These nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day – 2 Kings 17:41
What a horrifying historical observation!
These nations, like Israel, had been double-minded. They had sought to serve both God and idols. They had claimed and practiced a certain degree of the God-fearing lifestyle, but had simultaneously served the pagan gods that had infiltrated their culture.
This double-minded worship was, in itself, pitiful and destructive enough. But the tragedy was multiplied exponentially by the fact their children and grandchildren had followed in their footsteps. What began as one person’s disobedience became the sinful tendency of later generations.
Then this horrifying historical observation by the author, about 300 years after the events he is describing: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day. The chain of mediocre religion had continued for centuries, being passed down from one family to the next.
The same sad story is being reenacted in countless homes today. Parents and grandparents think they are getting away with half-hearted service to God, while also pursuing the pleasures and applause of the world, but are leaving behind them generations of young people who have no clear compass in life, who do not know what it is to give their lives as a living and single-minded sacrifice to God.
Dear parent, dear grandparent, do not let this be your legacy! Teach your children and grandchildren to love God with all their heart and might, and then show them how to do it by living out the Christian life before them.