did not have to be like their unbelieving parents. This reminds us that we can learn from the failures of those who have gone before us. Certainly we will be prone to fall in the same way if we give no thought to our ways, but we are not bound to repeat these failures. We do not have to take up the empty way handed down to us by our forefathers.

The Bible gives us a number of examples of people that refused to go the destructive route of people who went before them.

The sons of Korah refused to follow their father in rebelling against Moses and Aaron.
Hezekiah was one of the great kings (good king) of Judah; yet his father Ahaz was one of the most wicked kings. Ahaz refused to trust in the Lord when there was a threat against him—he looked to Assyria instead. But his son Hezekiah cried out to the Lord when surrounded by a vast Assyrian army.

We have had in our church children who have refused to follow their unfaithful parents into apostasy.

Even faithful Christian parents pray that their children will not follow them in ways in which they have failed. Because we are all sinners, even the best of inheritances will have a bit of emptiness about it that needs to be left behind.

Third, we learn that we need to…

3. Have a vision for being part of a faithful generation

Our culture tends toward individualism— “me & mine.” It is good to seek to be part of a faithful generation. We need to develop a generational vision and not be satisfied with just me. Not, “I am doing fine, I have made my calling and election sure. So who cares about anyone else?”

We must desire to see the success of our whole generation. Only when we have this burning desire, will we truly spur others on toward love and good deeds.

Yes, we must be prepared to stand alone, if need be, but we nevertheless yearn to see others come to Christ and walk in the light. We have a burden for unbelieving family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. We want to see our fellow believers growing and thriving in Christ.

We need to be like Timothy. The apostle Paul said that he had no one else like him in that he was one who was not stuck on his own interests, but took a genuine interest in the welfare of others. We need to be like Barnabas who was known for encouraging others in the faith.

It is good to pray generational prayers for the church. Pray to be a part of a faithful generation that perseveres in serving the Lord. And don’t just pray for your children (not “us four & no more”), but pray for their whole class—pray for their whole generation.

Third (Apostate) Generation (vv. 10-15)

This third generation is called “another” generation: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up…”

This is a generation of complete apostasy.

The first generation failed to faithfully follow the Lord into the Promised Land, but the third generation completely forsook God.

So what we can learn from this apostate third generation?

Lessons: The first thing we learn from them is…

1. The danger of prosperity

This is the generation that did not have to suffer the trials of previous generations. They were not born in Egypt or some of them even in the desert. They enjoyed the prosperity of the land and became complacent.

Prov. 1:32: “…the complacency of fools will destroy them.”

Amos 6:1: “Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria”

There was unfinished business to be done. In Judges 1, we read about land that still needed be taken, battles that still need to be fought and won, but this weak generation did not have the heart to fight—they wanted an easy life. Moses famously prophesied about the danger of prosperity in his song:

Deut. 32:15: “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior”

We as Americans live in a land of unprecedented prosperity, and we must be careful that we do not “grow fat and kick” against God. We must not be lulled to sleep by all the creaturely comforts (our personal peace and affluence) and cease to fight the Lord’s battles.

No, we must put on the whole armor of God and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit from on high and fight the good fight of the faith. We must fight and conquer in our struggle “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

We also enjoy in this church an abundance of blessings that we can easily take for granted. In a dry and weary spiritual wasteland, we enjoy the privilege of the richness of God’s word being preached multiple times each week. There is a certain flowing here “of milk and honey.” And we have a community where for decades people have laid down their lives in service for one another.

But often the more we are given, the more ungrateful we are. So we must be careful that we do not (and our future generations do not) take all this for granted and become ungrateful.

The second thing we learn from this third generation is the…

2. Need to know God personally & experientially

Another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

It is not enough that our parents know God. Having godly parents doesn’t necessarily mean they will produce godly children. Manasseh, the most wicked king of Judah, was the son of the godly king Hezekiah. Josiah, the godliest of the kings of Judah, had three wicked sons who all contributed to the final downfall of the kingdom.

We are told that this third generation knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. They obviously knew about God. They had surely been told about Him, but they did not know God personally and experientially. Their knowledge was superficial and theoretical.

1 Sam. 2:12: “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”

In the Bible, to know is to love. To say that they did not know God is to say that they had no love for Him. Those God foreknows (foreloves) will in turn know God.

Jer. 24:7: “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.”

Jer. 31:34: “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

John 10:14: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”

Not only did this third generation not know the Lord, but the text tells us that they did not know what He had done for them. Again, it is not that they had never heard the stories. The point is that they conveniently forgot what He had done. Their forgetfulness is a way of speaking of their unthankfulness. They had “spiritual amnesia.”

The Bible warns us repeatedly about the proneness to forget what God has done for us:

Deut. 6:12: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Ps. 103:2: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Dale Ralph Davis: “The Bible is clear: amnesia produces apostasy.”

The Bible also frequently puts it positively and calls us to remember the Lord and all that He has done for us. We must do this deliberately.

1 Chron. 16:12 (David): “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.”

This is why we partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday evening. A part of why we do this so frequently is so that we are constantly remembering the salvation that God has provided for us through the sacrificial death of His One and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be diligent and constantly seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 3:18)

The final lesson we learn from this apostate generation is the…

3. Danger of the temptation to be like the world

Their desire to be like the pagan nations led them to forsake God and provoke His fearful wrath.

Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 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 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

We are first told that they “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” They did not do evil in their own eyes or in the eyes of the surrounding nations.

Deut. 6:18: “Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers”

The evil the Israelites did was that they served Baal, the false god of the Canaanites. To worship another God is appalling to Yahweh because He alone is worthy to be worshiped. You cannot serve two masters. To worship Baal, you must reject the Lord.

But why would the Israelites who have God as their Lord worship another god—especially a god they have already defeated with the help of their God? The answer is simple: Yahweh is a holy God who does not tolerate sin, while Baal (like all false gods) allows and even promotes sin.

In fact, Baal worship is especially attractive and luring because it promotes sexual immorality. Baal is the god of fertility, so “sacred” prostitution was part of the worship of Baal and his female consort Ashtoreth.

Tragically, many who grow up in Christian homes forsake Christ in order to sin, especially in this area of sexual immorality. We live in a society that promotes sexual immorality and is full of temptations and death traps.

Prov. 7:26-27: “Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.”

The false gods allow them to indulge their sin nature. The devil tempts them, but they are dragged away and enticed by their own evil desire (James 1:14). In fact, many professing Christians who want to sin even make Jesus into a false god who allows them to sin. This antinomian Jesus is another Jesus, a product of their own wish fulfillment and warped imagination.

We are told that this third generation “followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them” (v. 12). In other words, another contributing factor here was their desire to be accepted by the world. The only way to fit into the world is to become like them. Love what they love; do what they do; speak the way they speak; think the way they think; worship what they worship.

Rom 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

There is always a temptation for the Christian to try to be popular in the world. We want the world that hates Christ to like us.

Luke 16:15: “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

In becoming like the people around them, this generation forsook the Lord. There is no greater tragedy than apostasy—falling away from the faith—standing away from the right way—crossing over from light into darkness.

In closing, the charge for all of us is to be prepared to stand alone. Though none go with us, still we will follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Our commitment is to be faithful even to the point of death and Christ will give us the crown of life.

That being said, earnestly and persistently pray for and strive after being part of a generation that proves faithful—that you may be used as part of a people of God that will hold forth the word of life and be used by God to advance His kingdom in your generation.