Why Don't You Know?
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. Andthey buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, inthe mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. Andalso all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and therearose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. - Judges 2:8-10
Every family has stories to pass down through the generations. Stories of heroes within the family or historic events that someone in the family played a vital role in. Stories of the ancestry are intriguing and eye-opening. It's fascinating to look back at the family tree and see where we've come from, isn't it? Evidently, it wasn't for the children of Israel.
If any family had some stories to tell, it was the families within the children of Israel. These were the ancestors of the original captives from Egypt. The plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna falling from Heaven, the water from the rock, the serpents, the golden altar, the Ten Commandments, the glory of God shining off Moses' face, the walls of Jericho as they crashed to the ground, the constant defeat of armies who were bigger and mightier. I mean, good grief, a mother could tell her children a different miraculous bedtime story every night and never run out of material. There was history here. There was wonder. Yet, according to Judges, it died out and was never passed on.
And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD. How is that possible? How could they grow up in the promised land without ever knowing how it was they wound up there to begin with? How could the adults have gone about their business day after day without ever telling their children about the mercy and goodness of the Lord? They had seen so much, witnessed so many miracles. How could they keep quiet?
How can we?
Will the generation after us know the Lord? How about the one after that? Are we imparting enough knowledge about the Lord that it will stick in the hearts and minds of our children after they're grown? Are we making them thirsty for the water of the Word? Are we telling them about the miracles we've seen in our own lives, as well as in the lives of others?
Unfortunately, I fear we're often too busy to tell others. There are so many things to do. Between work and family and church, there's little time left to reach out to others and talk to them about the Lord. We rush through life without ever really seeing people. How many of them are hurting? How many of them are searching for the answer? We know, but we keep quiet. Why do we do that?
There's nothing wrong with talking about the weather or the local sports team. It's not a sin to discuss a book we're currently reading or a movie we saw at the theater. However, it's imperative that we don't forget or neglect to talk about the most important thing of all--the Lord. He's worth talking about, and He's certainly worth knowing!