After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10 NIV
Deborah was a stand-out judge for the nation of Israel in a challenging time. This verse is a starkly somber and challenging verse from when she came into leadership. It describes a generation that God loved as much as He had loved any other, but they had not personally experienced God's miraculous works. In addition, their elders, parents, and teachers failed to tell the stories and pass on the power of their God. This spiritual ignorance allowed them to fall into the ways of the world and worship false gods. When a generation forgets God's works and fails to know Him personally, they will find themselves in widespread spiritual compromise and disaster.
It’s hard to imagine that miraculous events and interventions from God like the Israelite’s escape from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, the provision of manna and water from the rock in the desert, wearing sandals for 40 years without them wearing out and all the other incredible acts of God would not be remembered and told, or that the miraculous fall of the walls of Jericho as Joshua led the conquest of Canaan would disappear from memory. It is a witness to the danger of spiritual amnesia, which happens more often than we can imagine.
Spiritual faith must be actively maintained and passed on to the next generation. Even the most amazing miracles don’t impact the next generation unless those who have experienced them intentionally pass them on. The responsibility for this transmission falls heavily on parents and families. Rather than relying mostly on churches or schools, Deuteronomy 6 emphasizes that God's ways should be "caught and taught in the home.” It is urgent. We are always one generation away from tragedy if we fail to pass on our experiences and intimacy with God.
What can I do? Reflect on my legacy. Do my children and grandchildren actually know God and His works, or are they growing up in a spiritual vacuum? Do they know my testimony? Do we actively and often talk about what God is doing? Take seriously God’s call to train and model vibrant faith to the next generation. Determine to be a faithful mentor to your children, grandchildren, and their friends. Identify and stop compromises. What steps are casually happening in my family that lead us away from faith. These little steps are the first steps to forgetting God. Learn from history. The failure of the generation in Judges has been repeated over and over throughout history. Look around you at people you know, people in your own history. You will see families in your own circle that have suffered from spiritual amnesia and have children and grandchildren suffering the consequences.
- God, help me stand with courageous and self-sacrificing love to pass on the faith. I do not want spiritual amnesia to mark my legacy.