Friday August 02
Serving From Love and Devotion
Joshua 24:19-28
19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good." 21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!" 22 So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!"
23 "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel." 24 And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!" 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God." 28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.
In Joshua 24, Joshua is about to die, and he is challenging the people to make a decision to serve the LORD and Him only. He proclaims that no matter what everyone else does, he and his house will serve the LORD (v. 15). The people responded by also saying, “We will serve the LORD; for He is our God” (v. 18). But Joshua knew it is easy for the people to say something and yet not really have the love, the devotion, and the heart to follow through on their commitment.
That is why he replies with this strange verse: “But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins” (v. 19). Joshua
probably remembered when the former generation had met the Lord at Mount Sinai, they had said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8). But a few weeks later, they were worshiping a golden calf! Joshua knew that it was easy for the people to promise obedience to the Lord, but it was quite something else for them to actually do it. His stern words in Joshua 24:19 were meant to curb their overconfidence and make them look honestly into their own hearts
In the Old Testament, Israel is pictured as being "married" to Jehovah, and He would not tolerate any rivals in their hearts. He is a jealous God (Ex. 20:5) and a holy God, and He could never permit them to be divided in their loyalty. Just as a husband and wife are faithful to their marriage vows and jealously guard their mate's affection, so Israel and the Lord had to be faithful to each other.
Joshua warned them what would happen if they didn't get rid of their idols: They would eventually forsake the Lord, and then He would have to chasten them. They would lose all the blessings He had so graciously given them in the Promised Land. Their great need was to cleanse their hearts of allegiance to other gods and to incline their hearts only to the Lord (Josh. 24:23). If they persisted in their hidden disloyalty, God would not forgive them (Ex. 23:21) but would punish them for their sins.
At least three times in this passage the people affirmed their desire to serve only the Lord (Josh. 24:16-18, 21, 24), and Joshua took them at their word. So that they wouldn't forget this solemn covenant with Jehovah, Joshua wrote it in the Book of the Law and then set up a large stone as a perpetual witness to their agreement.
This is the ninth and last memorial mentioned in the Book of Joshua. There's certainly nothing unbiblical about God's people memorializing a wonderful event or a sacred decision, so long as the memorial doesn't become the focus of idolatrous worship. It's good to remember what the Lord did and how we responded, but we must never live in the past. Religious traditions can be helpful or hurtful, depending on how we use them.
In the Epistle of 1 John, the Apostle John gives three tests for sonship and fellowship with the LORD. The tests of truth, obedience and love. But then he finishes the book with a warning: “My little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). An idol is anything that comes between us and our love and devotion to the LORD!
Has anything come between you and your love for Jesus? True service comes from a heart of love and devotion!
God bless!
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