The faith of a child and the lack of discipleship to the next generation.
“That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel.”
The whole generation was Joshua’s generation including the people who saw what happened from the time of the Red Sea through the Jordan. But wait I thought that all the people who saw the Red Sea died in the wilderness before they cross the Jordan.
“None of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me.
Your corpses will fall in this wilderness — all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you 20 years old or more — because you have complained about Me. I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.”
Numbers 14:22, 29-31 HCSB
All the people 20 years old and older did die in the wilderness except Caleb and Joshua. But their Kids, 19 and younger, did see what God had done in from the Red Sea to Jericho. This is the generation who was also gathered to their ancestors.
The faith of a child and the lack of discipleship to the next generation.
When a child sees God move they have the faith to see God move again. But when we as adults see God move we may dismiss it. In God’s kingdom, it does not take much faith but it does take holding on to what faith, experiences, and the word we have from God to move into the next step of faith! Will we continue in the childlike faith to see God move in our generation?
“I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
I also see a lack of discipleship in the lives of Joshua’s generation. They failed to teach the next generation to have faith in God that they saw in the wildness. But they began to make treaties with the people who lived in the promised land with them. Their kids began playing with these other kids and they would see the way the other kid's families would worship their other gods and it began to move them away from the worship of God!
“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 HCSB
We have followed the same path. The generations that preceded us found God in mighty ways. So much so that in certain communities they thought about getting rid of jails. But now years later we have jails that are busting at the seams. We need God again in a new and mighty way again in our generation! But it starts with us in our homes!
The sins we dabble in our kids will be experts in. The righteousness we live by will be repeated in our kids. What drastic things must we do to make sure our kids fall in love with God for themselves so that the next generation will not be like Joshua’s generation, but will be like us? For some, the first step will be back into a Bible preaching Church as a whole family. Other steps may include turning off electronic devices and opening the Bible together. Praying together. Changing the conversations around the house to praises of God! It may take turning off your favorite music and turning on church music! It may be pulling your kids away from public school to a Christ-centered education! Whatever you decide to change make it a change toward God so that your kids will not change away from God!
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