Judges 2:6-10

The Death of Joshua

⁶ When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. ⁷ And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. ⁹ And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. ¹⁰ 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.

Raising children in the fear and admonition of the Lord is difficult. Even two equally yoked Christians, man and wife, want their children to grow up and love the Lord Jesus Christ with all their heart, soul, and mind. Parents not only teach their children about Jesus and His love, but they must also demonstrate Jesus Christ and His nature to them in the way they love and interact with each other, with their children, and with the world at large. For when we see Jesus, we see the face of God. Yet, consider the disastrous case when parents are not equally yoked; that is, when one is a believer and the other at least may be indifferent, or, even worse, has no regard for Christ or any concern on spiritual matters. The first scenario has parents meeting, planning, and praying together for their children’s Christian education. They do not want to send any hint of mixed messages. Therefore, both parents must be on the same page. In the second scenario, however, there will always be mixed messages because the parents were never on the same page, to begin with. In this case, one parent is sending overt messages, yet very loud and clear to the children, that the other parent is crazy and fanatical in their strong commitment and belief in Jesus. The message is, “Do not be like the other parent and serve God, because that is foolish!” The outcome and consequence of this disastrous situation have eternal consequences, for the children and to the unbelieving parent as well. The children are raised to not fear, love, serve, and revere God. The parent who teaches the children to sin will reap their own reward. Jesus Christ said, “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

As we look to the passage today in Judges 2:6-10, we must first see what God taught the Israelites to do when they entered the land of Canaan. God gave Moses the law and instructed him to teach the Israelites about God and His laws. In return, the people were to teach their children as it says in Deuteronomy 6:7, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Then, in Deuteronomy 11, God has more explicit instructions to the Israelites before they go in to take possession of the land of Canaan. God tells the nation to remember what they have learned and seen when the Lord their God acts in mighty ways for them. How he saved them from slavery in Egypt! How God protected and safely led them through the wilderness! And now, as they are to go into the ‘Promise Land’, the Lord God will be with them and drive out the nations before them. The condition is, however, the Israelites are to be devoted to God alone. They are not to live with the idolatrous inhabitants of the land and worship their gods, which are not gods. Their God is a jealous God. If they do, then God warns them that He will not be with them and will not drive the other nations out. They shall be a snare to them. And if they rebel against God and worship these useless, pagan gods, then God will cut them off and send them out of their inheritance. In other words, God will send them into exile because of their rejection and rebellion against Him. God is giving them encouragement through a blessing, and a warning with a curse.

Judges 2:6-10 tells us what happened now that Joshua, their leader had died. They did not have a leader who they were to follow. God wanted to be their King and He wanted the Israelites to follow HIm. As long as Joshua and the leaders of Israel who saw the mighty acts of God were alive, they believed and did not stray from God. However, when everyone in that generation died, faith in God also died and Israel rejected and rebelled against God. Since the new generation did not know God, we wonder why they did not believe. Was if because they did not see the miraculous acts of God? Was it because the older generation sinned by not teaching their children to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, soul, and mind? Our passage sets the stage for the remainder of the historical account of the judges of Israel. Additionally, it warns and tells us about the pitiful condition of man from one generation to the next. In other words, in each generation, God must raise up believers to warn and teach the next generation about God in Jesus Christ who is our Savior and our Redeemer.

There are so many applications we can draw from this passage. First, Christians must marry Christians and never be unequally yoked with unbelievers – the eternal estate of the children is too important. Secondly, parents must come together to train up a child in the way they should go, which is, the fear and admonition of the Lord God – this requires planning and prayer as a priority. Thirdly, Christian parents’ priority is providing a Christian education for their children. God will hold the parents accountable for children who are not taught to love His Word and the perfect path of righteousness that honors and glorifies Him. In other words, parents must teach their children about Jesus, the Son of God!

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My Savior, Redeemer, and Great Shepherd, I worship and praise You for Your instructions You have given me in Your Word. Yet, I confess, I am so slow in learning and being holy as Your Word commands. I need Your Holy Spirit to change me. Take my heart of stone and give me a new heart; a heart that is inclined to revere and seek You alone for righteousness. Consecrate me, Lord, into Your likeness. And not only me, O Lord, save my children. Give them a new life in Jesus Christ. No greater joy I would have than to see my children walk in the faith of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!

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My Mother’s Bible, by Milan B. Williams (1860–1941)