Certainly the adults living at the time of the twelve spies being sent into the land soon after the children of Israel left Egypt were a rebellious and faithless group of people. All of them, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb were destined to die over the forty years of wilderness wandering because of their rebellions against God and lack of faith. It was this faithless group of people who had children who followed Joshua over the Jordan River and were given the Promised Land, the Land of Canaan.
Certainly the generation of adults who crossed over the Jordan River who had seen their parents die in the wilderness were not perfect and their faith was not complete, though you do not see them worshipping idols. They did, however, not completely possess the land and drive out all of its inhabitants as God commanded them (Jud 1.19-36). God had promised, He had covenanted with them to give them all of the land, He was with them, but they refused to do their part in driving the wicked people out. God charges them, “But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this” (Jud 2.2)? It may have seemed like a small thing to the people, after all they had driven out most of the Canaanites, surely it would be ok just to let them be and let them worship their own gods.
However and perhaps more importantly the generation of adults which crossed over the Jordan did not teach their children about God. God tells us when this generation had passed on with their fathers, “another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work when He had done for Israel” (Jud 2.10). As a result of their inaction, their refusal to completely do as God instructed as related to the wicked people of the land and their god, and a complete failure to “teach them (God’s laws-djm) diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut 6.6-9).
What about your children, your house, your “childrens’ children” (Pro 17.6)? It was not long before this group of adults, children of those who told Joshua they would follow God, began to play the harlot with the other gods their parents had failed to destroy did evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot God (Jud 2.17; 3.7). Parents and grandparents, ask yourself, where do I stand in helping my children and grandchildren learn the importance of faithfully and obediently following completely the Word of God? We are only one generation away from complete apostasy-falling away. We must pass the torch, the baton of faith, if it is to not be extinguished by our children.