“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!”
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
“Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;” “And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Josh 24 “Choice” suggests the opportunity and privilege of choosing freely. We face decisions every day. We must make choices based on what we know to be right (Word of God) or be influenced by others. Whatever choice we make we will have to live with it. If it is a bad choice, there are consequences! We must repent and make the right choice, The “choice” to serve God!
Joshua challenges the Israelites “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” It would mean a commitment to God, not a compromise. They needed to confess Him, acknowledging all that He had done for them. If they chose to serve God they would be blessed and if they chose not to serve Him there would be terrible consequences. They choose to serve God. What helped them make the right choice?
First, Joshua, shared with them and declared that no matter what they decided, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” A leader will have either a good influence or a bad influence. Joshua told them to choose for themselves. They needed to decide whom they would serve. Will it be “the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, , in whose land you dwell.” Would it be the God who had delivered them from bondage, protected and preserved them?
Would they allow outside prejudices toward God influence them against service to Him? Would they be willing to “put away their gods” that some loved and offered sacrifices to. Would they have the courage to stand firm and not be influenced by non-believers or by those who professed God, but did not live for Him?
They said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.” They called to remembrance “for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.” They made their choice to serve the Living God!
Did all of them make that choice? I am afraid there are those who live upon the “fence of neutrality” wanting the benefits of both sides. You cannot please God on the fence! Who is on the fence? It is members of the Church, who have been saved, but choose to be influenced by the world and allow the world to overrule what they know is the right choice. Then there are those who are not true believers, but only there in the Church to mislead the Believers. They too will influence you! Today, we have many who profess Christ, but like to hide away and worship their strange gods (old lifestyle of sin). What would be the blessing and cursing of their choice? Joshua reminded them that they could not serve God of Heaven and the gods of Egypt. Disobedience brings discipline!
What choice have you made? Are you serving the Lord? Are you on the fence of neutrality? Jump off! Are you being influenced by the wrong people? Don’t listen!
Christian, whom will you choose this day? God loves you, has delivered you from the bondage of sin, protects you from the evil one, and is preserving you. Say, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.”
Lightly! Make the decision to serve God, stand by it no matter what.
Are you sacrificing to the gods of the old life, remember the Lord, repent! Choosing to serve God!
