I don’t know if I am the only one who looks at our current culture and goes, “Ugh.” It just seems so crazy right now. I look around and wonder, “Where are the good and decent people at? Where are the people who want to stand out from the culture?” I keep coming back to this thought of, “Who is going to lead us into the future?”
I think about this because the guys I grew up learning from are getting older now and I am realizing that my generation is next in line. You have the Boomers on one side and Gen Z on the other with Millennials in the middle. I see the Millennials as the transition generation. Millennials remember what life was life before smartphones and the internet boom but were also young enough to have their childhoods greatly impacted by these changes so they can relate to both sides. It’s for this reason that I think Millennials are the ones best suited to lead and develop the next generation. But will they step up and lead?
As I have thought about the current situation we are in, I begin to think back to the olden days. No, not back to when I was a kid but WAY back, back to ancient Bible times like around 1000 B.C. To the days of King David’s reign over the nation of Israel.
Now, I think it is safe to say that most everyone has heard of David and Goliath even you didn’t grow up going to church (If you need a refresher or want to learn about it, go to 1 Samuel 17).
Anyways David defeats Goliath, becomes a famous warrior, goes on the run from Saul and then eventually becomes king over Israel.
During his 40 year reign, David brought peace to the nation through his successful war campaign against all the of Israel’s enemies. I would say that David wanted to create a safe world for the generations to follow, one where they could enjoy peace, prosperity and the freedom to worship God. It is this world that he passes onto his son Solomon in 1 Kings 2.
Solomon is now set up to rule over the nation of Israel at its peak.
As you read about this story it seems like Solomon’s rule starts off great and in 1 Kings 3 we learn the keys to Solomon’s success:
“Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David…” (verse 3).
Then the Lord himself appears to Solomon in a dream and says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (verse 5b).
What is Solomon’s response?
“give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (verse 9).
As you are reading this you may be thinking Solomon is going to be a great king. And for the most part he was. He shared his knowledge with the world and built great structures including the Temple. But there is a key phrase that we read in the very beginning that foreshadows his downfall.
In the Scripture above I left out the last part 1 Kings 3:3 which reads, “except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.”
This passage shows that Solomon wasn’t fully devoted to God because he still offered sacrifices to the other “gods” of that time. This helps you understand what led to Solomon’s downfall as seen in 1 Kings 11:4 & 6:
“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been…6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.”
This is the legacy that Solomon now passes onto his son Rehoboam. And as you guessed it doesn’t end well.
We first read of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12 where his first decision as king was basically whether or not to lower taxes. He first asks the elders for their advice but later rejects their advice and consults “the young men who had grown up with him…” This young guys tell Rehoboam to tax the people even more than his father Solomon did. Yeah that didn’t sit well with the people so Rehoboam’s reign starts off in the negative. Then in 1 Kings 15:3 we see the true failure of Rehoboam’s life lived out in his own son, Abijah:
“He (Abijah) committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. (Parentheses mine)
Now if you know your Bible history you know how this story ends. The nation of Israel goes through several kings and eventually splits into two kingdoms with the end being the same for both, defeated and conquered.
I share the story of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam for two reasons:
- I think David supported the mission and carried on the virtues of something greater than himself. Solomon as you saw from the passages supported the mission until it interfered with his personal desires. Rehoboam never learned of the mission because his father never taught it to him.
- I see David as the Boomer generation. This generation faced war, poverty, and tough times but created peace for Millennials. Solomon I see as the Millennials who I said are not only the transition generation but a very important generation. As we saw from Solomon’s story, the way this current generation leads will impact the following generation. I fully believe that if Millennial Church Leaders don’t get serious about leading Generation Z then we are going to lose this generation. This is why I am so passionate about developing leaders. Lastly, I see Generation Z as Rehoboam. They reject the advice of elders for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being that the older generation has failed Generation Z. Just look at the moral failures of some of the older generations that are now plaguing our society (fraud, sexual sins, greed to name a few).
A warning from the past.
David’s legacy: 1 Kings 2:1-12
David wasn’t perfect but he repented. He lead by example. He was honest about his flaws and recognized his need for God’s grace and instruction.
Solomon’s legacy: 1 Kings 3 to 1 Kings 11:1-13
Solomon wasn’t perfect either but didn’t seem to care. He enjoyed the blessings from God but also liked chasing his own desires. In the end, he choose to follow his own path which lead to his destruction (I am not saying that Solomon ended up in Hell but made a mess of his life by not pursuing God).
Rehoboam’s legacy – 1 Kings 14:21-15:4
Rehoboam ignores the wisdom of the elders. I feel like this is like the world we live in today. Our youth don’t trust the adults because of the mess we have made. They listen to each other and don’t heed the advice of the elders. I should say not all youth are this way but you can easily see which ones do not listen to the wise. They are the ones rioting, revolting, causing chaos.
Generation Z has been handed everything they ever wanted. Their lives are all about self. And without some guidance they are going to fail. If they fail, we fail.
Which one can you relate to?
We need more David’s who are willing to give it all to carry on God’s mission but more importantly can be described as “a man after my (God) own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.”
This is personal for me because Generation Z are the ones who are going to be leading my kids who are toddlers now. I have to help this generation succeed so that my kids can succeed. But even more important than that, we have to help this generation to follow Jesus but to also carry on his mission or we are going to lose a whole generation to the enticements of this world.
Come back next week as I talk about practical ways that we can reach this generation with the Gospel of Jesus.