By Michael Youssef, Ph D. May 17, 2020

In Judges 6, the Israelites had done evil in the eyes of the Lord—and so God used the Midianites to chastise them. Judges 6:3-5 says:

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. . . . It was impossible to count the men or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it

Israel was harassed; their future was threatened. Their hope was shattered, but all they could do was run and hide, pretending that nobody could find them. It took seven years before they started humbling themselves before God (see Judges 6:1-2, 6).

The Midianites are here in our culture, in our society, and they are plundering this nation. Many times, we, as parents and adults, fail to set the example for the next generation, and that is why they are running and hiding from the Midianites of their time.

Our future generation is our greatest asset; we must not squander them like Israel did again and again in the book of Judges. If we do not equip the future generation with the Word of God by modeling lives of faithful obedience, they will do what Israel did. When the heat is on, they will run and hide hopelessly in the mountains. They will never stand up, trust God, or receive the blessing of faith in Him.

We must repent and seek the Lord, modeling for them what it means to stand up and be counted.

Prayer: God, forgive us for the poor example we have set for the next generation. I pray that my generation would humble itself before You before it’s too late. Help us to show our children what it means to stand up for Truth instead of being overrun by our culture. I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).