9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
I have a lot of respect for Orthodox Jews. They understand the importance of carrying on the traditions of their faith. They still celebrate Shabbat on Friday nights in their homes as they begin the Sabbath. They celebrate a traditional Passover meal where the youngest one present answers questions based on the first Passover as told in Exodus. In these ways, each generation is brought to a belief in Yahweh.
Our home is the first church for our families. How often do we tell our faith story around our tables? If we don’t, then our children will not understand why Jesus is important in our lives and why he should be important in theirs. We cannot expect the “experts” to be the only sources of information about Our Lord.
What is Christmas – Jesus or Santa? What is Easter – Jesus or the Easter Bunny? Do we pray only at Thanksgiving? Do we send our children to Sunday school or Bible Study and never go to services or Bible programs ourselves? Is it any wonder that today’s generation is more worldly than the previous one, and that one more so than the one before it? Today’s idols may be different from Baal, but they are no less powerful in our world The only way the next generation will know Jesus and the promise of salvation is if we tell them.
Let us make sure that each of our homes is a church where Jesus is present and loved.
Lord God, you have gifted us with faith in you and your Son. You have also given us the mission to pass on the good news of salvation to our children and those we come to know. Help us to be faithful to that mission. Amen.
