Judges chapter 2, we're going to read from verse 6 down to verse 10. Judges chapter 2 verse 6 through to verse 10. And the word of the Lord says, And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Hares, in the Mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Geash. And also that generation were gathered unto their fathers. And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." And we know the Lord will bless the reading of this His own word to each of our hearts. In our annual calendar as a congregation, we set aside one Lord's Day each year and we mark it as our Children's Day. It is a Sabbath, therefore, when there is a particular focus. on the children of the church and on what they've been taught during the previous Sunday school year. Therefore, this day with its distinct emphasis on the work of the Sunday school upon the work among our children brings before us the awareness that our children are very special and they are also very precious. We recognize therefore that they are the next generation. and that they must be taught and must be trained in the things of God in order to assume certain spiritual roles within Christ's church in times to come. Our children are the next generation. That is a fact that is recognized in society in general as well as within the church of Jesus Christ. Those of you today who are parents should keep in mind that when you bring children into the world as we put it, you are physically forming a new generation who will become tomorrow's citizens and who will in one way or another impact the society in which they are going to live. And therefore the matter of successive generations. is a very serious issue, and it should be treated with solemnity by every one of us. The word generation is often found in the Word of God. In fact, in the Old Testament it's found scores of times. And it's interesting when we study the word generation in the Old Testament to find that the original Hebrew word that's translated generation, as we have it here in verse number 10, is a word that also means circle. And it gives us something of the meaning, the vivid meaning of this word generation. A generation is a circle in the sense of completion. You see a chief feature of a circle is that it is complete. It is marked by fullness. And therefore God is showing us with the meaning of the word generation, that is circle, that each generation of people is characterized by completion. in that there are so many people who belong to a given generation, and then that generation, when it's completed its circle, it gives way to the next generation. That thought is clearly seen here in these words of verse number 10, because this verse states, all that generation were gathered unto their fathers. Here is one generation. It is now complete. It's full in its own way. Numerically and socially and in every other way, this generation has come to its fullness, but eventually, you see, it passes away. All of us have known situations where someone lives to a very old age. And then that person finally passes on. And the remark is made that all of that person's, all of the others in that person's generation have already died. And therefore, with the passing of that elderly person, maybe a hundred years old or even more than that, that brings that generation to its full circle. None of the remaining members of the generation or the other members of the generation remain. They're all gone. And this old person dies and therefore that generation has come to its close and to its end. And therefore it is true that in the process of time a given generation of people complete their circle. They are born, they live and then they die. Their seats are empty and their places find them no more, and they are gone from this world, and they have passed away. Their generation has come to a close. Their circle has ended. But you see, our text then goes on to say this, and there arose another generation after them. So all that generation, we're told, were gathered unto their fathers. Then it says, and there arose another generation after them. These are obviously the offspring of the previous generation. They outlived their parents, which is the natural course of life. They come to maturity. They have their day on the stage of time. They have a certain period. And therefore in this text, we are reading of two generations of people. those of parents and their offspring, one generation passing away and the succeeding generation coming on afterwards. Now here in the setting of this chapter where we read of these two generations, Those who are adults came through the wilderness along with Joshua. They entered into the land of Canaan under that man's leadership. Joshua died eventually and his death was then followed by the deaths of his colleagues, all those who are called the elders of Israel who served along with Joshua, they also die. And then finally that entire generation that entered into the land of promise under this man's leadership they also pass away. And then there comes the focus now on the second generation in these words, and there arose another generation after them. Here is the cycle of life. Here is time passing on. Here is one generation living out its day and dying and passing into eternity, and another generation has risen up. And we read of that generation in these words, and there arose another generation after them. And here are the solemn words right now, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. These are sad words. There arose another generation after that first generation. And this second generation, we are told, knew not the Lord. Those are very sad words. But they are also tragic words because they underline that there can be a whole generation that perishes and is lost forever because they do not know the Lord or they did not know the Lord while they died. or while they lived, and then when they died, they pass away not knowing the Lord, not knowing anything of God, not knowing anything of grace or mercy. This is what's underlined for us here. in the text that we're looking at for a little while this morning, a generation of people who pass away and who pass away not having known the Lord. Notice with me what it means to know the Lord. What does this mean where it says that they did not know the Lord? What does it actually mean to know the Lord? That's the first thing we should think about. Because here are people who pass away, a whole generation of them, and they don't know the Lord. So what does that mean? It's a vital question, this matter of knowing the Lord. If we take it that way positively, those who do know the Lord, well, we find that the term is used many, many times in the Word of God, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And therefore the Bible reveals to us what it actually is to know the Lord. Now let me say right away, it means more than knowing that there is a God and that He is in heaven and that He has made all things and all of these details and facts that are basic to our understanding of God and His being and His works. It means much more than that. It's a personal issue. It's a very personal matter. It has to do with a sinner knowing the God of heaven in a personal way. You see, to know the Lord is to understand that He alone is the Savior of sinners. If you take the very word that's used here, it says, this generation did not know the Lord. You'll notice that the word Lord is capitalized, and therefore it refers actually to God's great name, Jehovah. That wonderful name that's given to the Lord throughout the Bible, both again in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the name Jehovah. And that name signifies the fact that God is an eternal being. Furthermore, it points to Him as the Savior of men. There's a lot revealed in the names of God. And the name Jehovah is a special name that signifies that God is the one who saves men from their sins. If you take the name Joshua that's used in this passage, and then you have the book of Joshua that comes before the book of Judges, you may know that the name Joshua means Jehovah saves. And then you go to the New Testament, and you look at the word Jesus, the name Jesus, and the name Jesus means the very same thing, it means Jehovah saves. And therefore, this issue of knowing God is wrapped up in the very name of God, and God has revealed in His name, Jehovah, that He is the One who saves people from their sins. And down through the course of time, men and women have been discovering this. They have been discovering that the Lord is the One who saves, and in that way they came to know the Lord. They found that he is the one who is truly the savior of sinners. Abraham made that great discovery when he was on the Mount Moriah along with Isaac. And on that mount that day when he took his son up to set him on the altar and sacrifice him to God as God had bidden him do, God intervened and provided a ram or a lamb that was then killed in Isaac's place. And when Abraham saw what took place, when God stepped in and provided a ram or a lamb for an offering, he said this, the Lord will provide. And he called that Mount Jehovah Jireh to indicate that he knew that God was going to provide himself with a savior for this old world of ours. O men and women, Let me remind you today that you need a Savior. You need someone to save you from your sins, and it is in knowing that great fact that the first step, as it were, takes place with regard to knowing God, knowing the Lord, where you're brought out of the world of humanity, that world that doesn't know God, and there's no time for God, and no thought of God. You're brought out of that world, and you come to know the Lord because you realize, maybe for the very first time in your life, and this may be the case with some here this Sabbath morning, that you are a sinner, you need a Savior, And without that Savior you're going to perish, you're going to pass away. Your generation, you part of that generation, you're going to pass away not knowing God. And going into God's eternity not knowing the Lord. and therefore perish forevermore, until you come to realize that there is one who is provided by God, this Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to die for men and shed His blood for sinners and make a sacrifice for the guilty and become Jehovah Sikhenu, another great name for God. Jehovah Sikhenu, the Lord our righteousness. In this way, the Lord is the one who saves. And you need to know this, you need to understand this, and furthermore you need to come to that point of realizing, here is the one whom I need in my life and in my heart and in my soul to save me from my sins. So this matter of knowing the Lord is to know Him as the only Savior of sinners. But it's more than that. It is to trust Him. as your Savior, the sinner must trust the only Savior that there is. Think about the background here to this story. If you've got your Bible there, turn back into Joshua 24 and look at me at verse number 15. Joshua 24 and the verse number 15. And here's Joshua speaking to this same generation, you see, that pass away And he speaks to them of very important things, Joshua 24, and look with me at the verse number 15. It says this, If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve. whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Notice this, Joshua's speaking to that first generation, they're still alive, they've come through the wilderness, they're about to enter into Canaan, they eventually pass away, but it was a generation to whom Joshua preached. And he says right here, choose you this day whom ye will serve. He says, as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. And read on with me. Go down to verse 18 and notice what happened. Joshua 24 and verse 18, the very closing words are these. Therefore, hear the people speaking now, therefore will we also serve the Lord, for He is our God. Verse 21, but we will serve the Lord. Verse 24, the Lord our God will be served and His voice will we obey. Notice these different verses. Notice what's going on here. Joshua is the preacher. He says to that generation who have come through the wilderness, choose you this day whom ye will serve. As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. And then the people all respond, we will serve the Lord too. And therefore, they come to know the Lord because they trust Him as their own Savior. They come to know the Lord because they rest in Him. And they say that we will serve Him too. And therefore this entire generation of whom we read here in verse 10 of Judges 2 declared themselves to be the Lord's and they therefore chose Him and they trusted in Him and in that way they came to know Him. Now dear sinner you must understand this this morning. There is a point in your life when you must make that personal choice. When realizing who you are as a sinner before God, therefore your desperate need of a Savior, you actually trust in the One who is the Savior of men. It's not enough to know about Him. In fact, that is completely and utterly insufficient. You need to come to know Him for yourself. and trust Him as your Savior, which means that you trust in Christ. the one who died, the one who gave the only sacrifice that satisfies divine justice. And in trusting in Him, you turn away from your sin, and you turn away from your ungodliness, and you flee from the wrath to come, realizing your danger, knowing that you're headed toward hell and everlasting destruction. This God who saves through His own dear Son, you begin to trust in Him and rest in Him, and thereby you come to know Him. That's what it means to know God. In the second place, therefore, we need to think of what it is not to know God, because this text tells us of a generation who rose up and they did not know the Lord. I said a while ago, those are sad words, those are tragic words. Here's the first generation and they came to know the Lord and trust the Lord and now they've gone. And they've left children behind and young people behind. And sadly and lamentably, they do not know the Lord at all. Let me point out from that fact. One generation's knowledge of the Lord is not automatically conveyed to the next generation. Do you see that? The first generation that die and pass away, they do know the Lord. But this generation that rises up now don't, which means that their parents' faith and their parents' trust and their parents' saving knowledge of God does not automatically become theirs. That first generation knew. The Lord as the true God, He was with them in the wilderness. He intervened on their behalf many times. They worshipped Him in the tabernacle, at the altar, with their sacrifices, and on the ground of the atoning blood. They knew all those things, and they followed out all those truths. But here's a generation now, and they do not know the Lord at all, and they're never hardly at the tabernacle, and they've got no faith in the blood That is represented there by the blood of the animal. That is the blood of Jesus Christ. They know nothing about it. They're not saved. They don't know the Lord. And therefore we're being taught this very solemn truth that your parents may be saved today, but that does not mean that you're saved. or generations gone by in your family may have been godly people, grandparents, great-grandparents who are gone now into glory and you're the present generation and you're part of the rising realm of people in this time and day and yet you're living without God, with no hope in God and no salvation in your soul. And you must never think that just because your parents knew the Lord or some other generation prior to that, that means that all is well with you. I was thinking about the young lad called Samuel and what godly parents Samuel had. And yet you read in 1 Samuel chapter 3 and the verse number 7, these words, Samuel did not yet know the Lord. A godly father, a godly mother, but that did not mean, as I put it, that Samuel automatically knew the Lord. He had to come to the Lord and seek Him personally for his own salvation. And he did that very night when the Lord spoke to him, and Samuel's cry went up to the Lord who spoke, "'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'" And may there be a soul in this gathering today who at this moment does not know the Lord, and yet the Lord is speaking to you and drawing you and dealing with your sin. And you realize in your heart of hearts, I don't know the Lord, though my parents do. Though other family members do, I don't know Him. I've got no saving faith in Jesus Christ. I have not turned away from my sin. I don't belong to the Lord. I know it and I realize it and I sense it. And today I want to come to know Him because I realize that what my parents have or other family members have is of no value to me. I must personally find Christ. The fact that this second generation did not know the Lord was proved by their behavior. It says here in verse 11, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Balaam. And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. Notice this. It says that this generation did not know the Lord. And then that is demonstrated by the record that's given concerning how they lived and how they behaved. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. They turned to idolatry. And undoubtedly they turned to all the sins that went along with idolatry. And furthermore we're told that they provoked the Lord to anger. Now men and women, These are very, very serious, solemn matters. It causes you today to focus upon a certain question, and that question is this, how am I living? Or what is my behavior? And what is my conduct like? Does it resemble that of my parents or other generations of godly people? Or is it true that it has been brought home to me today that I have forsaken the Lord and I don't worship the Lord and I've turned away to a world that is full of sin and evil and iniquity, the very opposite of what the Bible teaches about God and about holiness and I have become enmeshed and engrossed in the things of this world. Is that where you are right now? Because if that is the case, it is the demonstration that you do not know the Lord in the sense that this verse is teaching. I want you to search your heart today. Is this not a time for parents here, maybe grandparents, other family members to take stock of their lives? To examine themselves in the light of this book and ask the question, do I know the Lord? Am I saved? How am I living? Is it merely for the world, its ways? It's habits, it's sinful practices. Is that how I'm living? It may be there are people here today, and once upon a time you professed to be a Christian, and now you've turned away from the Lord, and you're far from Him, and you're living without Him, and you've sinned against Him. Is that your state and your condition? Then I want you to see from the light of these verses and these words before us, you're in a very solemn, serious, and dangerous situation. Because there is no evidence right now in your life that you know the Lord, and there is no evidence in your life right now that all is well with your soul, it's far from it, and you're bringing up a family and they're following on after you. What example are you setting them? Is it the example of godliness or worldliness? What do they see? What do they hear? What do they notice? What are they imbibing into their young souls by way of your life? You, the generation before them, and they're coming up now, the next generation, what do they see? What do they notice? You need to ask yourself these questions because in the light of what we're seeing right here, How you are with God, whether you know the Lord or not, is demonstrated by how you live and how you behave. And if your life is given over to sin, my friend, that's the evidence you don't know God. The evidence that you're not right with God. Let me say this as I draw near to a close. Knowing or not knowing God determines where we will be in eternity. Knowing or not knowing God determines where we will be in eternity. Those opening words again of our text are these, and also that generation were gathered unto their fathers. There's that first generation who are taken away, they're all gone now, they have been gathered unto their fathers. And notice those words, gathered unto their fathers. Which means that they went to join those who had passed on before. Which means that those people, before them again, are in conscious existence, they're still alive somewhere in God's eternity, and therefore these, in that generation, they go on to be with them. And of course, speaking here in this context, those who pass on here and go to be with their fathers are God's people, and they've gone to join God's people from generations before. They've gone to join their ancestors in glory and in heaven. And therefore, what we find here is, they go to be with those who are God's people in eternity, because here in this world they knew God, they came to know the Lord and serve the Lord, and therefore when they died they went to be with those who preceded them. There are folks sitting here today many of the Lord's people. And in a few short years, you will go out of this world and you'll go to join those who passed on before you. You'll go to be with them in glory. But you see, there is the other side of the equation. Because the Bible also speaks to those who pass away and go to be with their fathers who are not saved. There are huge companies of people down through the passage of time who live without God, did not know God, and passed away, and they're also still alive, and their souls are still in existence, and sadly and lamentably, at this moment, they are lost, and they're in darkness, and they're under the wrath of God at this very second in which I speak. And some of you, if you do not turn from your sin, are going to go to join them. You're going to live out your life. You're going to come to a close of your day, you and all your generation. In any given generation, there are those who die younger than others. And some live on and on, but eventually that whole generation passes, and your generation is going to pass. You're going to leave this world, and leave your home, and leave your rising generation, and your sons and your daughters, your family members will bury you, and they'll have the funeral, and you'll be gone. But let me tell you, friend, you'll still be very much alive in God's eternity. But the question is, not knowing God and life, demonstrated by your sin, you cannot expect to be in heaven when you pass on. Because if you don't know God here, that determines where you will be in eternity. And that can only be in a lost eternity, a Christless eternity. a dark and hopeless eternity. I speak to someone here today, and you can remember a grandfather or a grandmother just taking that generation. And that grandfather or grandmother were godly people, and they prayed, and maybe prayed for you, and wept over your soul, and took you to gospel meetings. and told you about the Lord, and warned you about this evil world, and set you a godly example, and showed you how to live. But all of your grandparents, or whoever it might have been, showed you, you have turned away from it. And now you're living without God, and you don't know God. And I tell you, dear friend, you will never see your grandfather, your grandmother again. You will never be with that dear soul that now is with Christ in glory, because you know not the Lord. I speak today to our children and our young people. I say the very same things to you. Godly fathers, godly mothers bringing you up in their homes, praying for you, teaching you the things of God. And yet all that they're teaching you, you're determined to overthrow it and go your own way, proving that you don't know God, therefore demonstrating that when you come to pass away from this world, if you pass away the way you now are, you'll be lost. It is time to seek the Lord. It's time to do it right with God. It's time to come to Christ. And I pray that today the Lord will speak. The Lord will bring His Word home. The Lord will bring sinners to Himself. Let us bow in prayer as we come to the end of this meeting. May the Holy Spirit apply the Word to us all. And I pray that today there will be those who will begin, and from this day begin to seek after God and walk with God. If you'd like to have a word with me or Mr. Laverty, then see as after the meeting is over. I'd be glad to help you, glad to speak with you. Lord, we pray today that the Holy Spirit will bless His truth to every sinner's heart, to those who are backslidden. Lord, deal with those who need thee in a very real and particular way and may the Word of God come to their hearts with power. May thy presence overwhelm them and draw them. May conviction of sin seize them. May the Word of God arrest their hearts. On this day may there be a drawing power felt and may sovereign grace do its mighty work. Hear and answer prayer. Be with us. In the evening service as well, the Lord meet with us once more. Bless thy truth, we pray. Bless those who remain for the Lord's Supper and come among us this day and visit our hearts, we ask in Jesus' name and for His sake.