Choose Today

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

CHOOSE TODAY

Josh 24:5-15

5 "'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.   7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time. 8 "'I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand. 11 "'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you — also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.' 14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

NIV

Josuha recounts for the people all the LORD did for them from bringing them out of Egypt, wandering in the desert, and then taking possession of the land. However, there still must have been some problem that Joshua was concerned about within the tribes of Israel, because of his warning. First, He told them to fear the LORD and serve with all faithfulness. Then to throw away the gods their forefathers served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the LORD. Were they still carrying those gods around with them, and looking to them, especially after all they saw the LORD did for them? Joshua gives them a choice, telling them that if serving the LORD seems undesirable to them then choose this day, either the gods of their forefathers or the LORD. Everyone must make the same choice in life: to serve some god or the LORD. Joshua made that declaration, which is now one of the famous verses in the scriptures. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” That is not only our statement of faith, but it is the singular purpose of our lives, to make it clear that we have chosen to serve the LORD. In making that profession, we also have chosen to throw away and cast those other things that we have made into gods for ourselves. When we consider what some of those gods could be, we think we should start off with ourselves. Serving ourselves may look different for each of us, but it could include having the desire for success, in a sense, fame, and fortune. Serving ourselves could also include any of our own goals or aspirations or our own plans for our lives. Serving self may also include pride and all those feelings of thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We have been told by Jesus that we cannot serve two masters, that we would hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. Jesus told us that we cannot serve both God and money, which represents all the materialism of this world. Jesus continues to tell us all about the power of the LORD God Almighty regarding his creation and that we are not to worry about our lives, that is serve ourselves but to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. We cannot ride the fence, or properly live with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God. Trying to do that would divide our hearts and how can we have life if our heart is split in two. Jesus also promised that by seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness, all the stuff the pagans, or the world, chase after will simply be added to us by the hand of God, so that we should not worry about tomorrow, meaning our future. We cannot control our tomorrows, but we can control ourselves, we can choose who we will serve, and as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.