Choose Whom You Will Serve
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
Joshua’s closing challenge to the people of Israel is the most popular quote in his story. You may have seen it on a plaque or even have it hanging on a wall in your home. It’s a message of deliberate intent! Despite what anyone else may do or what was culturally acceptable, Joshua drove a stake in the ground for his life and the lives of those in his family with this declaration of faith – “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Have you made such a decision in your own life and for those you love in your family? This is the mark of spiritual leadership. Why would Joshua make such a statement now? What prompted him to challenge the nation in such a way? You gain a better understanding when you read Joshua’s statement in the context of the final two chapters. In Joshua 23:1-2; 14 (NIV) the Bible says, “After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges, and officials—and said to them: ‘I am very old. … Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.’”
In chapters 23 and 24 Joshua gives his final address to the leaders and people of Israel. He had been with Israel a long time, as far back as the Exodus from Egypt. He had served Moses as his assistant through 40 years in the wilderness. He and Caleb were the only two to survive that generation and enter Canaan. Joshua knew firsthand the fickle nature of his nation. He knew how easily they could drift in their commitment to God. In verses 14 to 16, he warns them, “But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so He will bring on you all the evil things He has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land He has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.”
Joshua loved his people. He wanted them to succeed in conquering the remaining land that had been given to each tribe. He had successfully led the nation in the conquest of Canaan. In the first half of his book, they were victorious in three strategic campaigns over a seven-year period conquering 31 Kings in all to possess the land God had promised them! The second half records the distribution of the land among the 12 tribes as they established themselves. There was still land that needed to be claimed by each tribe. So before he dies, Joshua confronts them with the challenge to make a choice. Choose whom you will serve. Do it today! Will it be the gods your forefathers served or the gods in the land you now live?
Someone has said that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything! Joshua was concerned that after his death, Israel would waffle and begin to serve false gods incurring the promise of God’s judgment against them. In fact, the word serve is used fifteen times in his final address to the nation. What does it mean to serve God? I love the way Pastor Warren Wiersbe puts it, “To serve God means to fear Him, obey Him, and worship only Him. It means to love Him and fix your heart upon Him, obeying Him because you want to and not because you have to.”
Joshua calls the nation to make a decision. He drew a line in the sand that day. There could be no middle ground. To decide to serve God, they would have to get rid of all their false gods that some had secretly been collecting and worshipping. Joshua knew that every one of them would worship something or someone. That is simply the nature of man. If they didn’t serve God, they would end up serving their own interests and worshipping the false gods of the nations in Canaan. The point was that they could not do both!
Being the leader he was, Joshua modeled his own decision before them. He desired for them to possess all the promises that God had given them and conquer all the land He promised them. Dr. J. Vernon McGee pointed out that “God gave Israel 300,000 square miles and the most they ever claimed was 30,000 square miles. They did not do very well, did they? They took possession of about 10% of what God had given. That is about the same amount of spiritual possessions claimed by believers today.”
There is so much more that God has promised you and me than what we have ever claimed. If we are to experience the abundant life that Jesus offers, we must make our choice as well. Talk is cheap. It is easy to say we will follow God, but it is much more important to live like it. Have you put away anything that gets in your way of serving God and worshipping Him alone? We cannot do both. It’s time to decide today. Choose whom you will serve.