Choices

Joshua 24:1-2, 14-25

Choices.  We make them every day.  Often they are minor, no more significant than what to wear today or eat for breakfast.  Sometimes they are important, such as what career to go into or who to marry, perhaps even whether to follow the wrong crowd into a life of crime. In our Scripture today the people of Israel must make a most important choice.

As our passage opens, Moses’s successor, the great military and national leader, Joshua’s life is coming to an end.  He has led the people in many military battles to conquer the land the Lord has promised them. Throughout his whole life Joshua has remained faithful to Yahweh, and knowing his remaining days were few, he was concerned about the people’s faithfulness to the Lord when he’s gone.  Joshua knew the people well, having seen their unbelief and rebellion in the wilderness.

Joshua called the leaders of the people together, and told them that they needed to make a decision.  They had to make a very important and crucial choice - who or what were they going to worship? (vs 15). Were they going to worship and follow Yahweh, the true God who had revealed Himself to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Did they want to worship any of the multitude of false gods of the Egyptians where they had been slaves, or perhaps the ancient pagan gods of their ancestors prior to Abraham? (vs 14).  There were also the pagan gods of the remaining Canaanites in the land they now lived. The people must make a choice.

The time comes when we have to choose who or what will control us. The choice is ours. Will we worship God, ourself, or something else. It is a deliberate choice we make each day to follow and obey the Lord.  Every decision and action shows whether or not we will serve Him.

The people vocally proclaimed they would serve God (vs 16-18, 21). They did not keep that promise, however. Talk is cheap. We can easily say we will follow God, but it is more important to live like it. They followed God in Joshua’s lifetime, and then began to forsake Him for local gods.

What was it that drew them away from the Lord?  The Canaanites had a variety of deities, primarily Baal, Asherah, and Moloch.  Baal and Asherah were the fertility god and goddess, prayed to for abundant crops.  A good harvest is important. Several seasons of bad crops and the people could starve to death. The people easily rationalized worshipping both Yahweh and the Canaanite deities to cover every base and ensure good crops.  The same with worshipping the pagan’s god of war. Invading armies cared nothing for the lives of the vanquished, so they soon paid tribute to the Canaanite gods along with Yahweh.  When the majority of the people are praying to Baal and Asherah for a good crop during a time of drought, it is difficult to stand alone. Over the years the majority of the Hebrew people forsook the exclusive worship of Yahweh, and worshipped pagan deities with Him, many forsaking Him altogether.  This was breaking their covenant with Yahweh, as the covenant they made with Him was that they would worship and obey God alone (vs 24-26).

What has been drawing us away from the Lord?  In addition to assimilation with the Canaanites, worry or fear of having their needs met, or of war and invasion, led the Hebrews away from God.  Do our fears draw us away from depending on the Lord, and instead depend on the bank, or the government for protection? Does our love of pleasure and entertainment hijack our worship of God?  The Canaanite practice of temple prostitutes lured many after the days of Joshua.

Following God requires destroying whatever gets in the way of worshipping Him.  We can’t just hide those “gods” away. They must be completely destroyed from our heart.  We need to decide whether or not we will honor and obey Him. Flee sinful inclinations, and teach our children to worship the Lord alone.  As Joshua said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”