Last night in our LIFE Lessons, we continued our study with the Book of Judges by moving into Chapter 2. We are following a six-week Bible Study by Katie M. Reid entitled, “God, What Do I do?” This study is based on the Book of Judges, Chapters 1-5, and we are digging into what these lessons teach us about making wise decisions in uncertain times.
Today, we are studying Judges 2:6-13 and our focus is, “God, What Do I Do with My Influence?”
We will all leave a legacy behind when we go home to the Lord. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this since my brother passed away two weeks ago. It made me ask myself questions about how I have loved people towards God. What legacy would I leave? God gives us plenty of opportunities to influence people in His righteous wisdom. We have also had plenty of opportunities to influence people through our failures.
It is our personal responsibility to honor God and His Word with our influence. What we don’t say can also be a source of influence; I have not thought as much about that opportunity. So this is a valuable reminder for me. The power of our influence is what we will look at, today.
Read: Judges 1:6-13 NLT The Death of Joshua
6 After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them. 7 And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Israel Disobeys the Lord
10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
11 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth [fertility goddess of the Canaanites].
In our passages for today, Israel raised a whole generation who did not honor God or even “know” the amazing miracles and mercies of the Lord. They did not really know [Heb. yada] God; worship or obey Him. We are given two examples:
Exodus 5:2 NLT “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
Two hundred years later we see more of the same with Eli’s sons; they did not know God personally by experience. Yet, how is that possible when their father, Eli, served God as a priest after the time of Joshua. Eli neglected his responsibility to teach his sons to respect and honor God. The consequences of this led to Eli’s sons’ death.
1 Samuel 2:12 NLT Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for [did not know] the Lord.
We have a responsibility to positively influence the generations following us with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah when he referred to the Pharisees, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” (Matthew 15:8-9).
The lives of these leaders did not line up with what they said they believed. Jesus spoke to those who were serving God, but told them they would not enter the Kingdom of heaven because they never knew Him (Matthew 7:21-23). Our actions must be obedient to God’s commands and the only way to know and love Jesus is to keep His commands.
In Judges 2:11-13, we see the actions of those who did not know the Lord. They left Him behind. Life was not positive, pleasant, or protected for those who did know God, because they were influenced by the world rather than divine wisdom.
We can only pass on to other generations the practice of Truth in our lives. This is to be our legacy. We all have the power to influence others. Therefore, our words, actions, convictions, and social media posts will impact others.
Prayer: Lord, we want the legacy of our lives to bring You glory and honor, as well as influence others for Your Kingdom. We are your children and we need to share the joy of knowing You with everyone around us. You have done so many amazing things for us and have protected us from the world just as Jesus prayed. We pray for the next generation to learn about You; we pray for the opportunity to influence more and more of them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.