Judges 2-3

After the death of Joshua and the elders of that generation, Israel plunges into a spiral of sin. They quickly forget the Lord and his commands. They mingle with the inhabitants they were to destroy, causing them to fall into a pattern of sin. This causes the Lord to enact judgment on Israel by the hand of their enemies. When Israel would cry out to him, God would raise up a judge to rescue them. This is the pattern of the book of Judges.

What we see in Judges is the sinful heart of man and how quickly we can turn from God if he is not our focus. It was only a single generation before Israel stopped following the Lord. This is why Joshua’s command to Israel was so important. When we take our eyes off the Lord, we can quickly become distracted by the world around us. And when we aren’t focused on the Lord and teaching his ways, the next generation will follow our lead.

What steps can you take to keep from falling into a pattern of sin & judgment like in the book of Judges?