A Call to Service

The book of Joshua is a record of how God chose Joshua to succeed Moses as the leader of the Israelites, and the story of their entry into the promised land.

Numbers 27 (1)

King James Version Chapter 27

18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.

God describes Joshua as a man in whom is the spirit, indicating that Joshua was standing in a right relationship with the Lord. Here the Lord is instructing Moses to give Joshua a commission, a commission that indicates Joshua is to lead the people.

You will find that a recurring theme in the Book of Joshua is service, and service should be an important concept in our lives as we serve the Lord and serve each other.

God’s love, protection, and power had taken hold of the hearts of the Israelites. As a result, they served God out of devotion and love.

Points: Serviced Explained, Service Experienced, Service Expected

Service Explained

Joshua 24:1–33 (KJV 1900): And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

Now, I don’t think the selection of Shechem as a gathering place is just coincidence. You see, Shechem, about 40 miles north of present day Jerusalem, is the first place where Abraham stops after entering Canaan as recorded in Genesis Chapter 12.

And here, at this same place, in the waning years of Joshua’s leadership, Joshua is bringing the people together for the purpose of renewing their covenant with the Lord.

Reminder of history

First off, in order to encourage and inspire the Israelites for further service, Joshua brings the word of the Lord in recounting the history of what the Lord had done for Israel.

2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

God relates how He lead Abraham, even though Abraham’s father worshiped false gods.

3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.

6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.

7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.

8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:

10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.

12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

Hornet: H6880 sir’a. Some biblical scholars believe this means literal hornets while other feel is better translated as “terror” the Cannanites felt as they knew the Israelites, in the strength of the one true God was decending upon them. In either case, it makes clear the awesome power of God.

13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not, do ye eat.

14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

Verse 14 says “therefore” fear the Lord. After everything the Lord has done for His people, He expects them to serve Him in sincerity and truth.

The Lord challenges them to continue forward in serving Him and win the victory.

The Lord has blessed His people. He has delivered them through various trials and tribulations. He has given them victories over people stronger and more numerous than themselves, and now He has placed them in a fruitful land which they did not have to work for.

The Lord delivers this history lesson to the Israelites to remind them that He has been faithful to them as He has shepherded them in this journey.

Service Experienced

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Here the Israelites are presented with a choice. Serve the Lord, or serve those other gods. Notice here that not serving is not an option, because that is our nature, we will be serving someone or something.

The choice sounds simple enough doesn’t it. If each of us are presented with a choice, serve the one true God or serve some other god, we are going to choose the one true God, right?

Sure each of us would quickly say that we choose the one true God. But in practice, do we really do that?

You know, it’s really pretty easy to determine if we worship the one true God. It is evident in our activities, our bank account. It is evident in the music that is contained in our play list. It is evident in the books on our bookshelves, or perhaps the books not on our bookshelves, but in the books and magazines that are hidden away in a drawer somewhere.

I want you to envision for a moment your own living room. Are all the chairs and couches arraigned to have the best view of where the television is. Does the place where the television sits almost look like some sort of alter in the arraignment of the room.

I say this not to imply that you worship the television, that this form of entertainment has become your idol, but merely as a warning sign of how quickly the things of this world can take priority in our lives. And yes, the furniture in my very own living room is arraigned in just such a fashion as I have described.

If someone was auditing your bank account, what evidence might they find there as to what you worship? I know these days that a lot of our money goes toward food and rent and mortgage payments, and school supplies or tuition if you have youngsters in your household, but what about those extra funds that you have? I think you can find the truest measure of what is important in a person's life when you look at where they spend their money and how they spend their time.

Or look at it from another perspective. If you we under investigation for being a Christian, a follower of Christ, would the investigators find enough evidence to convict you in a court of law?

Choose this day who you will serve. It is a choice that we make on a daily basis.

16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.

It is interesting that here the people are repeating the very things that Joshua has just told them. Perhaps that little reminder stirred their memory of what God had done for them.

19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

Joshua give them a stern warning of the consequences of not following and serving the Lord.

21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.

22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

The Israelites responded to this challenge by re-dedicating themselves to God. They realized God had led them and given them the victory, and they were willing to move forward in service to Him.

Likewise, we must realize that we are led to victory by the sacrifice that was made on the cross to deliver us from this body of sin. And we are also provided with power through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, that has been sent to us.

But be warned, we can overcome that indwelling Spirit, we can choose, this day, to serve other god’s. God have given us that free will. God is not going to stop us from following the wrong path. We have to take an active part if we are going to preserve our relationship with Him. Like Joshua, we sometimes have to renew our covenant with Him. That is why we sometimes need a revival. We have to revisit our history, we have to make the choice. We must decide, this day, and every day, whom we will serve.

Service Expected

23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.

Joshua’s demand to the people to put away those strange gods is eerily reminiscent of Jacob’s demand to his household made several hundred years earlier. (2)

Genesis 35:2–4 KJV 1900

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

Joshua states here that he expects his people to serve the Lord. This is Joshua’s last address to his people, he will soon die, but his main concern is that they continue to follow, and serve, the one true God.

Example of Paul (3)

Paul did something similar with the Ephesian church. Instead of reminding them of the trials they had been delivered from, he reminded them of the gift of their salvation:

King James Version (Chapter 2)

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

King James Version Chapter 2

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Here is Paul talking about the service that we owe to God because of what He has done for us.

Conclusion

For the children of Israel and for Christians today, the walk into the Promised Land is accomplished by the power of God. He desires to move us out of the wilderness and into the place of blessing. As a result, we move in service to Him.

If we are to accomplish the service which God expects, we must be willing to surrender our lives completely to Him. Jesus offers Himself as our source of power and strength. In our own power we try and fail. If, however, we use His power, forsake the things of the world that distract and weaken us, and walk hand in hand with Jesus, then victory is ours as we accomplish our divinely appointed task.