“And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.” – Judges 2:10-11
In Judges, a generation that had witnessed God’s mighty works died, and their children grew up knowing nothing about God or what He had done for Israel. Without living witnesses to testify about God’s past deliverances, the people concluded they didn’t need God and fell into idolatry and destruction.
The stories still existed. The testimonies had been recorded. But when the eyewitnesses died, something irreplaceable disappeared from Israel.
We’re seeing this same phenomenon in our time. The generation that experienced the great atrocities of the last century has largely passed away. We have the historical records, the documentation, the evidence of those horrors. But we’ve lost the living voices of those who could have warned us about the attitudes and behaviors that led to such devastation. And now those same patterns are emerging again.
The Spiritual Parallel
The same is happening in the church today. As Christians, we are failing in our duty to serve as living witnesses to both God’s character and the lessons of history. We’re supposed to be the people who know God and know His word. We are the ones who can warn about spiritual and moral decline because we are supposed to understand what life looks like with and without Christ.
But too many Christians have become part of the problem. We’re not passing on the knowledge of God’s past rescues, His grace, or His warnings about the consequences of abandoning Him. We’re actively embracing the patterns that history should have taught us to reject.
The Generational Betrayal
There is no better example than that of our own children. Deuteronomy 6:7 commands us to teach our children about God “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way.” This is not optional but a command. Faith and wisdom must be actively passed from one generation to the next, or they disappear.
Christian parents today are neglecting this duty. I include myself in this indictment. We’re not effectively teaching our children about God’s character, His commands, or what it means to live a Christ-like life.
Instead, we’re raising children who will grow up spiritually ignorant, unable to serve as witnesses to either God’s truth or history’s lessons. We’re creating a generation that will have to learn these truths the hard way. Again.
The Root of Our Failure
We consider life here on earth as if this is all we have. We prioritize earthly success, comfort, and acceptance. While we should be preparing our children to stand as witnesses in a dark world, we’re teaching them to blend in and avoid conflict. We’ve forgotten that this life is the beginning, not the end. We’ve effectively lost sight of eternity.
Eternal thinking changes everything. It makes us willing to risk uncomfortable conversations about sin. We teach our children to stand apart from culture because we understand where compromise leads. It compels us to live by the standards Jesus set, knowing that how we represent Him today matters forever.
The Urgency of Now
But instead of living by those standards, too many Christians are doing the opposite. We’re rapidly approaching a point where the damage to the gospel’s reputation may become irreversible. When people look at Christians and see hatred, dishonesty, cruelty, and oppression rather than love, truth, and service, they turn away from Christianity and ultimately, Jesus.
Our children are watching. They observe our choices, our priorities, and our responses to injustice. We’re teaching them that following Christ means supporting leaders who ridicule the least of us. That being faithful means unconditional support of deception and lies. That our loyalty belongs to earthly kingdoms rather than God’s kingdom.
We’re raising a generation that hates in Jesus’ name.
Before It’s Too Late
The generation in Judges forgot both the Lord and what He had done for Israel because the living witnesses failed to pass on their testimony to the next generation. The consequences were devastating and lasted for generations.
We stand at a similar crossroads. We can continue to fail in our duty as witnesses, raising children who know neither the Lord nor the lessons of history, and watch our society repeat the destructive patterns that should have been prevented.
Or we can repent, reclaim our eternal perspective, and fulfill our calling to serve as living testimonies to both God’s truth and history’s warnings.
The next generation is watching. History is repeating. Will we stand in the breach?