Judges 2:6–14

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, that knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baalim; 12 and they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked Jehovah to anger. 13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.

This is a Word for All of Us

There came a Generation That Did Not Know the Lord

Joshua died when he was 110 years old, verse 7 says, “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 which the Lord had done for Israel.” While the memory of God’s greatness and the work he did for Israel was alive, the people maintained their devotion to God.

Verse 10 says that after the death of Joshua and those who had seen God’s mighty acts, “there arose another generation after them, who did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.”

The result of this ignorance was, verse 11, “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers.”

. A new generation arose who for some reason did not know God or his work for Israel.

God brought the judgment of his wrath upon them.

Our society has attacked the male role with such devastating force that it is possible that we have sentenced the next three or four generations to tragic experiences of disastrous proportions because if one thing is clear in Scripture it is this … the sins of the fathers are visited upon the third and the fourth generations.

Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

What that means is, where you have wicked men in leadership, where you have a decline in the father’s role, it takes three or four generations to root out the evil that they produce.

We are not looking at a situation where because of a sinning father three or four generations of sons will pay the penalty. No, Ezekiel 18 forbids that in advocating individual responsibility. But what we are seeing is that because fathers lead a nation, a wicked generations of fathers will so impact that nation for three or four generations that it takes that long to root out their wicked effect. I believe that the legacy of this generation of fathers is tragedy upon tragedy in the following generations.

For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, Exodus 20:5–6.

The children share in the father’s punishment because they share in the father’s sins.

Ezekiel teaches that any child that turns from the sinful ways of his father and obeys God will not be punished for the sins of his father. Exodus teaches that any child that goes on sinning like his father will share the father’s punishment.

When God visits the sins of the fathers on the children, he doesn’t punish sinless children for the sins of their fathers. He simply lets the effects of the fathers’ sins take their natural course, infecting and corrupting the hearts of the children. For parents who love their children this is one of the most sobering texts in all the Bible.

The more we let sin get the upper hand in our own lives, the more our children will suffer for it. Sin is like a contagious disease. My children don’t suffer because I have it. They catch it from me and then suffer because they have it.

Fathers are to teach their kids these lessons.

Proverbs 1:8, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction. And while at the same time not forsaking your mother’s teaching.” “My son, keep my words.”

And so it goes that this entire passage is designed for a father to teach his son. As fathers go, so go nations … so go generations … so goes history. And so God took the principles, the basic principles of spiritual living and packaged them in the 31 chapters that we call Proverbs.

The primary of a duty of a father is to teach holy living to his sons, and, of course, to his children as well including the daughters, but primarily the sons.

The word which dominates the Proverbs is the word “wisdom.” Sometimes the word instruction appears, sometimes the word understanding appears, sometimes the word discretion appears.

The call of the whole book of Proverbs is that call, a call to wisdom.

Fathers, it is our responsibility to rethink this priority of teaching our sons wisdom.

Teach your son to fear your God

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But everything starts with fearing God.

That means that I have to teach my son about God. I have to teach my son what God is like. I have to teach my son the attributes of God. And then the other side of it is I must teach my son to fear God’s displeasure … to fear God’s right to punish,

What kind of legacy are we leaving?

And what about living in a healthy fear of God’s holy right to punish sin? Do you have that healthy fear? Do you understand that God has the right to punish you? Do you so live to avoid that?

Proverbs 3: 4-5,“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

We must teach them the sense of submission there to the total sovereign control of God

When God is feared, so is sin.

Son, not only fear your God but guard your mind … guard your mind. 3:3,

Chapter 4: 23? “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”

A third great lesson is, a father must teach his son to their parents.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” That’s the first commandment with promise. Teach your sons to obey what you say.

You have a task, father, to say to your son you must learn to fear your God, guard your mind and obey your parents. You must learn how to submit to authority and since we represent the authority of God and are teaching you the wisdom of God, you must obey … you must obey.

The fourth lesson is, a father has the responsibility to teach his children how to choose their friends.

Proverbs 1; 10 My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.

The whole appeal here is to the father to fulfill his responsibility. In 2:11 the father has to teach his son how to be delivered from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.

The fifth lesson is to control your body.

Any witting father who has any sense at all realizes that young men are going to develop passions that can lead them in to tragedy upon tragedy unless they learn how to control their body, their bodily desires.

2;16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;

Proverbs 5:1, “My son, give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding that you may observe discretion, that your lips may reserve knowledge.”

“Wisdom is given to you to keep you from the evil woman,

Lesson six is, teach your son to love their wife, and treat them well

Lesson seven is to teach your boys how to work by word and example.

Chapter 10:4, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely. But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. Teach your son to work and to plan ahead in his work.”

Now, now that he’s working the eight lesson he needs to learn, is to manage his money.

What we do as fathers is simply produce the next generation.

And it either moves up or it moves down.

The final lesson is to love their neighbor.

When we say you don’t co-sign for a stranger we don’t mean you don’t give money to someone in need.. Chapter 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it.” If you’ve got the money, give it. If you’ve got the goods, give them to the person in need. Generosity to the poor, meeting the needs of people around you when you have the resources is a part of honoring God.

Lessons we need to learn.

1 When the knowledge of God is preserved in a community, especially by those who have personally experienced God’s power, faith is nourished and obedience flourishes.

2. If we parents allow our children to grow up without this knowledge of God, we serve not only their ignorance and unbelief, but also their destruction.

3. Therefore it is the solemn duty of all parents to teach their children about God and his saving work, so that the next generation will know and be saved.

It is God’s will that parents assume responsibility to teach their children what God has revealed about himself. It is the parents who have the first and foremost responsibility to see that our children think correctly about God. The most important school a child should ever attend is the home. And the most influential theological teachers he should ever have are Mom and Dad.