Choose To Serve, Joshua 24:15
Life is full of choices. From the moment we wake up in the morning we start making choices about our day. The first decision for many is whether or not we will actually get up with our alarm clock or choose to sleep in. Once up we begin making decisions about what we will have for breakfast, what we will wear, how much creamer to put in our coffee . . . Most of the decisions we make are not life altering.
In today’s passage Joshua is challenging the people of Israel to make a decision. Joshua 24:15 reads: 15 “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” This is a life altering decision. Joshua is asking them to leave behind their foreign gods and serve God with their whole heart. The people respond wholeheartedly saying they will worship the God of Israel. Joshua knows their hearts and that their enthusiasm is overshadowed by divided loyalty. He recounts how God has been faithful to them throughout their history. The phrase “serve God with all faithfulness” literally means to serve with integrity and truth. Throughout Israel’s history they have not been able to completely commit to God. From their ancestors to those standing in front of Joshua that today there had always been divided loyalty. Even after hearing them reaffirm their commitment, Joshua charges them to throw away their foreign gods. They were stating how committed they were to God while they had foreign idols in their tents. Our God is a jealous God and will not accept divided worship. No matter what the people decided Joshua was going to lead the way by stating “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” What decision are you going to make today?
Question of the week: Who was Joshua?
Answer: Joshua is best known as Moses’ second in command who takes over and leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death. Joshua is considered one of the Bible’s greatest military leaders for leading the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land, and is often held up as a model for leadership and a source of practical application on how to be an effective leader.
