Make Your Choice
Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River (Bible translations and commentaries agree that this refers to the Euphrates river, after all, that is where Abraham was born), in old times; and they served other gods.
Joshua was not disturbed by the idea that their forefathers had served other gods. Those who lived before Abram had never even heard of Jehovah. Neither did Joshua try to minimize the idea that they were real gods, by saying something like, after all, they were just idols. The early ancestors of the Bible had no hang-ups about being polytheists. Polytheism is simply the way it is.
Joshua was not disturbed by the idea that their forefathers had served other gods. Those who lived before Abram had never even heard of Jehovah. Neither did Joshua try to minimize the idea that they were real gods, by saying something like, after all, they were just idols. The early ancestors of the Bible had no hang-ups about being polytheists. Polytheism is simply the way it is.
For more about this teaching see:
http://wwwthinkagai.blogspot.com/2012/05/many-gods-in-old-testament.html
Then I (Jehovah) took your father Abraham from the other side of the River. Joshua 24:2-3. Joshua gives a heartwarming speech about all the wonderful things that Jehovah had done for Abraham and his descendants all the way down to the conquering of the Promised Land.
Joshua closes with these words, Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River.
You must decide, who will be your God. You cannot serve the gods of your ancient forefathers' and Jehovah; or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; you cannot serve the gods your neighbours are serving and Jehovah.
Let the Church listen well to that advice.
You must decide, who will be your God. You cannot serve the gods of your ancient forefathers' and Jehovah; or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; you cannot serve the gods your neighbours are serving and Jehovah.
Let the Church listen well to that advice.
Joshua then gave the "altar call". This brings the message real close to home, doesn't it? You cannot indulge in the sinful practices your non-Christian neighbours enjoy and serve Jehovah. Joshua and Christ could have shared the podium; they both taught the same message.
After laying the choice on the line and making the message clear, he gave them his decision, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So the people answered and said: Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Joshua 24:14-16.
Here Joshua used some, good, old fashioned, reverse psychology. He said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God." Take a look at yourself;
- remember the way you complained in the wilderness;
- remember your insurrection against Moses;
- remember the fiasco in the battle at Ai, because of the sins of some soldiers.
The people's hearts had been stirred, they had come to a decision, so the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!” 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!” Joshua 24:19-25. They as much as said, if we ever turn our backs on Jehovah He has every legitimate right to punish us and forsake us because we have promised Him that we will always be true to Him.
Don't Neglect Your Promises
Then only fifty-five Bible verses later we have these sad words, Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them. Judges 2:11-13.
They had not eradicated the temptations and now they fell prey to them. In our day we might say, they drank at the same bars; they caroused with their neighbours; they watched the same blasphemous TV shows; they also did not hold their wedding vows sacred.
They had not eradicated the temptations and now they fell prey to them. In our day we might say, they drank at the same bars; they caroused with their neighbours; they watched the same blasphemous TV shows; they also did not hold their wedding vows sacred.
Here is an example of how that goes: The youth pastor in a church was speaking to the young people about keeping their bodies pure and healthy. This would certainly include giving up smoking because it is so unhealthy. He must have been a good speaker; a number of young people came forward, gave up their cigarettes with a vow to the Lord that they would never smoke again. In the afternoon when the cravings set in, the promises of some of them went up in smoke.
Whether it is smoking or some other problem we have I am sure that most of us can relate to the situation. We decide never to do something again but that resolve is only good until that temptation comes along again.
Is it possible that in any stage of our life, each of us, has one particular weakness? Hebrews 12:1 puts that idea this way, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us. In almost all translations of the Bible, the word, sin, is in the singular. In the Greek text, it is, the most besetting sin. Perhaps, as we have matured, many sinful practices have been put behind us. Still, for each of us, there is that one "thing" we know we need to overcome.
Is it possible that in any stage of our life, each of us, has one particular weakness? Hebrews 12:1 puts that idea this way, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us. In almost all translations of the Bible, the word, sin, is in the singular. In the Greek text, it is, the most besetting sin. Perhaps, as we have matured, many sinful practices have been put behind us. Still, for each of us, there is that one "thing" we know we need to overcome.
Here are some words of advice from Solomon, who was known for being the wisest of men. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Ecc. 5:4-5. In other words, don't play games with Jehovah!
Joshua had warned them: if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you. The Israelites had vowed and they broke their vows and their history tells us the results of shrugging off their vows and following lesser gods.
We can easily see North America following in those footsteps to destruction. The motto, "In God we trust", sounds so pious, and so empty of meaning for most North Americans.
In Canada, many are pleased that we can honestly say that Canada is a post-Christian country. We should again hear the words of Joshua, if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you.
In Canada, many are pleased that we can honestly say that Canada is a post-Christian country. We should again hear the words of Joshua, if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you.
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