Active Faith AND Old Age

Judges 2:14–15 (ESV) So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

This is not a comforting passage. But it just as important as those which comfort us. We must remember that the Lord's anger is not out of place. It is Israel that has prostituted themselves to non-gods and worshipped the very gods they were called to eliminate. But we need to go a few steps back in the text to see where it began. Let's take them each in order from latest to earliest.

Judges 2:12 (ESV) And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.

The "abandoning" happened on the part of God's people, not the Lord. Notice how the Lord is described as the one who brought them out of slavery. He is the GREAT God of all power. They abandon the One who proved stronger than these false gods in the first place. Now they are delivered over to new "owners" that will not care for them. 

But we can go back further.

Judges 2:10 (ESV) And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.

The common problem in any Christian context is alluded to here. There will be a generation detached from the work of God in a previous one. The question can be posed as to which generation is responsible. It could be a combination of both but let's explore within the larger context of Judges thus far. 

I think it all goes back to the previous God-fearing generation ceasing from their important activity in taking new ground from the godless nations (see Judges 1). Their failure to complete the work of God in their generation and fight on into old age created a complacency in the minds and hearts of their children as they failed to see God's activity in the lives of their parents. 

This is why ACTIVE FAITH is essential to any parent or older person in the life of a church. For some reason I see so many "older Christians" stepping away from the high call of God in Christ. They begin to settle for less than God's best. They get comfortable with what they have and refuse to take risks. It's important here to point out Abraham took a faith risk very late in life. So did Jacob traveling down to Egypt. Moses followed God's call starting at age 80. If there's something the younger generation needs to see it is active and living faith willing to risk it all for the Great God in the eyes of the children (both natural and spiritual).

Maybe it was laziness. Maybe it was complacency. Maybe it was fear of failure. Maybe it was being haunted by their past mistakes. Whatever it was, the cost was enormous.

So yes, I lay much of the blame on the older generation. And let's be clear: It was not their failure to teach or educate the next generation through instruction. The text gives us no hint as to whether or not they tried at all. Why? Because it was a non-issue. They needed to LIVE their faith in advancement and conquest. They needed to show the next generation how much better the Lord was than all the false gods of the age. That's what active faith does!

Let this be both a warning and an encouragement. Keep living out active faith in God. Keep believing for greater things. Keep taking God-inspired risks. The younger people are watching and they are looking for inspiration.

Old Age and Active Faith can go together. In fact, they are meant to do so.