Introduction - Why does covenant succession not always happen? (Judges 2:10). Six things that break covenant succession in the Old Testament history books.

This is a super important passage to covenant succession. And by covenant succession I mean passing on the faith to your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and beyond so successfully that they remain faithful to the Lord. This is God's ideal - that there never be a single generation in your family that abandons the Lord. In fact, three passages speak of the possibility existing that it could be to a thousand generations. And we will get to that later.

In any case, I love the stories of families that can trace back five, six, even ten generations of faithfulness to God. You are probably familiar with Jonathan Edwards. He is a very well-known 18th century theologian, preacher, and writer. He had 11 children. By 1900 (which was 150 years after his death), his descendants included 13 Christian college presidents, 65 Christian professors, 100 Christian lawyers, 30 Christian judges, 66 Christian physicians, 80 holders of public office that I don't know anything about, and several Christian authors.

We all know the incredible contributions that R. L. Dabney made for the cause of Christ during the War Between the States, but did you know that his was a long line of faithful Christians stretching back 300 years to the Huguenots of France (that's 1598 to his death in 1898)? And as far as I know, it didn't stop with Dabney's death, though I have very little information on his children Charles, Samuel, and Lewis. But 300 years by itself is a long history of faithfulness to God. It is possible.

Another striking example is the Mather family in colonial New England. Richard Mather immigrated to America in 1635 and became a Puritan minister. His son Increase Mather and grandson Cotton Mather were both influential Puritan ministers and authors. Several subsequent generations of Mathers continued as pastors and Christian leaders.

Let me give you an unusual one from the New Testament. In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul writes to Timothy: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also”. Now, that is showing that covenant succession can happen even when it is only the mothers who are believers. It's not the ideal, but it shows that covenant succession can happen in less than ideal circumstances.

But none of this is automatic. In the Bible readings Kathy and I have been going through in first and second Chronicles, we see examples of faithful parents whose grandchildren (and sometimes even whose children) strayed from the faith. And that is true of the next generation after this chapter. Judges 2:10 says, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel”. That's stunning - that in two generations people could so quickly forget and so completely turn away from the Lord.

So here is the focus of what I want to preach on this morning: when God has three times promised that it is possible to have a thousand generations of people who are faithful to him (Deut. 7:9; 1 Chron. 16:15; Ps. 105:8), why does this often get short-circuited? There are far more examples in the Bible of non-succession than of faithful succession. And I believe that the books of Judges, Kings, and Chronicles illustrate six common patterns that broke this covenant succession. If we can understand these and avoid them, we have the keys to successfully passing on the faith. Let me give those to you.

1. First, a lack of personal knowledge of God and failure to personally experience His power seems to consistently break covenant succession. In other words, they are Christians, but they are not experiencing God's power in their lives. This lack becomes more pronounced by the third generation. I’ve already read Judges 2:10, which speaks of a new generation that "did not know the Lord or the work He had done for Israel." They didn't have a personal knowledge of God's power in their own lives. Well, that meant that God was not very relevant to every part of their lives. No wonder covenant succession was broken.
2. A second common theme was that the previous generation was not diligent in training their children. They must have thought that this would automatically happen just by the children living with them. But covenant succession is never automatic. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says that it takes hard work, and its easy to get lazy in doing this. But if the faith of the parents is not internalized by the children through mentorship, their Christianity will not likely endure to the third generation. It takes diligent mentorship. And this is one of the biggest arguments for homeschooling that you could get. But it’s more than just homeschooling. It’s mentoring children in what it means to live before the face of God.
3. A third common theme is that the parents have small compromises with the pagan culture, with the children or grandchildren beginning to adopt more and more of those pagan practices. When we parents justify small sinful compromises, it opens the door for our descendants to justify even greater compromises.
4. A fourth common theme that I see in the history books is a lack of training our children in strong Biblical leadership principles. What do I mean by that? Well, overbearing and over-controlling parents who do all the thinking and all of the deciding for the children will usually produce followers, not leaders. And followers can easily follow the wrong people. Yes, leaders must learn to follow too, but even followers must learn to lead and how to say “No“ when conflicting directives are given. So we need to train our children to be leaders, or they can easily begin to follow the leadership they find in culture.
5. A fifth common theme (and it's also mentioned in Judges 2:10-12) is forgetting the history of God's fabulous dealings with the parents or grandparents.
6. Sixth, desiring to be like other nations is another theme mentioned in 1 Samuel 8:5,20.

But this passage puts those things into a context. And I hope we can take these lessons to heart because it is the constant prayer of your pastors that every one of you will be successful in having covenant succession.

Don't let God's seasons of "rest" keep you from forgetting your mandate (v. 1)

The first lesson that I see hinted in these verses is that we should not let God's seasons of "rest" from trouble keep us from forgetting our mandate of pressing forward. Verse 1 says

Josh. 23:1 Now it came to pass, a long time after the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age.

Verse 1 simply says that it was "a long time after" the conquest of Canaan when he spoke to the representatives of Israel. While there is a lot of debate on how much time elapsed, some of the best guestimates are fairly close to each other.¹ MacArthur guesses about 15 years have elapsed,² J. I. Packer guesses 18 years,³ and Peckham guesses about 20 years.⁴ But whichever guestimate is right, it highlights the fact that Joshua's concerns relate to what happens when people no longer face trouble. It’s very easy in those circumstances to let down your guard and to lose antithesis. When your entire day is taken up in your daily dominion, it is easy to forget that we still have three enemies that need to be constantly fought. It may not be an outward battles with swords, or with politics, or with heretics, but the world, the flesh, and the devil never stop trying to influence us. Two are external and one is internal. Those three enemies will never stop fighting as long as they exist, which means that we must never stop fighting.

So Joshua shares his concerns that certain things need to be in place if we are to pass on the same vibrant faith that we have experienced to the next two generations.

Learn from the faithful leaders of the past (v. 2)

Verse 2 hints at the next lesson - that it is good to learn from the faithful leaders of the past. These could be your parents or your grandparents or your pastors. You can learn from their mistakes (and yes, we have all made our mistakes) and you can learn from their successes. Why make the same mistakes in every generation? And this is where we (in the older generation ) can be transparent and admit our mistakes and encourage our children not to repeat them. If we can stay connected with the previous generations, we can learn from them. I have learned a lot from my parents and grandparents and from Kathy's parents and grandparents. Verse 2 says,

2 And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: “I am old, advanced in age.

The new is not always better. There is much we can learn from those who are aged. Too many old people are shipped off to nursing homes and forgotten. But these older people can teach us a lot. You may have heard the same stories from them many, many times, but let them sink in so that you can repeat those stories to your children and your grandchildren. Covenant succession doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens when we learn from the older generation before they pass away.

Remember God's faithfulness in the past - His faithful fulfillment of promises and His past promises we can claim for the future (v. 3-5)

In verses 3-5 he also calls upon them to remember God's faithfulness in their own past history - the many times He fulfilled His promises to them personally. It's very easy for the passage of time to make us forget that God has come through for us over and over in the past. When Kathy and I get discouraged we remind ourselves that God has come through for us over and over again. A memory of history continues to be a wonderful tool to keep us in the battle. He says,

3 You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.

There could be no denying the many miracles that God had done during the seven years of active conquest. Yeah, that was a long time ago, but it reminds them that God was real to them. God had proven faithful to His Word. He fought for them and with them.

Next, he reminds them that even the peace and prosperity that they were currently enjoying was because God had given it to them. God's hand was in those blessings. Verse 4 says,

4 See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward.

Next, he reminds them that God's past promises are designed to make us keep pressing into His calling and not rest on our laurels. When did David get into trouble with Bathsheba? 2 Samuel 11:1 says that it was when he was lounging at home when it was really time for king's to be going to battle. In our passage, verse 5 says,

5 And the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you.

Those are encouraging words. The task would be done. But why is it so important to remember? And the answer is that when we begin to take for granted what God has done in the past, it makes us complacent in the present. And when our children or grandchildren see us complacent in the present, the reality of God's power and grace seems more distant to them and they have a harder time taking it seriously. By the third generation, complacency turns to major compromises. So Scripture over and over warns us to remember the past and tell stories of the past, and inspire the next generation to experience what we have experienced in the past, and to glory in what God has done in our past. I'll read portions of two Psalms that talk about this. Psalm 44:1-3 says,

Psa. 44:1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, the deeds You did in their days, in days of old: 2 You drove out the nations with Your hand, but them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. 3 For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them.

Remembering that we couldn't do it on our own (because it was so impossible), but also remembering that we were able to do the impossible by God's grace motivates us to keep pressing into His grace. Psalm 78 says something similar.

Psa. 78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; 6 that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, 7 that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;

Those two Psalms indicate that there cannot be covenant succession if we forget the history of the past in our own lives, in the lives of our parents, and in the lives of our grandparents. Refreshing your memory of the past is sort of like having an anchor on a ship that keeps the winds from blowing it into the shoals. There needs to be a living history if there is to be a living future. Let me repeat that: There needs to be a living history if there is to be a living future.

Responsibilities in the present (vv. 6-11)

Next, in verses 6-11 he reminds them of their responsibilities in the present. So we have dealt with the past history and it's significance. Now he is looking at the present.

Follow the whole Bible or end up complacent (v. 6)

In verse 6 he warns them to follow the whole Bible in the present, or end up complacent. We cannot pick and choose what things we want to follow in the Bible. Verse 6 says,

Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

That's an interesting choice of words - be very courageous. Why does it take courage to follow the whole Bible? Well, when you think about it, it should be pretty obvious. Following the whole Bible makes you an oddball with the world and even with compromising believers. The temptation is to live at peace with them rather than courageously fighting against compromise. It's safer; you don't get attacked. And we are seeing a whole generation of Christians who have found it easier to go along with the world's views of dating, birth control, education, politics, debt, etc. rather than embracing the whole Bible for the whole of life. If we don't make it the theme of our lives to follow the Bible in all that we do, we can easily end up complacent. View the Bible like a compass that you are depending upon when you are hiking in the woods. Without this infallible compass, it is easy to wander and get lost. But how many times do we pull the compass out and read it? I'll read verse 6 again. He wants us to follow God's compass completely. "Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left."

Avoid pagan influences or end up compromised (v. 7)

Next, he reminds them that they need to avoid pagan influences or end up compromised. Verse 7 says,

and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them

That may seem like it is a far-distant admonition that has no bearing whatsoever on our lives. Which of us is going to be tempted to follow after pagan gods. None of us, right? Well, I wouldn’t be too sure. Christian compromise with the occult is all around us. Pew Research shows that 1.3 million Americans dabble in New Age religion, with most of those identifying as Wiccan or Pagan.⁵ And Christians tend to stay far away from those obvious forms of compromise. But what is more surprising is how many Christians at least dabble in occult practices that originated from those sources - practices such as consulting a Ouija board, being enamored with occult movies (and yes, some of the movies you guys watch have a lot of occult sprinkled into them), and reading horoscopes, or consulting astrology just out of curiosity. I can tell you stories of Christians who began experiencing demonic oppression after showing too much curiosity in horoscopes. Apparently demons see such curiosity as giving them the legal right to start messing around in your life. King David was not involved in anything occult, but a couple of his wives were. And it angered God enough that He allowed Satan to move David to number Israel. You read the King's account where God moved David with the Chronicles account which speaks of Satan's moving David to number Israel, and you see that God basically told Satan that he had permission to mess David - David had given him legal grounds. There was no longer a hedge of protection around him.

Summit Ministries posted an article showing the incredible dangers of these and a number of other things.⁶ This past Halloween you may have seen Christians thinking that putting up graphics or images of ghosts, goblins, and witches is simply a fun past-time that has no danger whatsoever. They think, "Well, these things aren't real. Only God is real. So what harm can come of it?" But those things can give demons legal ground to start messing with your household. And if you don't believe it, you'll have to read that Summit Ministries article. I'll give a link to it once the sermon goes up on the web.

Other New Age practices that have made inroads into Christian circles are engaging in energy healing, chakra balancing, and aura cleansing. Am I stepping on toes yet? Others started with yoga as a simple exercise, but ended up taking on some of the spiritual exercises associated with it. Let me read from a Christian website on why that is a problem:

The asanas, or poses, in yoga are not merely physical exercises. They are, in fact, positions that are believed to open the body's energy channels, allowing the free flow of prana, or life force. This concept of manipulating energy is foreign to biblical teachings, which instead emphasize faith in God as the source of life and healing. Pranayama, the practice of controlling the breath, is believed to control the energy within the body and help the practitioner achieve a higher state of consciousness... Dhyana, or meditation, in yoga involves techniques to empty the mind, which is fundamentally different from Christian meditation. Christian meditation involves filling the mind with God's word and focusing on His character and works, while yoga encourages an emptying of the mind to achieve a state of spiritual enlightenment.⁷

At best, these things blur the lines between Christianity and the occult, but at worst, Christians begin to be oppressed by demons. The article goes on to outline many other ways in which Christians have sincerely but naively opened their hearts to occultism without even realizing it. Up in Canada I met an elder of a PCA church that was also a member of the Free Masons. He saw no problem with being members of two contrary organizations - with Free Masonry dedicated to the occult with its all-seeing-eye and other occult symbols. He just reinterpreted those symbols. But because of his compromise, he had a demonic spiritual blindness on him and on his family that kept him from discerning truth from error that even the youngest of you in this congregation could recognize. And it obliterated his covenant succession. There was none. I'm just saying that it is easy to slip into a violation of verse 7, and when you do, it almost guarantees that covenant succession will be hindered.

Cling to God (intimacy) and don't take His presence for granted (v. 8)

Verse 8 says, "but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day." The Hebrew word for "hold fast" means to cling tightly to something. He's basically saying, cling to God and don't take His presence for granted. Well, the encouraging thing about that word is that it indicates that any of us can have that kind of an intimate relationship with God. Intimacy with God needs to be nurtured into the hearts of our children. When our children see us experiencing a real relationship with God every day, it will give them a hunger to have the same relationship. When we go to the Lord first with all of our joys, sicknesses, griefs, and worries, and we don't even take a pill without asking God's blessing on it, it models to our children to do the same.

And that word for "cling" implies that there are things that subtly hinder our intimacy with God. Busyness, peer pressure, romance - any number of things can cause us to loosen our grip on God. So Joshua admonishes the next generation to cling to God.

As you trusted God for victories in the past (v. 9), keep trusting God for future victories if you want to keep experiencing His blessings (vv. 9-10)

Verse 9 reminds them that they trusted God for amazing victories in the past, but in verse 10 he tells them to keep trusting God for future victories if they want to continue to experience those same blessings. Verses 9-10.

9 For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. 10 One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.

How did they inherit the land? It wasn't because of their strength. It was because God had blessed them. Now, with all those blessings, it could be easy to feel that there wasn't a need to continue to exercise faith. After all, we don't sense any needs. Well, that's not looking deeply enough to where needs exist. If we are daily in the name of Jesus casting out impure thoughts the moment they come into our heads, turning our heads away from impure images, and in other ways battling the world, the flesh, and the devil, we will always have a need to trust the Lord.

Watch out that your love for God doesn't grow cold. (v. 11)

Verse 11 says, "Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God." This is a caution against the falling-in-love view of love. Love needs to be worked at. Why did they need to take careful heed or watch out? It is because love in any relationship can grow cold if it is not constantly fanned and nurtured and kept hot. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus said, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Any wonder why there has been a loss of passion for the Lord in some evangelical circles when they are antinomians? Antinomians are those who don’t believe in the law of God. Jesus guaranteed that any place where people throw out the law of God, people's love will grow cold. That's a sign to run. If our love grows cold, there won't be covenant succession. And I give kudos to those of you who have made huge sacrifices in n order to be a part of a community where there is rich fellowship, a desire for holiness, and a principled passion for God. In Revelation 3:16 Jesus says, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." Love for God is the essence of covenant faithfulness, and it needs to be nurtured every day with worship, singing, telling God how much we love Him, doing hard things for Him all the while telling Him it is an honor to serve Him in this way. When you dig out stumps, even though you are employed by an employer, do it for the Lord and it will transform the way you dig out stumps. Window washing, everything we do should be done as an act of love for God. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says,

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And Jesus adds, "with all your mind." How do you love God with your strength? By doing things around the house and serving. When you wash your dishes, tell the Lord that you are doing these dishes for Him. How do you love Him with your soul? By relating to Him as a person. It's a relational Christianity. How do you love God with your mind? By memorizing and studying the Bible and turning all your academic exercises into an act of love for God.

What happens if you drift away from faithfulness? (vv. 12-13)

So what happens if you are lacking these things? Verses 12-13 tell us.

Loss of sanctification (v. 12)

Verse 12 tells us that if we don't separate from the world, we will automatically begin to be distanced from the Lord in verse 13. But look at how he describes it in verse 12:

Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you,

Sanctification simply means to be set apart to God. You can't be set apart to the Lord if you are not separated from the world. He uses one illustration of lack of separateness - intermarriage with unbelievers. Just because a person is handsome, winsome, and fun to be around is not a good reason to marry him. Or just because a gal is gorgeous and fun to be around is not a good reason to marry her. You want to make sure that your marriage will be a tool to draw you even closer to God. And you want to make sure that your potential spouse has everything needed to ensure covenant succession of the faith to the next generation. And by the way, this is why we encourage parents to be involved with their children in seeking a spouse. It helps them to be more objective and not simply guided with their emotions and their hormones.

Now, God is merciful and He does sometimes allow covenant succession when only one partner in a marriage comes to Christ. We started the sermon with an example of that with Lois, Eunice, and then Timothy being faithful to God. But that's rather unusual. And there are other examples in the Bible where God tells a brand new believer not to divorce his or her unbelieving spouse because God's power can be at work in bringing the whole family to Christ. Praise God! But what this passage is talking about is a deliberate disobedience - a deliberate marrying outside of the Lord. It's playing with fire. So loss of sanctification is the first thing that happens.

Loss of power (v. 13a)

Loss of power is the next thing that happens. Verse 13 begins, "know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you." If God is not pleased with what you are doing, you won't have His power at work in your life until there is thoroughgoing repentance. And without His power, you will lose the battle. On the other hand, if we have the reality of God's power working in our lives every day, our children and grandchildren will be impacted by that.

Loss of peace (v. 13b)

The third thing that happens is loss of peace. Verse 13 continues: "But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you." Lack of shalom is not a cool thing. You need God's peace in your life if you are to pass that on to your children. And Paul promised that you can have that supernatural peace. Philippians 4:7 says, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." When you have that and you instill that in your children, there is going to be covenant succession.

Joshua's final challenge - God is faithful in both grace and discipline (vv. 14-16)

So if you desire covenant succession, heed Joshua's final challenge in verses 14-16. It simply points out that God is faithful in both His grace and in His discipline. If you are His, He loves you and won't allow you to continue comfortably in sin. But we must respond to His faithfulness by being faithful ourselves.

God's grace has not failed us (v. 14)

Verse 14 challenges us to remember that God's grace has never failed us - never.

“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed."

If that is your testimony, then it is much more likely to be your children's testimony - and your grandchildren's, and great-grandchildren's.

But we can easily abandon His grace (v. 15)

But though God has never failed to come through for us, we can easily abandon His grace. And we need to remind our children of that. Verse 15 says,

Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

It's miserable to be outside of God's protective canopy of the covenant. But that's what automatically happens when we don't daily experience God's grace. That's why earlier He admonished us to cling to God; learn to develop an intimate relationship with Him.

If we do so, success will be turned into defeat (v. 16)

And verse 16 says that if we fail to cling to Him, then our successes will begin to be turned into defeat.

When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

Sadly, this happened over and over again in the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Now, I will remind you once again that covenant succession can happen to a thousand generations, but Deuteronomy 7:9 says it is conditioned on the parents embracing God's grace so as to stay faithful. It says, "He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." That promise to be faithful to a thousand generations is repeated in 1 Chronicles 16:5 and Psalm 105:8, but it is always conditioned on being sold out to the Lord. Psalm 105 calls us to not be ashamed of God, but to seek His face forevermore, to remember His marvelous works of the past and that He is a God of both mercy and judgment.

Conclusion

So to sum up the sermon, let me end with six quick admonitions:

1. Pay attention to God's Word! We should be in the Bible every single day. Even if it is only five minutes of reading, consistency is the key.
2. Second, avoid pagan influence! If God has been convicting you of some pagan influence or compromise that you have embraced, get rid of it. It might be a movie that you throw out, or a painting that is occult. Sanctify yourself to the Lord, which means leaving those compromises behind.
3. Third, cling to God and rejoice that you can be closer to Him than to any other person! Start developing a relational Christianity. He loves you dearly, but He wants you to experience that love in a real relationship.
4. Fourth, trust Him and never doubt His promises! I posted a handout on the Discord channel that shows how negative thinking puts off trust, and it shows how to put off negative thinking so that we trust God's Word and never doubt His promises.
5. Fifth, love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind! Throughout the day express your love to Him in creative ways.
6. And last, even if you have blown it in the past, believe that covenant succession is still possible as you begin now to implement these principles.

Gary and I are praying for covenant succession for every one of you. May it be so Lord Jesus. Amen.