All right, the Lord on this occasion
said many wonderful things, but look at verse 43, Matthew 12.
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through
dry places seeking rest and finding none. And then he said, I will
return unto my house from which I came out. And when he has come,
he find that it is empty, and swept and garnished. And then goeth he and taketh
with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and
they enter in and dwell there. And the last state or the last
of that man is worse than the first. Watch this. Even so shall
it be also unto this wicked generation. Now get the connection. The last
state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it also
be with this wicked generation. Now the operative word here and
throughout our study today is the word generation. Our focus and our thought and
our attention is upon it and what it may mean. and what the
Lord referred to by the use of this generation. So shall it
be unto this or with this wicked generation. This is the application
that the Lord makes from the parable of the unclean spirit. The unclean spirit going out
dwelling, returning, and making things matter worse than before. Now, we need to remember, you
have noticed I hope, that the Lord several times during his
public ministry and teaching, he spoke of, he spoke to, and
he spoke about, quote, this generation, unquote. Here are some verses.
We won't turn to them and read them just quickly, give them.
In Matthew 11 and verse 16, 12, 41, 42, and 45. In Matthew 23
and verse 36, 24 and 34. In Mark 8 and verse 12
and 13 and verse 30. And then in the third gospel,
the gospel of Luke chapter 11 and verse 30, 11 and 51. And we notice that the word generation
is not used by John in his gospel at all, as he wrote from or to
a different purpose. So let's get the meaning, if
we might, if we're going to study it, of the word generation as
it appears, not secularly necessary, but as it appears in the scripture. And I think that principally
we see the word generation used in two prominent ways in the
scripture or the word of God. First of all, like in Genesis
chapter 5 and verse 1, where Moses wrote, this is the generation,
plural, of Adam. That is, he is going to give
us a record or a history of the descendants of the family and
the history of Adam. Their birth, their generation,
the offspring of Adam. Those that came out of Adam and
produced their offspring as well. You see it? referred to in the
Lord as well in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1 where we read the
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, that is his nativity
in his lineage, his human lineage, if you will, as the son of Abraham
and of David. His lineage or generation trace
out and trace through Abraham and David, down to Joseph, the
husband of Mary, who bore the humanity of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. For he was made of a woman, and
that woman was connected to, or in the line, a man who was
in the line of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that's not a principle
way that we're looking at it this morning. Think that might
be geneo, the beginning, or the origin. But secondly, a second
use of the word generation has to do with those that are about
the same age and live approximately at the same time. They are a
people living at one and the same time. They are contemporaries
one with the other. It is clear that the Lord spoke
of the people living during his earthly ministry when he referred
to this generation, quote unquote. And here are a few examples that
I think can't be taken any other way than as referring to the
people living as contemporaries in the age of our Lord. For example, Matthew 11. And
verse 16, to what shall I liken this generation? We'll look at
that a little bit later in our study. Matthew 12 and 45, we
read it, so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. In Matthew 23, And verse 35 and
36, he said, that all these things shall come upon this generation. That is, the judgment for the
righteous blood shed from Abel unto the present time. And also
in Luke 11 and verse 51, it shall be required of this generation,
our Lord said unto them. In Matthew 24 and 34, he said,
this generation shall not pass until all of these things be
fulfilled. That is, the doom that he predicted
against Jerusalem. that it would be overrun and
besieged and destroyed and that it would come to a bad end. Their temple would be thrown
down and great destruction would be visited upon them. Now, Solomon
wrote something interesting. Ecclesiastes 1 and verse 4. He said there, one generation
passes away, and another generation comes in its place. Now that's
true, has been true, and will be true throughout the history
of the world. One generation passes on, and
then another comes in its place. Later they pass on, and so the
thing is continued. Now before we consider the generation
to which the Lord referred, to which he appeared, which rejected
him and crucified him upon the cross, which in turn brought
judgment upon their nation, let's digress for a bit, if we might,
and single out two other generations. For I want us to discuss three
generations that we read of in the scripture or in the Bible. Three all together. First of
all, Let's look, if we might, at the generation of Noah, the
generation in the day of the flood, the generation upon which
God sent the flood and destroyed it off of the face of the earth. 2 Peter 2 and 5, that generation
is called ungodly, that he sent the flood upon the world of the
ungodly. And the second generation I want
us to consider is that generation of Jews in the wilderness those
40 years They provoked God, they agitated God, they defied God,
and they were destroyed in the wilderness. Their carcasses fell
in the wilderness. And the third generation, of
course, is the generation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That generation of Jews. Exceedingly wicked they were
as we learn. So, number one. Let's go to the
generation of Noah. We'll be in Genesis chapter 6
quite a bit here. I don't know whether you want
to turn their head or not. We read in Genesis chapter 7
and verse 1, to Noah God said this, come you and your house
into the ark for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. There it is. In this generation. And in Genesis 6 and verse 8,
in spite of the wickedness of that generation, Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. And God entered and made covenant
with Noah object of grace. You'll find that in Genesis 6,
18 and chapter 9 and verse 9 of Genesis. And God determined and
revealed it unto Noah that he would destroy the whole generation
with the exception of Noah and his house. That included his
wife, His three sons and their wives. And in Genesis 6 and verse
13, the end of all flesh is come before me. And in verse 7, I
will destroy man from the face of the earth, from man to every
man and beast, and everything in which is the breath of life.
creeping things, flying things, and such like. All in whose nostrils
is the breath of life. Genesis 7 and verse 22. So, bringing the flood upon the
world or the generation of the ungodly according to 2 Peter
chapter 2 and verse 5. Now, the word ungodly as Peter
applies it to that generation, gives us a view of the character
of that generation, the general character of that generation. So we ask ourselves the question
then, what were the prevailing sins of that generation of people
that God so visited it with an utter destruction of every living
thing. And the wrath of God was poured
out in the form of a worldwide flood. In Genesis 6 is a record
of the great sin of that particular generation, beginning with the
multiplying of the race of mankind. It was a fallen race. They had
sinned. Man had fallen and had corrupted
himself. In Proverbs, Chapter 29 and verse
16, when the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases. Because as Matthew Henry said,
the more sinners, the more sin you have. And that's always true
of any time or generation. So that Genesis chapter 6 opens
up to us a very honest and a very frank and very straightforward
account of the wickedness of what has been called, quote,
the old world, unquote, beginning with their marrying and giving
in marriage. When the professors of religion
intermarried and intermingled with the impious women based
upon lust after physical beauty. These were two sorts that had
been the descendants, no doubt, of Seth and of Cain, perhaps,
and mixed and mingled together the godly and the ungodly in
marriage union. And we read there something unusual. And that is that these mixed
marriages, whatever they were, brought forth fallen ones. I think the word is nephilim. And they express an exposure,
rather, of size. Excessive in their size. Also
in their sin, they were excessive and they were violent. and oppressive. Mighty men of renown is how they
are pictured in the scripture. In verse 5 there, God saw the
wickedness of man, that it was great in the earth, and that
the whole imagination of the heart of man was only evil continually,
always, day in and day out, every day. In verse 11, the earth also
was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. We think about that as we think
about the generation of Noah. Then in verse 12 of that chapter,
God looked upon the earth. It was corrupt, for all flesh
had corrupted his way upon the earth. Now, let's finish our
consideration of that generation by the words of Peter, 2 Peter
2 and 5, that in addition to their sins of the desecration
of marriage, of apostasy from God, violence, mayhem, pride,
and so forth, the apostle calls them ungodly. Now, he uses a word that points
to them being irreligious. They were an impious generation
of people. They were irreverent toward God
and the things of God. They had ungodly meaning, that
they're impious, they're without reverence. for God and for his
thing. The Lord Jesus Christ referred
to Noah's generation in Matthew chapter 24 verse 38 and 39. And he used that as a warning
to the generation that Jesus ministered to. Noah preached
and the Lord preached. Both were preacher. Noah was
building an ark when it had not rained upon the face of the earth. And while that was going on,
the generation ate and they drank and they married. Now those things
are not sinful in themselves. They are necessary and allowed
according under the scripture when done to the glory of God
and in moderation. But they gave themselves completely
over to the lust and the pleasure of the flesh, to the unchecked
desires, their heart, and neglect of the things of God, right up
until the time that the flood came and took them away. And our Lord used that as a warning. That generation, without much
consideration of God, going on their way pleasuring themselves
and themselves only. But the flood came, even as God
had said, and it took them all away. So there's their sin, and
there is their judgment. Now secondly, let's consider
that generation of people in the wilderness. These are the
ones that died short of Canaan. They left out of Egypt in great
glory. but they perished in the wilderness
short of Canaan. And that is a spiritual lesson
that is taken up in the book of Hebrew. The Hebrew author
refers to this in Hebrews 3, 7 through 11. And he does so
as a warning against that generation of Jews
that Jesus appeared unto, warning them about a rejection of Christ
and a rejection of the gospel of the Lord. What happened to
that generation in the wilderness? Be careful be mindful, take heed,
lest you also fall under their same sin. Now he uses two words,
Hebrews does, that we want to notice and enter into the record. In the eighth verse he uses the
word provocation. That word is prominent taken
from Psalm chapter 95 verses 7 through 11. The day of provocation, and the Hebrew
writer picks up upon that. And then in verse 10, that generation. So the word provocation and the
word that generation, identifying their sin and their generation. That generation provoked God
to the point that he swear in his wrath that none of them,
none of the unbelievers, None of the provokers would enter
into his rest. as he calls it in Hebrews 3 and
4, that is, into the land of Canaan. None of those provokers
and none of those unbelievers which God promised a land to
Abraham and to his seed, but he said these would not enter
in. In Hebrews chapter 3 and verse
10, wherefore, I was grieved with that generation, And I said,
they do always air in their heart and have not known my way, that
generation. Now, comparison with or between
the generation in the wilderness and the generation that rejected
and murdered and crucified our Lord Jesus Christ have much in
common, both being Jews and shows how much alike, how they favored
their fathers. Listen, in Deuteronomy chapter
1 and verse 35, that generation is called this evil generation. Now the Lord used that very same
expression. In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 5,
they have corrupted themselves Their spot is not the spot of
children. They are a perverse and a crooked
generation. That is, they do not have the
character of the true children of God. Their spot is not the
spot of the children of God. When we compare Matthew 17, 17,
John 8, 33 through verse 47, where the Lord had an encounter
with those Jews in that particular day and in that particular time. And he spoke of them kind of
in the same way as Moses spoke unto those in the wilderness.
Listen to him. In Deuteronomy 32 and 20, they
are a very froward. That is, they are a perverse. generation. They're very fraud
or perverse. Children in whom is no faith. Deuteronomy 32 and 20. Now the
charge against them, Deuteronomy 32 and 21, they have moved me
to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me
to anger with their vanities. And the ultimate end was they
did not enter in. Moses speaks to them in Deuteronomy
chapter 9. Have you ever noticed that most
of Deuteronomy are long speeches of Moses unto the people, preparing
them and preparing them also for his death. And he tells them
in Deuteronomy 9, verse 7 and verse 8, remember, he said, And
do not forget how you provoke the Lord to wrath in the wilderness,
that from your exodus out of the land of Egypt until the present
you have been rebellious against the Lord, that you provoke the
Lord to such wrath at Horeb, that he would have destroyed
you. Moses jumped in as an intercessor
between them and the Almighty God. They were disobedient and
gainsaying. That was their temper and their
character. Disobedient and gainsaying. You have that In Romans 10 and
verse 21 and Isaiah 65 and verse 2, I've stretched forth my hand
to a disobedient and against saying people. So Moses tells
them in Deuteronomy 9 and verse 24, you have been rebellious
against the Lord from the time I knew you. From the time that
I came among you and brought you forth, you have been rebellious
against the Lord." How rebellious they were. How again and again
they rose up against Moses, who was simply enforcing the things
of God. But they tempted, they provoked,
they defied the Lord. And their history is one long
history of committing one provocation and then another. Some examples
are, if I might share them with you, of their provocation and
grieving the Lord and defying him. Here are some. In the wilderness
of sin, in Exodus chapter 16, they murmured for a lack of bread,
and God provided. At Rephidim, in Exodus chapter
17, they murmured for thirst for water, And God gave them
water out of a rock. They built a graven image and
worshipped it in Exodus chapter 32. At Tibera, in Numbers 11,
they complained that they wanted flesh that they might eat. At
Shittim, they provoked the Lord by mingling with the Moabite
gods and tempting greatly the Lord. And the final straw with
them, I think, came at a place called Kadesh Barnea. You might remember that. In Numbers
chapter 13 and chapter 14, when Moses sent 12 spies over into
the land of Canaan. Go look it up. see what it is,
see what kind of land it is, what kind of people, what kind
of city, and thus so, and bring back the intelligence upon that. And so they went and they searched
out the land of Canaan. The Bible said 40 days. They
went into the land undetected and they searched it out or they
spied it out. And then they brought back their
report. They said, look, It is a land
flowing with milk and with honey. It is a good land and a fruitful
land. It flows with milk and with honey. But the dwellers there are very
strong. The cities are walled and well
fortified. There are giants there in that
particular land, and we were like grasshoppers before them
in the land. It is full of all kind of ites
that you might imagine. The Amalekites, the Hittites,
the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Canaanites. And when they
heard that, the Israelites, yes, a land flowing with milk and
honey, but yes, a great bit of trouble and fight and such like,
their hearts fainted and they decided, look, let's make us
a leader, let's get us a captain, and let's go back to Egypt. And
so, that great rebellion there, instead of by faith moving forward,
they said, look, let's go back to Egypt. At least we had onions
and garlic and leek and flesh to eat in that place. And in
Numbers 14 and verse 4, whereupon the Lord swore in wrath, that
none of them except Caleb and Joshua should ever enter into
Canaan. Numbers chapter 30, 11 through
10 through 15 where we read in the 13th verse, and the Lord's
anger was kindled against Israel and he made them to wander in
the wilderness 40 years, until all that generation that had
done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed." Until every
one of them that did that was dead, with the exception of Joshua
and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb said, look,
God's with us. We're well able. Let's go and
possess the land. But no, the other 10 gave an
evil report. And so they turned back, and
the Lord caused them to wander 40 years in the wilderness. Their carcasses fell there. They
perished short of Canaan. They died in unbelief. They drew
back unto destruction. And those are some applications
in the New Testament. Thirdly, let's come to that generation
that saw, that rejected, that heard, and then crucified the
very Son of God, and upon which our Lord also pronounced a severe
coming judgment. Now we read in Matthew chapter
12, 43 through 45, and looking there again, We have here a short parable,
and then the Lord makes an application from it to this wicked generation. It gives us an opening to know
several of the Lord's parables that he spoke were in regard
particularly directly unto the Jew, especially to the leaders
and the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees and the rulers
and such like, such as the parable of the vineyard. That's directly
referencing the behavior of Israel toward the sun. There is the
barren fig tree that is a picture of Israel all full of leaves,
but no fruit when our Lord made a close approach. There's that
parable of the Pharisee and of the publican. There's that one
of the blind leading the blind and applied directly unto the
men of that generation. Benjamin Keech wrote an exposition
of every parable that the Lord ever spoke in the gospel. And
many expositors, he said, and I found it to be true, have little
to say about this parable of the unclean spirit. And that
means that it was hard for them, too, as it is for us. But it illustrates the condition
of that generation of Jew. And in the end of verse 45, as
the last end of the man is worse than the first, so shall it be
with this wicked generation. And then there's a question which
we seek to answer. How? The one thing answers unto
the other. How the parable of the unclean
spirit answers to that of the Jews. Something about the man
and the demon that are and the Jews that are analogous. They bear some kind of likeness
or resemblance to the condition of that generation of Jew. I hope it won't break down our
chain of thought, but if we might, let's flip back to that passage
in Matthew chapter 11 and begin with verse 16, please. Let's
read that and let's look at it a moment. This is one thing that
gives us a good look at that generation and our Lord. Matthew
11, 16 through 19. But where unto shall I liken
this generation? How can I describe it, he said.
What is it like? How can I paint you a picture
of this generation? It is like under children sitting
in the markets and calling under their fellows and saying, we
have piped under you and you have not danced. We have mourned
unto you, and you have not lamented. For John came, neither eating
nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil. The son of man
came eating and drinking, and they said, behold, a man gluttonous,
a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified
of her children. Now, how shall we liken, or picture,
or describe, or depict this generation? How shall I paint them? The Lord
raises that question. Imagine the picture, if we can,
in our mind. Children in the marketplace,
sitting or playing as they might, and saying or calling out to
other children that are there in their presence, look! We piped
unto you. I think that means we played
music. Look, we played music. We played
the instruments, and you did not respond to that music in
the proper way, that is, by dancing, by doing a little jig. Then we
mourned or wailed. A lot of people think it sang
a funeral hymn. We went from one extreme to the
other. And you did not respond by lamenting
or by mourning when we did that. And in verse 18 and 19, the images
become very clear. by that generation's response
to John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ and how diverse
they were. And that generation did not respond
well to the ministry either of John or of Jesus. Since John came, neither eating
nor drinking, often fasting, but sent from God nonetheless,
A stranger and a strange diet John practiced. Here he is in
his leather clothes and eating locusts and honey and such thing,
and they judged him to be caring about a demon. John came like
that and they said, He's got a demon who was filled with the
Holy Spirit, however, from his mother's womb, as we read in
Luke chapter 1 verse 15. Then Jesus, on the other hand,
came in a different manner. He came eating, drinking, attending
their feast, and celebrating with them, keeping company with
publicans. And the Jews of that generation
called him a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans
and sinners. And they said, this man receives
sinners and even eats with them. Luke 15 and verse 2. Now, this
little simile from the Lord is directed against the scribe and
the Pharisee who received neither the words of John or of Jesus. And it exposed their ignorance
and their blind unbelief. And Benjamin Teach in that book
that I mentioned called their peevishness and quarrelsome temper."
They were not pleased with fasting or with feasting. John had one,
Christ had the other. They resisted God's message no
matter the dignity or the character of the one that brought it. They
were like little pouting children, not wanting to have anything
to do or partake of it. But back to the passage now in
Matthew chapter 12 and the matter of the unclean spirit and his
house, his house. It describes such as the scribes,
the priests, the Pharisees, and such like, and the generality
of the Jewish nation as well, who boasted in themselves that
they were righteous and that they were clean before God, that
they were law-abiding. and of their putrid, putrid self-righteousness
and high esteem of themselves. They were thankful for the view
that they had of themselves, and they looked down upon all
others in disgrace and disgust around them. Now concerning the
unclean spirit, he went out. And when he has gone out of a
man, he leaves him for a time, and this is not conversion, but
sort of a half-hearted reformation, perhaps. Then he walks in dry
places, not the man, but the spirit, and finally said, you
know, I'm not satisfied here. I don't find any rest. I think
I will return unto my house. The house is the man. I will
return unto my house from which I came out." And he does. When
he returns, he finds it empty and swept and garnished, as we
read. Then he goes and he finds seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they all enter in,
and what's the result? The end of that man is worse
than the first. Could this refer only to mere
outward reformation, a man under Jewish legalism or self-righteousness,
to touch not, taste not, handle not, as they did, which Gill
called some show of morality? during that period of time, mere
absence from outward acts of sin and doing the externals of
religion, hypocritically fasting and praying and tithing that
they might be seen of men. And can the return of the unclean
spirit coincide with that great flood of animosity of the Jew
against our Lord that culminated in their crucifying him up on
the tree. Now, the last of the man is worse
than the first or the former. So this generation is the application
that the Lord made. Now you might compare 2 Peter
chapter 2 in verse 20 through 22. You remember, he is like
unto the sow that was washed and returns to its wallowing
in the mire, and the dog that returns again unto its vomit."
You know a dog will get sick and vomit up. You look later,
he's over there eating it again, taking it down. That very thing
that made him sick. So the last of that man is worse
than the first. Matthew 23, 35 and 36. Jesus said to them, all of the
righteous blood of the martyrs will be required of this generation. He said in Matthew 24, 34, this
generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Here, Luke, if you would, and
I'd like to turn there to Luke and read you just a few verses
out of chapter 11. And that would be verse 29 through
32. Luke chapter 11 and verse 29
through verse 22. I'm on the wrong page. All right, I finally found it.
And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say,
This is an evil generation. They seek a sign, and there shall
no sign be given it but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as
Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of Man
be unto this generation. John commenced with a warning. Remember John, Matthew 3, 10
through 12, the axe is laid to the root of the tree. That's
a warning, the judgment coming upon Israel. Peter said in Acts
2 in verse 40, to those disturbed Jews, what shall we do? Save
yourself from this untoward generation. Save yourself from the crooked
generation, both morally and corporally or politically. Speaking
now of generation, may I say a few words quickly about our
generation in the closing up. Just something for us to think
about and to consider and mull over in our mind. There are several generations.
Some of us have lived across what might be called three generations. We're so old. We're older than
dirt. And so we've seen more generations that have come and
that have gone. Let's go back and look at some
of them till our present time. We hear of the silent generation. That's as far back as I want
to go. That's my grandma and grandpa and yours, perhaps if
you're nearly as old as some of us are. I think this probably
was one of the best generation in our country. They're called
the silent But they were traditionalists in their view and in their life.
They saw the Great Depression and overcame it. A lot of them
fought in World War II. They farmed the fields. They
worked in the factory. They made the ships and such
like. And my favorite time was the
1950s. Some of you weren't even born
then, but I think it was a good time. Gas was 18 cents a gallon
when they had a war on the corner, and that was a good time. You
could go to work at a company, work there all your life, and
retire out of one place if you wanted to. They were the parents
of the baby boomer generation, as you remember, sometimes called
the me generation, born after the end of World War II. There was a population explosion
at that time in our countries. All the soldiers and husbands
returned home again from the war. Then the name Boomer and
about 1947 or so, I guess they date these. Followed by Generation
X, if you've heard of that, or the Gen Xers, which came between
the Boomers and the Millennials. Some date the Generation X from
about 1965 forward, and some have called it the Baby Bust,
because the population of birth decreased there. They were proud
to defy tradition and stand against the establishment and authority. They were portrayed as rugged,
free-thinking individualists. But in that time, things began
to deteriorate. Divorce really doubled during
that period in our history. But now we have a new one. We
have the millennial generation, those born maybe from about 1984
and forward. Some still in and some just out
of college and entering the workforce. This is the I want it, and I
want it now, and I want it free generation. That's our generation
that we have now. They won't free college. They
won't free healthcare. They won't free this, and they
won't free that. We're not surprised, therefore,
that these people supported, turned out, and voted for the
communists running for president in 2016. The communists who ran
for president. And when Trump got elected, the
millennials almost died. Did you keep up with it in the
news? Did you follow it? Colleges opened rooms for them
to go in and cry and mourn in. And they postponed their exams
because they were too upset to take a test because of what had
happened in the country and who had been elected president. Some have teased them and called
them snowflakes. And even yet, we hear of the
generation gap. And if you haven't heard of it,
when you get a teenager, you'll hear of the generation gap. You'll see the disparity between
the thinking and the worldview. From scripture, we learn that
a generation may reap the fruit of the evil that they sow." Noah's
generation was destroyed in a flood. The Jews in the wilderness were
denied entrance into the land of Canaan for their sin, and
the generation that killed Jesus did suffer greatly because their
sins were the greatest. The judgment was the greatest. They lost stewardship of the
kingdom of God. Their holy city and their temple
was utterly destroyed. Their priests were murdered,
many of them. Citizens brutally killed. Their
genealogies destroyed, which was important to a Jew. And the
Jews that did escape were scattered as the blood that their father
shed were required of that generation. Josephus, if you ever read him,
called it an exceeding sinful generation. He said if Titus
had not destroyed it, he believed that God from heaven would have
destroyed it. He wrote them up as the most
wicked generation to ever live upon the face of the earth. haven't
recovered from that judgment unto this day. It has lasted
for centuries. And what did they do? They killed
the prince of life. They crucified the Son of God. They said, we'll not have this
man to reign over us. And worse than the flood, and
worse than the exclusion out of Canaan, was cutting them off
from being the people of God and their temple squashed to
the ground. How that sight must have chilled
them to the bone. But yes, that generation and
their sins will follow them and will in many cases be executed
and visited upon that generation. Sometime I think of our generation,
ripe, ripe for the hand of God's wrath to come. May it not be,
but we deserve it.