Under the leadership of Moses, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  When Moses died, Joshua took over the reins.  Joshua’s generation would experience the mighty works of God as they crossed the Jordan River and captured the land of Canaan.  God gave them clear instruction to make no league with the inhabitants of Canaan, but to rather throw down their altars and drive them out of the land. 

     Joshua’s generation partially obeyed the Lord and failed to purge the Promise Land from the false gods of the Canaanites.  As a result, the next generation would suffer greatly.  The Bible says in Judges 2: 9-10 that Joshua died, and so did his generation; however, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”

     The disobedience of Joshua’s generation had a long-lasting, far-reaching effect on their children and grandchildren.  When we fail to comply with God’s instruction, we not only hinder our growth and development as a believer, but we set the groundwork for future disobedience in the next generation.  Obey the Lord with ALL your heart; your children’s relationship with God may very well depend on it.