Today's lesson comes from Joshua 24: 13-28. In the preceding verses 3-13, you can find 22 verbs that describe what God did for His people: took, led, gave, plagued, brought, destroyed, and delivered. Verses 5-7 details the deliverance from Egypt. Verses 8-10 describes the overthrow of the Amorites. Verses 11-13 recount how God defeated the enemies on the west side of the Jordan River. God's people had been blessed. They were living in cities they had not built, raising crops in land they had not cultivated and eating fruit from trees they had not planted. Joshua wants the blessings of God to continue after he is gone. He wants to renew the covenant.
The first section is: "A Challenge and Reply." (vv. 14-18) Joshua begins by saying, "Now therefore." Considering what God had done for the Israelites, shouldn't they want to choose and be obedient to God? Obedience to God should be with the whole heart, "in sincerity and truth." In addition, Joshua challenged the people to "put [turn] away [from] the gods which your fathers served." Joshua was telling them of the necessity of putting away all idols. Obedience had to be complete.
Just like the ancestors Terah and Abraham had turned away from the gods in Ur of the Chaldees, to the living LORD God, the ancestors of those who had worshipped foreign gods in Egypt needed to do the same thing. (v. 14) Though serving God was the only reasonable option, it still involved a choice. Joshua would not allow them to "halt between two opinions." Delay could be fatal. The truth is that worshipping the true LORD God is the only rational choice one can make. Joshua makes clear, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
The people responded with a strong declaration: "God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods." They provided five reasons:
1. It was God that delivered them from Egypt.
2. God performed great miracles in their sight.
3. God preserved them in the wilderness.
4. God delivered them from their enemies.
5. God had driven out the Amorites, whose land they now possess.
The summary points of this section are:
1. We must keep our hearts focused on the Lord Jesus Christ to prevent worshipping other gods.
2. God's way is narrow, but it is the only way that satisfies.
3. There will be times we have to "swim upstream" against the ungodly worldly culture we live in.
The second section is: "The Choice Contested." (vv. 19-24) In this section, Joshua begins with the purpose of having the people make a firm declaration to serve the Lord. Yet, he begins by saying, "Ye cannot serve the LORD; for He is an holy God; He is a jealous God." Joshua wanted the people to know that if they chose to serve God they had to remove sin from their lives. God would not tolerate a rival. The claims of a holy God demanded more than "lip service." As Jesus would say, "No man can serve two masters...." If the Israelites were to serve God, they had to quit the sin business.
Joshua warned the people what would happen if they should "forsake the LORD." God would not bless the people if they were living a life of sin. Just as God had removed the Canaanites from the land because of their sin, He would do the same to the Israelites if they lived an immoral and sinful life.
With the clear understanding of the requirements and the consequences of failure, the people responded, "We will serve the LORD." Four times in this section the people declared their intention to serve the LORD. (vv. 16, 18, 21, and 24) It would be vain to claim to serve God and not obey His voice (this would be Scripture today). People that violate Scripture cannot be claiming to serve the LORD. To disobey Scripture is evidence of your lack of justification and sanctification.
The summary points of this section are:
1. If you are going to serve God, you must renounce all rivals to Him.
2. You need to quit the sin business if you are going to be a follower of the LORD.
3. Always obey the Scriptures, no excuses.
The third section is: "The Choice Confirmed." (vv. 25-28) Convinced of their sincerity, Joshua "made [cut] a covenant with the people that day." It was a solid declaration that idolatry would not be tolerated in Israel. Then, he "set them a statute and an ordinance." The laws of God were ratified and agreed upon. The making of a covenant was very serious. There would be a meal, a statement of the covenant, sacrifice and mutual pledges by all parties.
Joshua wrote the words of the people and the covenant "in the book of the law of God." Moses had ordered the Levites to place the book of the Law in the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 31:26). Now, Joshua was placing the Israelite's vow to serve the Lord with the book of the Law. Joshua took another step to confirm the people's vow. He "took a great stone and set it up...by the sanctuary of the LORD." The stone was set up at Shechem. This stone would remind the people of the covenant made with God. The ceremony at Shechem was Joshua's last public act. He returned home in Timnath-sersh and lived to the age of 110.
The summary points of this section are:
1. We should periodically confirm our decision to follow the Lord.
2. Making a physical memorial can remind us of our covenant.
3. A leader should press the people they are leading to remember their promises to God.
The Golden Text is: "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth." (Joshua 24:14) I am of the opinion that we don't fer the LORD the way we should. When we consider the absolute holiness of God, it can be overwhelming, and I think it should be. John, the beloved disciple, "feel at His feet like a dead man" when he saw the vision of the Son of Man (Revelation 1:17). Isaiah the prophet exclaimed, "Woe is me, for I am undone (ruined)" when he saw the vision of God. (Isaiah 6:5) A proper fear of God begins when we consider how perfect He is and how ruined we are. That is a "good" fear.
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