Teaching the Next Generation Requires A Zillion Different Specialists
[1] Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, [2] and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? [3] So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” [4] As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. [5] And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.
[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. (ESV)
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It’s comforting, at least, that God still spoke to the people even though Joshua wasn’t leading them anymore. God could have just left His people once they started sinning and becoming like any other Gentile nation.
Instead, God stayed with them but tried to get them to turn back to Him. Previous generations had hardships and God told the Levites how to be priests and lead the people through those hardships. The Levites told the people about God and God’s history and how to interact with Him. Unfortunately, the masses didn’t stick close to the Levites that carried on those teachings.
Some of the teachings continued on, and at almost random intervals God would raise up somebody somewhere to follow Him. In the same way, there are little pockets of interest at church and in the world today. There might be one person at your church that is into prophecy as much as you are. Or only about 8 people that love Ravi Zacharias books (call Bret!) or Marty Solomon (call Ryan!).
In every generation, as the focus changes or even diverts, God has kept various groups to preserve different aspects of who He is. As we meet and talk to others, we see that there are a lot of people following Jesus in different ways. Find the ones that will help you grow the most in Him and do more life together. That’s how one generation teaches the next and Jesus’ name continues to spread all over the world.
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