The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny

by William Strauss

Exodus is, at root, the story of four generations. 1. The holy peers of Moses. As young adults, they awakened their people to the spirit of God. Rejecting worldly privilege, they defied the authority of Pharaoh’s Egypt. Later in life, they led the Hebrews on a miracle-filled journey across the Red Sea and through the wilderness to the threshold of Canaan, the Promised Land. 2. The worshipers of the Golden Calf. It was for the sins of these wanderers and “men of little faith” that God punished the Hebrews with extra trials and tribulations. They were too young to join Moses’ challenge against the Pharaoh, yet old enough to remember the enticing fleshpots of Egypt. 3. The dutiful soldier peers of Joshua. Born after the Exodus, they came of age waging victorious battles and were thereafter anointed for leadership by the patriarch Moses. As they entered Canaan (none older was allowed to do so), their unity and martial discipline enabled them to conquer the natives and bring substance to Moses’ dreams. 4. The original generation of Judges. Overshadowed by Joshua’s battles, these “inheritor” youths were reminded by the dying Joshua that they enjoyed “land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not.” Their exercise of power was marked by political fragmentation, cultural sophistication, and anxiety about the future.