Joshua gathers Israel for his final words to them. He is now 110 years old and about to die, so he renews Israel’s covenant with God, and erects a stone as a monument/reminder to the covenant and law.
” ‘Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt… and who did those great signs… Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’ ” (v14-18 abr)
Joshua who has served God faithfully his whole life, encourages Israel to do the same. He also wisely notes that every person must choose for themselves who they will serve – God, or a false god. Those are really the only two options. Jesus, in one of His “proverbs”, agrees with this view: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ______.” (Mt 6:24, see also Lk 16:13)
Jesus fills in the blank with “money/wealth”, but realistically it could be anything that takes the place of God in our lives. It could be power, career, kids, a car, significant other, a pet, video games, etc. Anything that receives more of our resources than God does is a false god.
Yet, we know it is possible to serve God wholeheartedly, without loving anything in our lives more than we love Him: “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.” (v31)
My encouragement and challenge for today is to keep running the race, and never give up living like Jesus (spiritually and emotionally living like Him, not physically walking around in robes and sandals [though if you want to…]). Remember, we now have the indwelling Holy Spirit which makes being Christlike even more accessible to us. Let’s have this be one of our guiding principles: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. (v15b)
Father God, Almighty Lord of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, great and powerful are Your deeds and words. You have freed us from captivity and slavery, You make our enemies flee before us, and You restore us to right relationship with You. Thank You for providing many examples throughout scripture of how we can honor You. Thank You as well for the accounts of Jesus who walks in our shoes yet remains perfectly in Your service. Please guide us through Your spirit to remain steadfast in our obedience to You. May You alone be glorified through our actions and words, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training