8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 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. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
"There arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel" (v. 10). Because of this, they did evil in the sight of the Lord (v. 11). All of this happened after Joshua, their fearless leader and servant of the Lord, died (v. 8). We also learn that their parents were gathered unto their fathers (v. 10), suffering the same fate of death as Joshua. The new generation was now left on their own to fend for themselves. They turned to the worship of 'he-gods' and 'she-gods' and forsook the Lord (v. 13). The anger of the Lord was hot (v. 14) and His punishment swift. Israel would experience personal and corporate distresses, till ultimately turning back to God in repentance.
Reverend Jonathan Edwards in his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741), said this, "Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock."
Which generation do you liken yourself to? Are you like the generation of Joshua that have seen all the great works of the Lord (Jos. 2:7)? Or are you like the generation that forsook God and turned to other gods?
Oftentimes, gods are dismissed as mystic and ethereal beings that occupy specific functions in the universe. But a god (or idol) can manifest itself in something that we elevate in importance above the one true God, like our material possessions or interests (car, house, job, family, etc.). What the new generation of Israelites found out was that God must have preeminence ― priority ― in our lives. May the lessons they have learned be our compass and guide. We must not let another generation forsake the Lord. It must become our duty to teach and train our successors in the faith.
Prayer: Father, I surrender all to you. Forgive me for not making you a priority. Please take preeminence in my life. Help me to stand in your word. Amen!