As for Me

The Call to Serve

The call to serve is a because of proposition.

There are two motives for how we live our lives:

in order to

because of

Notice, what Joshua says of all that God has done for Israel.

he sanctified us- Joshua 24:1-3: “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. 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. 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.”

he seeded them- Joshua 24:3: “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.” Even against impossible odds, he gave them Isaac!

he saved them from Egypt- Joshua 24:5-6: “I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 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.”

he settled them- Joshua 24:8: “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.”

I delivered you- 10

ye went over Jordan- 11

I delivered them into your hand- 11

I drove your enemies out- 12

I have given you a land- 13

verse 14- NOW THEREFORE FEAR THE LORD AND SERVE HIM IN SINCERITY AND IN TRUTH.

It is BECAUSE OF what Christ has done that this edict is made by Joshua. BECAUSE our Savior bled and died for us…because He reached His hand down…because He tasted death for every man....because…because…because...

Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

I Timothy 4:10: “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

This Christianity that obeys God in order to receive a blessing…that casts its bread upon the water in order to get a blessing…this movement that only gives because it is seen as a wise financial investment…that gives in order to receive from God!

What difference, then, is there between a JW…a Mormon…a Catholic…a Muslim…who works, and proselytizes, and gives, and confesses, and is immersed, and is faithful IN ORDER TO receive eternal life…in order to gain a blessing from God…in order to appease God’s wrath

-OR-

because God’s wrath was satisfied on Calvary— because we ARE accepted in the Beloved— we do what we do because we love Him!!!

The Conflict and Spiritual Warfare

WILL Y0U SERVE? Fine. WHAT…RATHER…WHO WILL YOU SERVE?

the gods on the other side of the flood- these were the gods who refused to worship God exclusively

the word flood here is not the same word as used regarding Noah’s deluge. The word here speaks of the river…Euphrates.

Exodus 7:19: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams...

Nehemiah 2:7: “Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;”

Daniel 10:4: “And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;”

Obviously, God is talking about the religious life of those who grew up in the Mesopatamia…the land between the rivers, Euphrates and Tigris.

Genesis 10:15-16: “And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,”

TO THIS WORLD GAVE REVEALED HIMSELF AS ONE.

Gen. 9- the world according to God’s design- multiply and replenish the world

GEN. 10- the world under Nimrod’s- let’s come together and unify

Gen. 11- a table of nations and the family of Abram0- ends with the failure of Terah, Abram’s father

Gen. 12- ABRAM AND THE ONE, TRUE GOD.

Abram’s forefathers looked up to the sky and worshiped the moon. God said, Look up to the sky and worship the Creator— and while you are at it, count the stars which YHWH made— that’s the number of your descendents!

this nation of Israel would become famous for one thing— Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”

MONOTHEISM- only 3 monotheistic religions in the world 4,000 years later— Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

the gods of Egypt- these were the gods who refused to glorify God as sovereign over all the earth!

turns the Nile to blood- Hapi- Egyptian God of the Nile

land filled with frogs- Heket- god with the head of a frog- fertility

gnats- Geb- the god of the earth

flies- Khepri- God of creation- body of a man and head of a fly

murrain of cattle- Hathor- head of a cow- principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood.

boils and sores- Isis- goddess of medicine and wisdom

hail- Nut- goddess of the nighttime sky

locusts- wth- god of the desert, storms, of darkness and chaos

darkness over the land- Ra, the sun god

death of firstborn - Pharaoh himself

YOU ONLY WORSHIP YHWH— He is the God!

these were the gods who refused to reflect the character of God

these people wore the name of their god, Amurri. They, too, worshipped the moon and Amurru is known as the “Lord of the Mountain.” The Amorite people were from the hill country near Iran. They were mountain men who were fair skinned, blue-eyed with pointed beards. Their gods were

regional

visual- groves (Judges 3:7: “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.”)

The Choice Israel Made

Notice what they said-

He brought us up out of Egypt’

he did great signs in our sight

he preserved us in all the way wherein we went

he drove out the enemies…the Amorites...

we will serve Him!

Joshua 24:19: “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.”

He perhaps intends to represent here the suggestions of seducers, who tempted Israel from their God, and from the service of him; with such insinuations as these, that he was a hard master, his work impossible to be done, and he not to be pleased, and, if displeased, implacable and revengeful,-that he would confine their respects to himself only, and would not suffer them to show the least kindness for any other,-and that herein he was very unlike the gods of the nations, which were easy, and neither holy nor jealous. (Matthew Henry)

What do we learn about YHWH?

Jonah 4:1-2: “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”

Joshua 24:31: “And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.”

Judges 2:7-13: “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”

First Generation Pays the Price

The Second Generation Enjoys the Benefits

The Third Generation Sells the Farm

ILLUSTRATION

Exodus 32:26- Joshua had been here before—

Exodus 32:26: “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”