Didn't Know Or Didn't Care?
Here we have to pause to consider whether the passage indicates that the next generation was not informed by the previous generation, or that they didn't choose to pay attention to it because their context had changed. If it was the first case, then shame on the parents for getting lazy, but we have to remember that in the Old Testament, "knowing" has many contexts outside of cognition.
If they had been simply uninformed (parents never told Bible stories and Sunday School wasn't helpful enough), surely God would have sent a prophet to remind them. But it's more likely that what actually happened was that life had become more comfortable and settled for them, and the God who had saved their parents and grandparents from enemy armies, starvation and homelessness seemed to have no relevance to their new lives.
This may often happen in churches now, where instead of looking for a God context for now among a new generation, He is forgotten or relegated to the miracles of yesterday. The passion decreases, the fire becomes a dull glow of embers, and the testimonies become just stories.
But we also see the hurt that comes to a people who don't look for God's role in their present. We cannot be like that and must focus on what God is doing now and where He is leading us. It might not be out of addictions, financial or family collapse, war, medical emergencies or any other thing, but just like us, God wants to move on to a new thing. Let's not miss it!
Created 8 months ago
