"JOSHUA 24:14-15"

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Joshua 24:2–3 “And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.”

Joshua 24:5–7 “And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out. “ ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time.”

Joshua 24:9–10 “Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.”

Joshua 24:11 “And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.”

Joshua 24:13 “I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’”

Joshua 24:14–15 ““Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””

>>>7x the word “serve”/“served” is used in these two verses. It is the biggest emphasis of the passage.

YOU WILL SERVE SOMETHING.

>>>The word “serve” is to do or work for someone or something. It carries the idea of devotion.

*All of us will devote ourselves to something.

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Joshua 24:14 ““Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

>>>Joshua makes the case for the people of Israel to serve the LORD.

*He does this through recanting all that the LORD did for Israel (Abraham-Exodus/Red Sea-Balaam-Jericho-Land of Canaan)

*God had shown Himself to be the One Who is to be feared/served.

>>>Joshua tells the people to fear (honor) God and serve (do work for/be devoted to) Him in sincerity and faithfulness.

*“sincerity” means “blameless” or “integrity”.

*“faithfulness” means “constancy”/ “absolute”

*Serving God is a pure and blameless service -completely/constantly/absolutely devoted to Him.

>>>In order to serve God, the people of Israel must “put away” (“remove”) the false gods that were served by their ancestors-those beyond the Euphrates River (Abraham’s time) and those that were in Egypt (slaves’ time)

*Serving “GOD” means removing “gods”. To be completely devoted to God requires the removal of what is not of Him-a complete change of life.

*This is the call of Joshua to the people.

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Joshua 24:15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””

>>>Joshua implored the people to serve God, but here he gives “the out”. He said if it was evil in the people’s eyes to serve God, then make the choice of serving the gods of their ancestors or the gods of the land where they currently dwell.

*“evil” means displeasing. The people of Israel may find no pleasure in serving God.

*Why would anyone find it “evil” or “displeasing” to serve God?

>>>Each generation of Israel was met with the choice of whether or not they would serve Yahweh.

*They would serve the One True God or some other god. Either way, they will serve something.

>>>For Joshua, not only would He serve God but would lead his family in doing the same.

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Hebrews 3:7–8 “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,”