What is the meaning of Judges 2:10? After that whole generation • Judges 2:7 tells us “The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him.” That faithful group is the “whole generation” now in view. • They had seen the Red Sea part (Exodus 14:29-31), manna fall (Exodus 16:35), and Jericho crumble (Joshua 6:20). Their firsthand experiences anchored their obedience. • The verse reminds us that faithfulness is always one generation deep; when eyewitnesses pass, truth must still be transferred (Psalm 78:3-4). had also been gathered to their fathers • This gentle phrase for death echoes Genesis 25:8 and 35:29, stressing continuity with believing ancestors. • Scripture treats their passing as a completed course, similar to Paul’s wording in 2 Timothy 4:7-8. They finished well, leaving a model. • Deuteronomy 34:5-8 shows Israel pausing to mourn Moses; the same respect likely marked Joshua’s era. Yet even honorable deaths create a leadership vacuum if not filled with obedient successors. another generation rose up • Time marches on; Exodus 1:8 records a new king “who did not know Joseph,” foreshadowing the cycle now repeated in Judges. • God’s plan always includes fresh faces (Psalm 24:6), but each must personally embrace the covenant. • The phrase underlines inevitability: children grow, cultures shift. Proverbs 27:24 warns that “a crown does not endure to every generation,” so intentional discipleship is vital. who did not know the LORD • “Know” means covenant relationship, not mere awareness. 1 Samuel 2:12 says Eli’s sons “did not know the LORD,” revealing moral disregard, not ignorance of facts. • Hosea 4:1-6 laments a later generation destroyed for lack of knowledge, showing this is a recurring danger. • Romans 1:21 describes hearts that “knew God” intellectually yet “neither glorified Him,” illustrating how relational knowledge can be abandoned. or the works that He had done for Israel • Forgetting God’s deeds breeds disobedience. Psalm 78:11-12 rebukes Israel for forgetting “His wonders.” • Deuteronomy 11:2-7 urged parents to recount the plagues, the Red Sea, and the Jordan crossing so the next generation would fear the LORD. • Nehemiah 9:16-17 later revisits these same works to spark repentance, proving that rehearsal of history is a divine tool for revival. summary Judges 2:10 records a tragic transfer: sturdy faith died with Joshua’s peers because the next generation neither knew the LORD personally nor recalled His mighty acts. The verse warns that vibrant belief is never hereditary; it thrives only where the story of God’s power is retold and personally embraced. |
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