Joshua 24:14-21
14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 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. 18 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.”
19 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. 20 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.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
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Here the Deal
Before he died, Joshua challenged the Israelites to turn from their idols and love God alone. This farewell address was more like a pep talk than a goodbye. He tries to get them pumped up and energized for serving God and God alone. Doesn’t it seem strange to think that the Israelites struggled with worshiping other gods after all that they had seen God do for them?
Do you ever act like the Israelites? The answer is most undoubtedly yes – we all do. We have all at some time in our lives forgotten what all God has done for us. Or we have pushed it to the back of our mind for a time. There is a point in our lives when God is not the complete focus of our lives. We are just like the Israelites. But we must never forget everything that God has done for us. Every time He has rescued us. Every time He has comforted us, or given us peace and joy.
One thing we have in common, God sent Jesus to die in our place to pay for our sin and offer us a relationship with Him and entry into eternal life in Heaven. What more could He do? God gave us the best of His love. And I am sure that if all 568 members today were to post a story of what God has done for them personally, we would have 568 unique and amazing stories of His love and His forgiveness, and His power and wisdom. But with all of this, unfaithfulness still finds a way to creep into our lives. It creeps in when we turn our backs on Him by giving other things in our lives priority over God and our relationship with Him.
Don’t allow today to end without taking a reflective journey of your own faith and commitment to God. God has proven Himself to be faithful over and over. Can you truthfully say what the Israelites told Joshua, “We will worship the Lord”?
