Joshua had seen a lot. He’d witnessed the mighty hand of God deliver Israel from Egypt, grant these former slaves victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17.9-13) and fulfill every promise He’d made (Joshua 21.43-45). Joshua had been on the mountain with Moses when he received the Law (Exodus 24.13) and had been chosen as the next leader of the people (Numbers 27.18-22). But Joshua had also seen the lows of Israel rejecting her God: the golden calf (Exodus 32.17), refusal to take the land (Numbers 13-14) and the death of the exodus generation in the wilderness (Numbers 26.65). Joshua had seen a lot.
Joshua was now “old and well advanced in years” (Joshua 23.1) and knew there was still work to be done and that the success of that work depended on the people faithfully following the Lord (Joshua 23.4-16). Thus, a choice had to be made…
Joshua 24:14–15 (ESV)
14 “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. 15 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.”
In our study we have noted how idolatry remains our problem and considered how Jehovah is superior to every god. But it’s not enough to know these truths; we are faced with the same choice as Israel.
Seems Like An Obvious Choice.
When we examine Joshua 24 it would seem like an obvious choice for Israel to serve the Lord.
- Jehovah had blessed Israel’s ancestors in ways their gods had not (vss. 2-4).
- Jehovah had proven stronger than the gods of Egypt (vss. 5-7).
- Jehovah had given His people the land of Canaan, and the gods of the land had been unable to stop Him (vss. 8-13).
Likewise, choosing to serve the Lord should be an obvious choice for us. Yes, He calls on us to “put away” all harmful attitudes and “long for” the pure milk of His word, but we should make that choice because we “have tasted that the Lord is good” (1Peter 2.1-3). Yes, we are called to pure as He is pure, but that choice should be easy considering the great love He has bestowed on us (1John 3.1-3). And while we are called to walk the narrow and difficult way, the choice should be easy since it is the path that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7.13-14).
Yet, Serving The Lord Is Disagreeable To Many.
“If it is disagreeable” (NASB, “evil” in the ESV) is a striking opening to Joshua 24.15. Yet, the phrase is fitting because man has often found serving the Lord to be disagreeable. Why? Consider Joshua’s challenge issued in Joshua 24.14: “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.”
The call to “fear the Lord” isn’t a new commandment, but a covenant requirement (see Deuteronomy 4.10; 6.2,13,24). A consideration of the Lord’s blessings should prompt this godly fear (see Psalm 130.4). Furthermore, we are to “serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.” Israel had been slaves in Egypt, but the LORD instructed Pharoah to let His people go that they may “serve” Him (see Exodus 7.16; 8.1,20; 9.1,13; 10.3,8). Now, Joshua was calling on the people to follow through on the Lord’s purpose for them… to serve Him and nothing else!
We’ve maintained throughout this series that the chief idol in competition with Jehovah is ourselves. All the things that vie for our affection (pleasures, successes, viewpoints, etc.) gratify ourselves. Thus, we can find it disagreeable to serve Him because doing so requires us to…
- Fear Him (2Cor. 7.1). And if I fear Him, I recognize that His will is supreme, not my own.
- Serve Him with all sincerity and truth; i.e. wholly give ourselves to Him (Romans 12.1-2).
Finally, serving the Lord is disagreeable to many because He demands our sole allegiance. For Israel to serve the Lord, they must “Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord” (Joshua 24.14). But Joshua knew that the people would find it hard to resist other gods (vs. 20) and that they had not yet put away their foreign gods (vs. 23). Serving the Lord remains disagreeable, because to serve Him requires me to deny every other god… including myself (Luke 9.23).
The Choice Must Be Made Today And Everyday.
Joshua mentioned three categories of gods (Joshua 24.14):
- Their ancestral gods, the gods of their forefathers beyond the River (cf. vs. 2)
- The gods of their recent history, the gods of Egypt.
- The gods where they were going, the gods of the Amorites.
The point? Some gods, like the gods of the Egyptians, might have lost their appeal to the Israelites. But others, like the gods of Canaan, would still be appealing. Israel might choose one day to not worship other gods, but there would always be other gods vying for their affection. They must choose whom they would serve everyday.
There are idols in our past that have lost their appeal; we’ve chosen to no longer serve them. However, there will always be new idols on the horizon and so we must choose every day to only serve the Lord. For most of us, pleasure was the first idol in our lives. We chose to serve our various lusts rather than the Lord. Hopefully, by God’s grace, we’re now resisting those temptations; we’ve chosen to serve Jehovah rather than gratify the lusts of our flesh. But other idols appeared to take their place. Success, not lust, became the dominant attraction, or we became consumed by viewpoint. The choice to forsake our idols and serve the Lord must be made today and everyday.
Make The Right Choice For You And Your Family, Regardless Of What Others Choose.
Joshua suspected that the people would not always choose to serve the Lord (Joshua 24.19). Tragically, he was proven correct (Judges 2.10-13). But Joshua could not make the choice for all of Israel; he could only make the choice for himself and for those he had influence over: “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24.15).
The choice to serve the Lord is one you must make and does not depend on whom others choose to serve. Fact is, your classmates and coworkers have probably chosen to serve something other than Jehovah. Your neighbors may not fear the Lord. Members of your family may have turned their back on our Father. Even brothers and sisters in the Lord may choose to no longer walk in His paths. While we may seek to influence and teach all of these, to help them see the importance of choosing to follow God, we cannot choose for them. But we can choose for ourselves!
““If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”” (Joshua 24:15, NASB95)
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