How a Society Drifts Away from the Lord
Tim Moore
“Has a nation changed gods though they were not gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; and be horribly afraid, be very devastated,” declares Yahweh. “For My people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:11-13)
The Children of Israel were led into the Promised Land by Joshua, son of Nun. Along with Caleb, he had urged the people to follow the Lord in seizing the Promised Land (Numbers 14:6-9). When he succeeded Moses as leader of the Hebrews, he had the great responsibility to lead them into battle against a series of fortified cities and superior foes. Joshua’s vision was clear and his faithfulness was unwavering.
All the men of age who had rejected the faithful testimony of Joshua and Caleb and forsaken the LORD with their grumbling perished in the wilderness. Only Caleb and Joshua had the privilege of entering the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-32).
A Generation of Mighty Men
Joshua ascended to leadership at a crucial moment in Israel’s history. Moses had dishonored the Lord at the waters of Meribah (contention) and was not allowed to enter the Land. During their 40 years of wandering, the people had eaten manna and their clothes had not worn out, but they were not trained in military tactics. And yet, they were about to enter Canaan and come against foes the faithless spies had accurately described: men of great size that made the men of Israel seem like grasshoppers in comparison (Numbers 13:32-33).
That is why Moses and the Lord repeatedly urged Joshua to be “strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:23, Joshua 1: 6, 7, 9, and 18). It seems so obvious in hindsight that Joshua’s assignment would be successful. But from his perspective, the challenges would have been daunting. It should remind us that God regularly requires us to exercise tough faith – walking where He is leading and trusting Him when all seems hopeless. Consider the proof God offered Moses to validate his impossible task: “this shall be the sign for you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain” (Exodus 3:12). Do what I have commanded and you will know that it is I who have commanded.
Thankfully, Joshua faithfully led the people into Canaan. With the Captain of the host of the LORD going before them, Joshua and his great generals eliminated superior foes and took possession of the Promised Land. Tragically, Joshua records that tares were allowed to remain among the Hebrew wheat – Canaanites whose idolatry and wickedness would be a thorn in Israel’s side throughout their long history (and down through the ages even to today). But Joshua also wrote, “So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and live in it… Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45).
In his last recorded address to the people of Israel, Joshua posed a rhetorical question: “If it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve: whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” His own answer of determined resolve has inspired the faithful for over 3,000 years. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15, ESV).
Inspired by Joshua’s determined resolve, the people affirmed three times, “We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God. We will serve the Lord. We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice” (Joshua 24:18, 21, and 24, NASB).
Bold words.
There Arose Another Generation
According to tradition, Samuel recorded the book of Judges. Here is how he describes the descent into idolatry that marked the period of the judges: “there arose another generation after (the generation who entered the Promised Land) who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals” (Judges 2:10-11).
How does a society drift away from a repeated declaration that it will serve the LORD and obey His voice?
– By failing to pass that heartfelt commitment on to another generation.
– By slowly morphing into the ideology of those whose very presence represent a subtle and beguiling temptation to wander away from God.
– By prioritizing unfettered license over ordered liberty.
– By failing to live out our professed testimony and neglecting to teach our children well.
In other words, one decision at a time, one day at a time, one generation at a time.
In remarkably short order, the Children of Israel had traded their birthright of blessing as God’s chosen people for a bowl of pagan porridge. They had devolved into a nation of pagan idol-worshipers given over to individual autonomy. The entire period of the judges is summed up in the closing verse of the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
We Want to Be Like Everyone Else
Following the spiritual dissipation recorded in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, Samuel records that the Israelites clamored for a king so that they could “be like everyone else.” God gave them a king, but just two generations after David, the kingdom was divided. Succeeding kings were more often bad than good. By Elijah’s day, evil King Ahab and his infamous Queen Jezebel were ruling over the northern kingdom.
We tend to dismiss the northern kingdom of Israel because it was eliminated by the Chaldeans and because Jesus’ lineage flowed through the kingdom of Judah. But the ten tribes that made up the northern kingdom were also descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are also promised an end-time role when evangelists from all twelve tribes proclaim the Gospel during the Tribulation.
By the time Ahab employed 450 prophets of Baal, the people of the northern kingdom had truly arrived: they were like everyone else. They worshipped the false gods of the pagans living around and among them. They sought prosperity and blessing in all the wrong places. They even sacrificed their children in a horrific ritual of fire to placate the bloodlust of their false gods. In short, they had exchanged the true God for false gods and their glory for that which did not profit. They had hewn for themselves broken cisterns that held no water.
Choose – The LORD God or Baal
It is in this context that Elijah came to Mount Carmel. Seeing him approach, King Ahab cried out, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” (1 Kings 18:17). The drought Elijah had prophesied had indeed troubled Israel. In that agricultural society, drought quickly led to severe famine. Despite the fervent prayers lifted to Baal, no rain had fallen in the land for three years. No water for the broken cisterns.
With the people of Israel gathered on Mount Carmel, Elijah came near to them and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:20).
The contrast between the two choices offered could not be starker. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had delivered the forebears of the Israelites standing before Elijah from bondage in Egypt. He had pointedly passed over their firstborn sons while striking down the firstborn of every Egyptian. And He had brought them into a land of milk and honey. Baal had not given them rain or bounty; instead he demanded that they sacrifice their own children. This was a choice that demands an obvious answer.
And yet, Scripture records that “the people did not answer him a word” (1 Kings 18:21). They stood silent.
Their silence foreshadowed the response of the false god, Baal. He never uttered a word, even as his prophets cried out all day long and cut themselves and carried on.
Then Elijah called the people back to himself, prepared a sacrifice to the true and living God, and lifted up a God-honoring prayer. Only when God had demonstrated His mighty power by raining down fire to consume the sacrifice did the people fall on their faces and say, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
How Did We Get Here?
Scholars differ on the exact timing of Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land. But within a few hundred years, the northern kingdom of Israel was spiritually calcified. How do you go from a generation that emphatically declares, “We will serve the LORD,” to a generation that is silent when asked who they will serve? One generation at a time.
The Children of Israel were commanded to teach the words of God to their children “when they sat in their house and when they walked by the way and when they lay down and raised up.” The core truth they were to teach is contained in Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Heeding these words and obeying His commandments would confer ongoing blessings. But Moses also warned that those blessings would turn into curses if the people abandoned God and turned their back on Him.
Christians in America look back and wonder, “How did we get here?!” How did we go from ordered liberty and unparalleled prosperity to the godless, sin-reveling culture we witness today? In hindsight, our downfall seems to have happened suddenly. But in fact it was subtle and slow; it happened one generation at a time.