-June 7, 2022-
Good morning, happy Tuesday,
“So 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 works of Lord which He had done for Israel.”
(Judges 2:7).
Joshua followed Moses as the leader of Israel and did a great job. He led the people into the Promised Land, gave them their inheritance, and set a godly example for them to follow. He told them in Joshua 24:14-15, “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The people proclaimed that they would serve the Lord, and even said it three times. Even so their commitment was short lived.
Leaders cannot force us to follow Christ and serve Him, but they do have a strong influence upon us and are godly spiritual examples. That being said, it is up to us to take the torch and carry on. One generation gives way to another. The father passes on the truth to his son. It has always been this way. Along with father stands the grandfather so that the son has two examples in the family to follow for Christ. For example with the kings of Judah, at times the father was good but the son was bad, and occasionally the father was bad, but the son was good. Each person is responsible for themselves and must answer to the Lord.
Paul wrote in Romans 14:12, “So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.” Our teachers can only take us so far. They aren’t perfect and can only take us as far as they have gone with the Lord, then we must take it further. We can either progress and grow, or we will digress and backslide, these are the two only choices. Sadly, for the Israelites, they digressed and plunged into idolatry. In the book of Judges we see the pattern of sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation. God would raise up nations and kings to bring them into bondage, then He would raise up a judge to deliver them, and there would be peace and good times until the pattern started all over again. Samuel was the last of the judges and first of the prophets. He was in fact a prophet, a priest, and a judge.
It was a blessing that Joshua’s strong spiritual influence and example extended to the elders who seen the great works that the Lord had done for Israel. When God great things in our lives it makes a big difference for us and our families. Are you taking the torch for Jesus? If we want the next generation to carry on, we must be examples to them and encourage them in the Word, in the work, and in the ways of the Lord.
May the Lord help us to be influencers and examples to the younger ones. Moses was a mentor to Joshua, Elijah to Elisha, and Paul to Timothy. This is why Paul told Timothy, “and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). With responsibility comes accountability.
Have a blessed day being a good spiritual influencer and example. Stay safe and healthy.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 