As much as we might be reluctant to openly say it, the previous generations that came before us didn’t always ‘get it right’; especially when it came to doing things God’s way. 

 The bible is full of examples where God called His people out regarding how they went astray in their hearts or fell away or departed from Him and His ways. God knew this would be likely and even made it a point to include that warning in the second commandment that He is a ‘jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Deut. 5:9-10) 

 And just for clarification...this was not about God saying...”I’m so mad at you generation # 1 that when generations # 3 & 4 come along, I’m going to punish them really bad.” I mean...where would the justice in that be? I believe the message in that sobering warning from God is this: We can stray so far from God and bring about consequences for our own sins ...that the effects can linger and pass down for multiple generations. One only needs to study the effects of alcoholism and child abuse and how victims in those unfortunate situations have a way of resurfacing until the ‘cycle is broken’. Until then, one can only imagine the irreparable harm that has occurred in homes for decades upon decades if not longer. 

 A careful study of Deuteronomy, especially chapters 4-11 point out the importance God placed on ‘getting it right’ and listening to Him. You’ll notice in a few places like 11:16-20 the added emphasis He puts on passing these laws and teachings down to their children when ‘you sit in your house and walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up’. I know...sounds so ...boring and unappealing. I mean...we get them to children’s church once or twice a week, do we not? I know this will hit a nerve or two, but it needs to be said: Is it possible that many of us spend more time and energy training our kids to excel in various activities so they can secure a college scholarship and succeed in this world...than we do in instilling in them the importance of learning to ‘abide in Christ’ and ‘seek first His kingdom’? And are we modeling this in both words and our own action and demonstration for them to follow? 

 I’ll be the first one to admit...I did not always get it right, as much as it pains me to admit this. 

 But here we are...and we serve a God who still relents and desires for none to perish but for all to come to repentance where we can find mercy and grace in our time of need. His ways still continue to be better than our ways. Some of us just have to find out for ourselves in taking the ‘painful scenic route’. I’m sure this is an arguable point, but I would think that one indicator of ‘measuring’ how well a particular generation does could be related to how well they pass off that baton to the next generation. And it’s not enough just to ‘pass off a baton’, but is it the ‘baton of freedom inducing truth’? If one generation is ‘blind’, we can pretty well see what happens when the blind follow the blind’ – (Matt. 15:14) 

 Perhaps you are familiar with this text found in the book of Judges. - Joshua, who succeeded Moses in leading the people into the promised land died at the age of 110. We read there: “when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from the gods of the people who were all around them...and they provoked the Lord to anger.” (Judges 2:10-12) 

 Which leads me back to where I left off yesterday and the story of King Josiah. But before Josiah we first read of the sinful failures of his grandfather and father, Kings Manasseh and Amon. (2 Kings 21). You can read of their poor leadership that provoked God to anger and the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem for all their evil doings. Here is a classic example of the ‘apple not falling far from the apple tree’. In fact, things got so bad with Amon, that servants conspired to kill him. (23). So then his son, Josiah succeeded him at the young age of eight years old. (2 Kings 22). But here is where things began to get interesting and the cycle gets broken. There must have been some good influences in his life, in spite of his miserable predecessors, and at the age of 16 he begins to ‘seek the God of his forefather David. (2 Chron. 34:3) 

 I would really encourage you to spend some time pouring over 2 Kings 22-23 as these pages should come alive for you. But here is the short version: 

 Josiah begins to walk in the ways of the Lord and he ‘did what was right in the sight of the Lord’. That is a great definition of ‘righteousness’ – doing what is right in the eyes of God. 

 The young king is making sure there are funds provided for completing the repair work on the damaged temple. In the process of this project, a ‘book’ is found and it is not just any book, rather we are told it was the “Book of the Law”. (22:8). And the irony here is not lost on me as it is found “in the house of the Lord”. It was there all the time, yet...lost, buried, or hidden. 

 A scribe brings the book to Josiah who orders it to be read and when the king ‘heard the words of the Book of the Law, ...he tore his clothes’ (sign of remorse). He then begins a sequence of events that includes inquiring or seeking God, gathering all the people and having the law read to them. But it is the passage that indicates Josiah has had a ‘light bulb moment’ now that the book of the law has been found and made known: “for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (22:13) 

 Over and over again...multiple generations have learned the hard way that God means what He says. And when vital information is hidden or kept back from the people, for whatever reason, there is always a price to pay. Hence, the statement I quote often from Hosea 4:6- “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” 

 When one generation fails to not only obey God’s laws themselves, but to pass down such vital knowledge, then they are setting the next generation up for doom. Short sidedness and selfish tendencies along with a lack of eternal vision in recognizing the things the truly matter most, does more generational harm than anything else. All the while we ‘say’ we want what is best for our kids and their kids. God certainly did and always had the next generation in mind promising...that if the people would just do things His way...things would go well for them. But if they failed...look how often God warned them that their kids would turn and end up going into captivity. And in to captivity they went. If you know...you know. I would imagine there may be a few ‘seasoned’ people reading this now ...quietly nodding your head with tears in your eyes and wanting to run down your cheeks. 

 That verse I quoted from Hosea 4:6 is one of those verses that usually gets quoted in part. The last line there says this: “Because you have forgotten my law, I will forget your children.” 

 Now take a deep breath and hang with me here. The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy details the promises of blessings and curses that came with obeying God’s laws...and rebelling against it. Moses spent a bit of time going over this with that next generation of people who were about to go in and possess this new promised land. Then the next two chapters, 29-30 indicate how things are going to go for this group of people, with God acknowledging that many if not most of them will still rebel against Him but includes this promise found in chapter 30 that IF...they will turn back (repent) and come to Him with all their heart and souls...that God will restore them. This has always been the heart of God. Always. And when did God change? Never. (Mal. 3:6) 

 So back to 2 Kings 23...where we can read how Josiah responded to hearing for the first time, presumably, the law and what all God had promised and warned to those who hear and heed it. This chapter details the overhaul and cleansing of the temple...removing and destroying anything and everything that was an abomination and offense to God. I mean it was a thorough cleansing as things were removed, torn down, burned and smashed, etc. Please spend some time in this chapter 23 and take notes. Josiah was said to had turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses.” (25) 

 So why is this relevant to any of us today? My friend...you have no idea. If you need some NT passages to connect the dots, read over 1 Cor. 10 and Hebrews 3-4 where Paul points back to previous generations that ‘got it wrong’ and in a bad way...suffering for it. He then makes it clear in the passage in Corinthians that all those things happened to ‘them’ as an example and warning to us on whom the end of the ages has come. 

 But it is not some physical temple that is in desperate need of ‘cleansing’; rather it is the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ which is what our hearts were to be. And Jesus pointed out how defiled these hearts of ours were in Mark 7:21-23. Hence, Paul’s exhortation in 2 Cor. 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” And the only way this can be done right is if we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and submit to His leading so He too, can cleanse us, perfect us, and purify our hearts that we too...might fulfill the law just as He did. 

 I realize this whole matter of the ‘law’ does not fit with our modern day understanding of ‘faith’; but that is because the law has been lost to us just as it was to Josiah’s generation. That might explain why verses like Rom. 2:13 make no sense to us when Paul writes: “For it is not the hearers of the law who will be justified, but the doers of the law”. 

 Jesus came...to lead and empower us to fulfill this very law so that all the righteous requirements could be fully met in us. (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:4). And to fail to adhere will lead to much heartache, suffering, and eventual destruction...just as God warned from the beginning and continues to do so today. I know...much to chew on here. Please do.