Each Generation

Scripture: Leviticus 23:43 “This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt.  I am the Lord your God”

 

Observation:  In these chapters, the Lord instructs Moses about the festivals that the Israelites are to celebrate every year.  Each one has both past & future significance for Israel.  The remembrance of the past is to continually remind Israel of where the Lord has brought them from – out of the captivity of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk & honey.  The prophetic significance points to the future provision of the One who would once & for all time make the way for all of humanity to be restored to relationship with the One true God.  But the future significance would be lost unless each successive generation was made aware of what the Lord had done for Israel in the first place.  That was the responsibility of each generation to pass on to their children, a responsibility that the Lord saw as so critical that He enshrined such remembrances in the ebb & flow of every year, as celebrations for the whole community and as instructions to be obeyed.

 

Application:  Just as my parents passed on their faith to me in the form of regular Church attendance, modelling regular devotional Bible reading, etc, so, too I have tried to do the same with my own children.  And even though my children are now adults, I continue to pray for them and encourage them where I can in the Lord.  But my responsibility doesn’t finish with the adulthood of my own children.  There will always be future generations – new generations – of believers to teach and remind of the things of the Lord.  And today, we still have regular celebrations to remind us of what the Lord has done for us – such as Christmas and Easter.  Such times are times for special reflection.  But even as I continually need to remind myself of what my Lord has done for me, so I have an ongoing responsibility to do the same for others.  Each generation has their own responsibility to respond to the Lord for themselves (God has no grandchildren), but if they’re not told of His goodness to past generations, and if every opportunity of remembrance is not used as such – how will they ever be in a position to surrender their own lives to Him & see Him to do mighty things in their generation?

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, Thankyou for all the wonderful things you have done for me in my life.  Thankyou for rescuing me from the “land of Egypt”.  Thankyou for being my God.  May I always remember to take every opportunity to remind each new generation what You have done that they might desire to know You and walk with You for themselves.

 

In Jesus’ Name

 

Amen

 

Sue Otto