Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God."
Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you."
But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the Lord."
Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord."
“Yes, we are witnesses," they replied.
"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel."
And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and obey him."
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.
"See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God."
Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
Joshua 24:16-33
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As the Book of Joshua ends, it does so with the passing of Joshua. As leaders of Israel go, Joshua was about as good as they got, staying obedient and faithful to the Lord’s service while not only guiding Israel into Canaan but seeing them through the conquest of the land…a land that was their inheritance from God.
It was this God that Joshua spent his final moments exhorting and urging Israel to do likewise. You’ll recall how Joshua told Israel at the start of this chapter that they had a choice to make. They could decide to follow God or choose to follow any of a number of false gods. Indeed, they could choose to follow who they wanted to but Joshua left no doubt before his people as to who he was going to follow. For you’ll recall he said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (verse 15)
Feeling challenged and maybe a bit obligated to openly confess their loyalty to God, we read where the Israelites told Joshua, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God."
Joshua knew Israel’s ways all too well. This wouldn’t have been the first time they said they would do something only to just turn around and not make good on their word. So Joshua tested them with his reply saying, "You are not able to serve the Lord.” In other words, you haven’t shown the consistent ability to follow God’s will and way, remaining obedient to His desires over your own.
I can’t help but wonder if Joshua’s words don’t resonate with many believers today as well. How often do we say we will serve God and follow His ways only to turn around and serve our own selfish desires instead? Sometimes I think God must just look down on us and shake His head in frustration and disappointment.
For God deserves better from us. In fact, God gives us His best so why is it so hard to give Him anything less than ours? Joshua’s further words tell Israel and us why God why God should be respected, revered and followed unconditionally. For God, Joshua say is a holy and jealous God. He commanded us to serve Him and Him alone. And He has shown He will not tolerate insubordination on our part, refusing to overlook rebellion and sins. When Israel forsake God by worshipping foreign gods, they saw disaster fall upon them. We shouldn’t expect to be any less disciplined by our Heavenly Father today if we so choose to go the same path that Israel too often chose…the path of destruction through willing sinful behavior.
Well, the people of Israel did not allow Joshua’s testing to deter them. They replied with certainty, “No! We will serve the Lord." And so Joshua, knowing he wouldn’t be around to remind them of what they had said on that day made all of Israel witnesses against themselves…witnesses to their promise to serve the Lord and the Lord alone. He then left them with a final challenge to “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel."
Yield your hearts to the Lord. Awesome powerful words spoken by Joshua to Israel and to us. For isn’t this really where the rubber meets the road in regard to faithful, obedient service?
Friends, the only way we can truly serve God fully in accordance with His will for us, is if we surrender our hearts to Him and not just some of our heart but all of it. After all, isn’t this at the center of the greatest commandment…the one given by Jesus when He was asked about it during His ministry? Remember what He said?
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30
In other words, love Him with all that you are…just as He loves you with all that He is.
Joshua died knowing he was committed fully to God as was his household. How about you? Where do you stand? Have you fully yielded your heart to the Lord? Do you love Him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength?
My prayer is that we all might renew our covenant with God this very day and commit to Him everything that we are. And when we do so, my hope is that we will exclaim the same words of Israel…"We will serve the Lord our God and obey him”…only in our case, really carry them out. God expects nothing less. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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