“They Did Not Know God's Works”

Tuesday, May 06, 2025

One of the most heartbreaking verses in all of Scripture is Judges 2:10: “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done for Israel.” It’s almost unfathomable. In the immediate aftermath of Joshua’s leadership and the passing of Israel’s “greatest generation”—those who witnessed God’s mighty acts firsthand—an entirely new generation emerged, completely ignorant of God Himself and the incredible deeds He had performed for their ancestors.

I’ve read this verse countless times, thinking the phrase “did not know the Lord” encompassed this lack of knowledge of His revealed will through His Law. However, the tragedy extends far beyond a mere ignorance of God’s decrees. The verse explicitly states that this new generation also did not know God’s “work that He had done for Israel.” As astonishing as it seems, they were completely unaware of the foundational events that defined their nation's identity and demonstrated God's power and love:

• How God orchestrated the ten devastating plagues to secure the dramatic deliverance of His people from Egyptian bondage (Exd 7:14-12:30).
• How Moses, by God’s power, parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground, only to engulf their pursuers (Exd 14).
• How God miraculously sustained them in the wilderness with daily manna and an abundance of quail (Exd 16; Num 11:31-32; Psa 105:40).
• How God visibly guided their journey with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exd 13:21).
• How, during their forty years of wandering, their clothes never wore out, and their feet did not swell—a testament to God's provision (Deu 8:4).
• How, at the edge of the Promised Land, the waters of the Jordan River parted when the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched its surface (Jos 3:1-4:24).
• How the seemingly impenetrable walls of Jericho miraculously collapsed at God’s command (Jos 6:1-27).
• How God fought for them against their enemies, driving out the Canaanite inhabitants with devastating hailstones, and terrifying hornets (Jos 10:11; Jos 24:12).
• How God listened to Joshua and made the sun stand still (Jos 10:12-15).
• How God graciously bestowed upon them homes they did not build and vineyards they did not plant, a tangible inheritance of His faithfulness (Deu 6:10-11; Jos 24:13).

Why did this generation fall away so quickly and completely? The answer is stark: they apostatized because a generation did not know the Lord through His revealed Law or through the powerful works He had accomplished on their behalf.

There’s a profound and timely lesson embedded in this ancient account for us today. So often in our churches and personal discipleship, we emphasize understanding and obeying God’s commandments—and rightly so. However, we must also recount and remember how the Lord has actively worked in our lives and in the lives of those who have gone before us in the faith. Just as Jesus instructed the healed demoniac, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mrk 5:19), we too must share the stories of God’s intervention, His provision, and His grace. While knowing God's law provides the framework, it’s the recounting of His works that fills that frame with the undeniable proof of His character. Otherwise, we're just passing on the laws of a judge, not the works of our Savior.

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