It’s not an exciting title, but perhaps it created enough curiosity to get you to open this blog?
[All scripture references will be from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted.]
Now the biblical book of Judges is not one that is frequently turned to or highlighted. It tells of the period of time from the death of Joshua until the rise of the line of kings in Israel and Judah [approximately 1380 – 1015 B.C. – therefore, about 365 years]. Samuel was the final judge of Israel and it was he who anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel.
Our Bibles make an astute observation in Judges 3 that is frequently overlooked. With the death of Joshua and the relatively complete conquering of the former inhabitants of Canaan – the Promised Land – the Holy Spirit seems to want us to know something specific about the new breed of the children of Israel. [Or perhaps we should call them the children of the children of the children of Israel?]
This might clarify it for you:
THE FIRST GENERATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
Numbers
14:22-23
God said, “I forgive them,
honoring your words. But as I live and as the Glory of God fills
the whole Earth—not a single person of those who saw my Glory, saw the miracle
signs I did in Egypt and the wilderness, and who have tested me over and over
and over again, turning a deaf ear to me—not one of them will set eyes on the
land I so solemnly promised to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with
such repeated contempt will see it.
Consequently, this first generation was sent back into the wilderness to wander around meaninglessly until every last one of them died except for Moses, Joshua and Caleb.
[v.25] …for
right now change course and head back into the wilderness following the route
to the Red Sea.
THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
This
was the group that actually did cross the Jordan River under the leadership of
Joshua. They progressively conquered the people groups who were living in
Canaan and inherited their houses, much of their property and even their crops
– just as God had promised!
Joshua 1:10-11
Then Joshua gave orders
to the people’s leaders: ‘Go through the camp and give this order to the
people: “Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to
enter and take the land GOD, your God, is giving you to possess.”’
Although they experienced set-backs, they did indeed conquer much of the Promised Land. Before Joshua died, he designated specific boundaries for each of the twelve tribes to possess. Partly because of disobedience and a lack of faith, not all of the foreign peoples were eliminated from the new land.
God becomes exasperated with this generation and finally pronounces:
[God speaking] So now I’m telling you that I won’t drive them out before you. They’ll
trip you up and their gods will become a trap.
Judges 2:10
Eventually that generation died and was buried.
THE THIRD GENERATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
Judges
2:10
Then another generation
grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work He had done for Israel.
Now read carefully the very next words:
[Implied: “This] People of Israel did evil in
GOD’s sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted GOD, the God of their parents
who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, the gods of the
peoples around them. They actually worshipped them!
A few verses later we read:
[vs.14-15] They
were in a bad way. But then God raised up judges who saved them…
But they wouldn’t
listen to their judges; they prostituted themselves to other gods – worshipped
them! They lost no time leaving the road walked by their parents, the road
of obedience to GOD’s commands. They refused to have anything to do with it.
Consequently, a pattern was developed that would reenact itself over and over for the next 300 years!
[vs.17-19] When God was setting up judges
for them, he would be right there with the judge: He would save them from their
enemies’ oppression as long as the judge was alive, for God was
moved to compassion when he heard their groaning because of those who afflicted
and beat them. But when the judge died, the people went right back to their old
ways—but even worse than their parents!—running after other gods, serving and
worshiping them. Stubborn as mules, they didn’t drop a single evil practice.
Here we see a clear
representation of the deterioration of a culture that began as wholly dependent
on God and progressively became distant and even oppositional toward Him!
I doubt that you need me to observe the similarities to what we are currently observing in the United States of America!
History clearly documents that many of the initial developments in America were motivated by a desire to worship freely without restriction or persecution.
America’s history clearly identifies three ‘Great Awakenings’.
The First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted to about 1740. A major catalyst for this period was the preaching of Jonathan Edwards.
The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. Charles Finney was a charismatic preacher who advocated for personal conversion. His form included extended meetings, emotional appeals, and public prayer for sinners.
This period was also known for the westward expansion’s spirituality led by the Methodist and Baptist circuit-rider preachers.
The Third Great Awakening in the 1850s–1900s was characterized by new denominations and active missionary work. This revival produced leaders such as Dwight L. Moody.
Some contend that the 1960’s and ‘70’s represent a fourth great awakening, but this thought is not widely adopted. However, this period is recognized for three contributions:
1.
The Jesus Movement of the late 1960’s and the biblical teaching of Pastor Chuck Smith.
2.
The development of innovation in worship styles.
3.
Mainline Protestant denominations weakened
sharply in membership and influence! Independent, non-denominational churches
proliferated and grew with significance!
Although it is difficult to draw a line or pin-point a beginning, most religious historians document a continual decline in ecclesiastical influence through the closing decades of the twentieth century and becoming even more dramatic in the opening decades of the twenty-first century!
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THIS AUTHOR’S CONCLUSIONS:
The United States seems to have paralleled the experiences [described above] of the children of Israel quite dramatically!
A. An energized, passionate, willing-to-sacrifice core that were strongly motivated to establish their faith in spite of the need for massive sacrifice.
B. A generation who generally agreed that spirituality was the foundation of the country and the population - and should drive its formation and development.
C. A generation that largely denies these spiritual underpinnings and is aggressively advocating for a new foundation.
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To return to the beginning of this blog article, we are reminded that - under the direction of God - the children of Israel had their civilization completely leveled in 587 B.C., and they were carried away into captivity in a foreign country!
