Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Joshua 23, 24 - Episode 128

We all must choose whether we will serve God or not. If we choose Him, then we must be faithful. He loves us, and He asks for our love in return. We should not take His benefits while flirting with the things of this world. He will let us turn to them. But if we do, we’ll reap what they hold instead of His blessings. We can’t have both, and we can’t remain neutral. We either choose to commit ourselves to Him, or we don’t.

Resist other gods - Joshua 23:1-16

Joshua had been resting in the land for 10-15 years and knew it would not be long before he died. So, he gathered the Israelites for one last word. First, he reminded them how God had fought to give them this inheritance. Then, Joshua encouraged them to continue relying on the Lord to drive the other nations from their land altogether. Since some were still living there with them, the Israelites would need to be very careful not to be influenced towards their gods before they could remove these people from the land entirely. God had commanded them not to intermarry with these people or associate with their gods in any way. They would need to be strong and purposeful. Otherwise, they could easily fall into the practices of these other nations. To guard against this, they should hold tightly to God and remember His power and favor towards them. Staying mindful of everything God had done for them would help them continue to rely on Him and walk in His ways.

But if they did not love God and obey these commands, instead of continuing to help them rid the land of these other nations, He would allow them to remain. By joining with them, they would be signaling to Him that they no longer wanted to rid these people from their land. So, God would stop helping them push them out and let them become a snare and a trap for His people, as He had warned. Instead of helping them defeat the other nations, He would allow them to disobey, and would not rescue them from the consequences of those actions. If they chose to befriend the people instead of driving them from the land, God would eventually drive them from the land themselves. The Lord had given them this Promised Land, but keeping it was up to them. If they resisted the other gods and continued to follow the One, True God, they would live peacefully and happily in the land. But they would lose their inheritance if they did not resist the gods of the people living among them.  

The History of Israel- Joshua 24:1-13

Joshua also reminded the people of their history as a nation. It all began with Abraham. His ancestors had worshipped other gods, but God had called him to Himself. The Lord brought him from the other side of the Euphrates River to the land of Canaan. Joshua spoke with them in Shechem, where God first told Abraham he would give his descendants the land. Then, the Lord blessed Abraham and made him into this great nation of people. His son Isaac had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Esau inherited the hill country of Seir. Jacob bought land in Shechem but was driven from it because of the sin of his sons. So, he lived in Bethel until a famine caused him to move with his family to Egypt. They eventually became slaves there, and God sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them. The Lord plagued the Egyptians, and they drove the Israelites from their land. But they changed their mind and pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea. So, they cried out to God, and He put darkness between the two nations and caused the Sea to split so the Israelites could cross it on dry ground. When they had safely crossed, God drowned the Egyptians.

 The Israelites lived in the wilderness for forty years. Then, God brought them to the Amorite’s land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. They attacked, and God defeated them and gave their land to Israel. Then Balak, the king of Moab, fought against Israel. He even brought Balaam to curse God’s people. But the Lord did not listen to him and caused him to bless the Israelites instead. Then, God brought the Israelites across the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. Beginning with Jericho, one by one, the Israelites defeated the nations living in the land. God sent the hornet to drive them from the land. It was not their army that ultimately defeated them. No one is certain if this was a metaphorical hornet, an actual hornet, or something that just sent them running. I tend to believe it just means that God chased them out. He went behind them, causing them to run and attack, giving victory to His people. Whatever it was, God drove them away and gave the Israelites land they hadn’t worked, cities they hadn’t built, vineyards and orchards they didn’t plant. They inherited an abundant land. Deut. 6:10-25