The Importance of Learning From Our Kupuna
would make life less painful…
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”
6 After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them. 7 And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
11 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. 14 This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. 15 Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress. ~judges 2~
in judges 1 it starts out explaining how The Lord was with the israelites, declaring He would give them victory over their enemies in and around them. come to judges 2 and you have history repeating itself where people have a brain fart and forget where they came from and how they got there to begin with - God was with them, fighting their battles.
in verse 6 and 7 it talks about joshua and his generation following and serving The Lord throughout their lifetime; these are the people who believed in and recalled all that He did for them. like the stories we heard when we grew up, if it is useful and lifegiving, we need to keep telling everyone who will listen, from the youngest to the oldest, reminding them of how good our God is.
the reality is we now have, quite possibly, a couple of generations of kids and now young adults whom no nothing of who created all of Heaven and earth; of the redeeming love we find through Christ Jesus; the power of The Holy Spirit that is in us who believe. all that was done from the time of abraham to Jesus’ resurrection, to the apostles sharing The Gospel, and other teachers/believers of the faith till today who died similarly to share the love of God to a world that is lost, like sheep needing a shepherd.
when you see how far removed the youth are today (parts which our generations have done too) - living for themselves, doing things we wouldn’t even believe would be commonplace nor acceptable in any community or society. the way they speak, the way they think, the way they act, all as if there is no consequences for any of it nor do they fear the judgement that they face one day. like verses 11-13, their hearts desired idols and so-called ‘gods’, a lot of kids these days are doing just that - worshipping that which divides, separates themselves with our Heaven Father. with that the consequences are that God allowed their enemies to take what they were given to them as a promise, even to the point where He fought against them.
how crazy is that - the people whom God chose, chose to follow their own way, desires, ‘gods’, and doing what was abhorrent in His eyes. i suppose i can’t say they are worse than we were, or i was, because i did some pretty crappy things, hurt a lot of people, went my own way, and didn’t love The Lord back as He did me. it would be too easy to explain my failures from not having the same guidance and support that the great men and women in The Bible were provided when they were young - the teachings, the lessons, the stories, the real life lived events that were etched into their hearts and minds, carrying with them through their lives. similarly that the generations following joshua and the other elders, they lost their way because they likely didn’t know any of it.
history tends to repeat itself, even if we don’t want to or like it. with that, how important it is for us to teach our youths, young adults the very lessons we find throughout The Word of God and from our experiences. from tragedy to triumph, all are critical for imprinting it in their hearts and minds so that it will stay with them. i’m confident enough to know that none of us want our kids, and even those who we don’t know, suffer for making the mistakes of the past that could have been avoided if they simply were told and learned from them.
in my time as a youth group leader and big brother, i’ve been given the privilege to share what i went through, the stupid mistakes, the repeat offenses, the selfishness, the hurts caused, etc., and how my life spiraled out of control. while i have not seen the majority of these kids, all i can hope for is that they took any part of my past, my story and it made them think hard of their lives and made better, right choices for themselves. i do know of one in particular that is still in my life, and he didn’t have the advantages of having his father around to share the small and large life lessons. 10+ years together and i can say that he is doing fantastic, walking with Jesus, and he serves in the church he attends. this may just be 1 child of God, and for now i’ll take that as Heaven is rejoicing as i am that he is saved.
thank you Father God for helping me in my life journey. with all the twists and turns, going off the wrong path, even stubbornly fighting you when i should have simply listened, you still loved on and came after me. may the experiences you’ve allowed me to go through, the lessons learned from them, please allow me the opportunity to share them with whomever you place in my life. i would love to be able to help the next generation of kids in our community or elsewhere. i readily accept where you would have me serve for your Kingdom’s cause. may you be glorified and honored through it Lord. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!