Reading in Judges lately has brought a couple things to light. First, In Judges 2, we read that Israel served the Lord all during Joshua's lifetime and the elders that outlived Joshua. These were all people who had seen first hand the great things that God had done for Israel. The implication is that they remembered these things and reminded Israel and kept them focused on serving Him. But after all those had died, a generation grew up that had not seen these things and they did not "know" the Lord personally. They immediately fell into evil and pursued their own view of what was right or they were easily influenced by other people's religious practices.
This says to me that we need to capture those times in our life when we know God worked in His awesome way, remember them, talk about them, teach our children about what He has done. Then what follows is an expectation and faith that He will continue to work in our lives if we trust Him. Failure to constantly remember God and all He has done places us in danger of falling into evil just as Israel did.
As I read further into Judges, a pattern emerges. Israel falls into evil. An enemy torments Israel. God raises up a judge to lead them. He delivers them from their enemy. Israel enjoys a period of peace. It has always been so easy for me to judge Israel and wonder how they could abandon God so quickly and easily. This is not really the case. When God saved them each time, they had significant periods of peace. Then it was during this time when things were going good that they fell away from God and into evil practices. Aren't we the same way? We often think less about God when things are really going well and we turn to Him more readily when things aren't so good. I am much less judgmental of Israel now and I realize that thanking God every day and staying aware of His hand in my life is important at all times - even more so when things are good.
