the “judges generation”

Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.

Judges 2:16-17

Faith is lost in only one generation. In the case of Israel, once the generation that under Joshua had received the Promised Land passed away, the next generation quickly abandoned the covenant with God as they were enticed and ensnared by idolatry all around them. The Joshua generation was content with some compromises that spiritually handicapped the spiritual prospects of their children. 

The first two chapters detail this horrific generational slide. It went something like this:

• At the end of Joshua’s leadership, his generation continued some final land captures (1:1-26).
• They were incomplete in the conquest, failing to drive out Canaanites as God had commanded, content instead in the capture of cities, land, and possessions (1:27-36).
• God warned them that this lazy materialism would lead to a path of pain as surviving Canaanites would become “thorns” in their sides (2:1-3).
• Although Israel was saddened by this warning, they did not heed the warning, accepting the status quo even as they were grieved to be confronted in their sin (2:4-5)
• Another generation came along that had no memory of the conquest, of Joshua’s spiritual leadership, or of God’s warnings. They easily accepted the status quo as their culture (2:10).
• This generation then went full-tilt into idolatry (2:11-15). This started a cycle of God punishing Israel by powerful Canaanite survivors rising up to oppress them, then God raising up judges who would deliver the people.

What can be learned from this grim history? The answer is significant: We are easily drawn away from the worship of God and commitment to Him. We must be diligent to guard our hearts. We must at times be radical in our obedience to God. We cannot serve God + “something else”. God doesn’t get “His place” alongside any other thing. He must instead, rule over and conquer over every other affection of our hearts. This includes but is not limited to family, money, reputation, possession, fame, or desires. When love for these competes with love for Christ we have begun to lose. When we secretly love these things more, we are as unfaithful spiritually as “the judges generation”.