From One Generation To The Next (Deuteronomy 11:2)

And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm.
—Deuteronomy 11:2

And then verse 3 goes on to describe all the different ways God’s people—those to whom God was speaking at this point—had seen his power, love, righteousness, justice, might, discipline, and mercy, all the ways they had seen God work. And God is saying to them, “Consider what you have seen,” and pass on what you have seen to the next generation.

As you continue through this chapter, you come to verse 18, where God says, “Bind my word on your heart and on your soul,” and teach your children God’s word and all these things you have seen.

That is what is so interesting here in Deuteronomy 11, because God is making a distinction. He is saying, “I am not speaking to your children, who have not known or seen what you have seen. I am speaking to you.” And he is calling them to faithfully pass on what they know, what they have seen about him—his character, his works, and his word. “Be faithful to pass this on to the next generation.”

When I read this, I think about all the ways I have seen and experienced God’s mercy, all the ways I have witnessed God’s hand at work, and what I have learned from God’s word. I have been entrusted with all these things to pass them on. I have been given a stewardship.

And obviously, this is not just true for me, but for every one of us who has received grace from God, received mercy from God, and seen the work and heard the word of God. These things are not just for us. They are for those who are coming behind us.

Even if you are a teenager or a child listening to these things, seek out people who are older than you who can tell you about who God is and what God has done. And already begin thinking, “How can I pass this on to those who come behind me?” Because this baton is not intended to stay in your hands. One day it will be passed to the next generation after you.

So let us all pray for this in our lives.

God, we praise you for what we have seen from your hand, for what we have received from your hand, for all your work, and for all your word. We praise you specifically for the people who have passed on to us the good news of who you are, how you work, and what you have done. We praise you for those who have been faithful to take what you entrusted to them and pass it on to us.

So, God, we pray: help us to do the same. We pray specifically right now for the next generation. We pray for the generation behind us, for two generations behind us, for three generations behind us. God, help us to live today so that generations to come may know you.

Help us to pour your grace, your mercy, your word, and the good news of your works into those who are younger than us so that they may know you and walk with you, and so that they may pass these things on to those who come after them.

O God, in our homes, our families, and our church families, help us to prioritize the spread of your word and your works to the next generation—and to all the nations—as we pray for unreached peoples.

A Prayer for the Taznatit Berber People

O God, for the Taznatit Berber people of Algeria, we pray for every generation among this group of Berbers. God, please cause the oldest among the Taznatit Berbers to come to know you. And we pray for the children yet unborn among this people group, that they would one day hear the good news of your love in Jesus because the gospel has spread to them and to every generation among them.

God, please may it be so among all the nations and among all the generations until you return, Jesus. Help us to be faithful to pass the baton during the time in which you have placed us.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.