Daily Reading: Joshua 24 – Judges 2
Text: Judges 2:10 – “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”
Click here to listen to Alexander Scourby reading the King James Bible
Joshua 24 ends with an old warrior standing flat‑footed telling Israel, “choose you this day whom ye will serve,” and Israel standing there saying, “we will serve the LORD.” They hit the altar hard in Joshua, and by Judges 2 their kids don’t even know the God their daddies promised to serve.
Our verse says “all that generation were gathered unto their fathers” – Joshua’s crowd died off – “and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” Daddy fought in battles, crossed Jordan, saw Jericho fall, watched God give victory after victory; Junior grew up on stories about ball, boats, and bass instead of Red Seas and walls falling down. They knew the land but not the Lord. They knew the blessings, but not the Blesser.
Notice the slide.
- They forgot His works – “nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” When you stop rehearsing what God has done, you start assuming you did it.
- Then they forsook His worship – they “did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim.” When God is not exalted at home, something else will be.
- Then they forfeited His wall – “whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil.” You lose the hedge when you leave the Helper.
That’s exactly what you see in tomorrow’s chapters: God leaves nations in the land “to prove Israel,” and instead of standing, they shack up with the heathen, marry into idolatry, and bow to their gods. The kids who “knew not the LORD” become adults who will not obey the Lord, and then they raise children who flat‑out hate His authority.
So what’s the devotion for us?
– Don’t assume the next generation “gets it” because they sit in our churches. Israel was in the land, at the tabernacle, under the covenant – and still “knew not the LORD.”
– Make the works of God household talk. Tell your children how God saved you, answered prayers, paid bills, healed, corrected, and helped you.
– Tie your home’s decisions to God’s hand. “We’re doing this because the Lord said so… we’re not doing that because the Lord said no.” If they don’t see the connection, they’ll keep the culture and drop Christ.
Joshua looked his family in the eye and said, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Judges 2 shows what happens when nobody in the house says that, or when they say it on Sunday and live like Baal’s crowd the rest of the week. The quickest way to lose a generation is to let them grow up around the things of God while never really knowing the God of those things.
Continue reading because tomorrow’s reading from JUDGES 3–5 we’ll watch that “another generation” flunk God’s test, fall into bondage, then cry for help as the Lord raises up judges like Othniel and Deborah to bail them out again.
Tomorrow’s Reading JUDGES 3–5
Until tomorrow, Stay in the Book. 📖
Brother Tony