I find it one of the more startling verses in the Bible:

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. (Judges 2.10 ESV)

 An entire generation who did not know the story!

Here’s the context. Previously, Abraham had been promised a land and a kingdom in what is now present-day Israel. But Israel had to endure 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Through Moses, God in dramatic fashion—the parting of the Red Sea—brought Israel out of slavery while defeating the Egyptian army. When the time came to finally claim the promised land, the Israelites shrank bank and an entire generation of unbelievers passed away.

Ultimately, Joshua was the one God raised up to bring the nation into the promised land. Once again, after a series of dramatic battles, God brings the nation to the promised land.

With the battles over, however, it seems the nation got comfortable, complacent and lazy. The stopped telling the great story of their previous slavery, their previous struggles and God’s incredible victory.

An entire generation grew up and didn’t know the story. Think about it. Crazy. But we can’t blame that generation. We have to blame the generation that stopped telling the story.

It all strikes a chord. What stories are you telling your kids and grandkids? Do they know the goodness of God’s work in your life?

Photo by Faith Enck on Unsplash

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published October 17, 2021

Topics: Family Legacy

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