Today I want to talk to you about an item of great importance, it is not as great as God or our jobs but if anything, I believe it would be somewhere on our top 10 list of importance. It is an item of possession and many people strive for it. They desire to have it as their own and will go through any means to acquire it. What am I talking about? I am talking about (land). Growing up on a spot of land that has been in the family for years has a special meaning, at least to me. I grew up on a piece of land that belonged to my grandfather. It was a piece of land he got after losing his father’s land due to the Ten-Tom waterway. I remember the stories about that land and every once in a while, my family will gather behind the church and reminisce about the old home place. The road is still there and the only way across is by boat. No, I have never been there but I long to one day. The land my grandfather had was loss due to means of greed in both cases. But as I married Jana, we were deeded or promised land on her grandmother's place. Now Jana’s sister has already claimed her portion of it. When we go out to visit we talk about where we would put the house. We even have plans for the house we desire to build. We even have imagined where everything is going to be. We pull into that drive and we again are reminded of the promise that one day this is yours. It is for your family. And we assembled around the old home place there and we remember that promise.
In Joshua chapter 24:1-2;14-25 Joshua assembles the people together at Shechem one last time. Joshua has grown old since the people entered the “Promise Land.” He is 110 years old. So, Joshua called this assembly and said “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: and he reminds them of the forefathers. Not Abraham but his father Terah, and the land beyond the river Euphrates. Why? In this verse He emphasizes that they (Terah, Nahor, & Abraham) followed other gods. So, Abraham came from the land of Ur, modern Iran. God calls to Abraham, and he arises and follows God to the land of Canaan. While here he journeys to the very place, they are currently gathered at Shechem.
Why at Shechem? Why was this a place of importance? If we look at Genesis chapter 12:1-7 the promise of God for Abraham and his descendants.
(ref. Genesis 12:1-7)
We see the people (Abraham’s descendants) are gathered at the very place God made the Promise to Abraham. You know I want to believe that they were assembled around the very altar than Abraham erected to God. So, like Abraham and his family, these descendants were called out of a life of idolatry and they journey throughout the land that God promised him. God said, ‘’ One day Abraham this land is yours. It is for your family and their descendants.” Joshua goes on to remind them of their past; the journey to Egypt, the bondage, the idolatry of the Egyptians that their fathers practiced, the Red Sea crossing, the victory over the Amorites, and everything that God has done for them. So we skip on down to verse 14.
In verse 14, Joshua challenged the people with several challenges which is the same given to Abraham several generations before. God through Joshua is once again calling the people out of serving their false gods. Their fathers’ gods beyond the river Euphrates and the gods of Egypt.
I. Fear the Lord and Serve Him Wholeheartedly, Fear is a natural response to a perceived threat to one’s security or welfare. It can both protect and
hinder us from enjoying life, In the Bible popular culture is not a pure emotion but wise behavior. 1In the Bible fear is referred to several hundred times either explicitly or by implications (by trembling, shaking or cringing). Yet 435 times fear is referred to by the Hebrew word yare which means to Honor, revere, to be frightened, make afraid etc. 2 We have all these things fear means. So how is Joshua using it? I believe it is a reverence aspect Joshua is speaking. He uses Fear and serve God Wholeheartedly together Wholeheartedly means “Sincerity” meaning without deceit in truth3So we fear God and wholeheartedly by placing him first.
II. Put away forever the idols served by daddy both (Beyond the Euphrates, and in Egypt). Joshua reminded the people of Terah and Nahor, their forefathers, and how they served other gods. And in Egypt the fathers of the current assembly followed other gods as well.
III. Serve God Alone
In the following verses he gives them a choice, if they refuse to serve God “choose today who they will serve “and Joshua again gives them options they can choose the gods of their ancestors or the gods of the
1 Butler, Trent C. “Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary”,Nashville, Tn 1998 pg 562 “Fear”
2 Strongs Exhaustive concordance “Fear”
3 Butler, Trent C. “Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary”,Nashville, Tn 1998 pg 1509 “sincerity”
Amorites in the land they are currently dwelling. But Joshua resolves and speaks for his house “As for me and My house we will serve the LORD.” The people join in and say yes we will serve the LORD too. And they remember all the things God had done for them. And they proclaim the LORD alone is their God.
But, Joshua challenges them further by saying “You can’t serve God he is a holy and jealous God. Again Joshua is reminding them of the 1st commandment. He warns the people what will happen if they disobey God. Joshua is giving them an “out.” He says if you abandon God, he will not forgive your rebellion and he will turn against you even after all the good he has done for you. The people again resolved to honor and serve God alone. Three times Joshua makes sure this is what the people wanted and three times they replied they will follow God.
Joshua then challenges the sincerity of their vow to go and destroy all the idols among them and turn your hearts to God. Again, the people declared they will serve the Lord God. And Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at the very place where God gave the land grant to Abraham, committing the people to follow all the decrees and regulations of God. So, what does that mean to us today? Well, Today the same
challenge or charge is before us. Will we serve the gods our ancestors served? I know many of us were raised in church but there are some among us who were not. They choose to be among us to check out this “God thing.” Some come from a history of following other gods. I had a cousin that was actually dedicated to demons before the power of God took over their life. So, I am asking you today Who will You serve? Will you serve gods made of stone, wood, iron, or brass who cannot see or hear, and gods who do not care for your welfare? Or will You serve modern gods of today? Modern gods such as TV, sporting events, drugs, or alcohol? An idol is anything that removes us from the presence of God. Or will you be like Joshua who will stand and say as for Me and My House We will serve the LORD?
Today people are trying to acquire land one way or another. They save their money, make sacrifices, and cut out all unnecessary things. They do everything they need to do to be able to buy and build a place they can call their own. What are you willing to do today to claim your promise? What are you willing to give up today? Will we be like the man in Matthew’s gospel chapter13:44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to
buy the field. Will we be like the children of Israel and choose this day to serve God? Or will we continue to serve the gods our fathers served?
Conclusion:
I want to close with an excerpt from Fred Caddock’s book the Craft of Preaching4of which I will read to you.
He pulled a chair out and said, “I want to tell you a story.” I said, “Well, have a seat at our table here.” He said, “I was born back here in these mountains. My mother was not married and in those days that meant shame. And when we went to town the other women looked at her and looked at me and began to guess who I was and who my father was and the reproach that was hers fell on me. And it was painful. At school the children had a name for me. I hid in the weeds at recess. I ate my lunch alone. “I started going to a little church back in there called Laurel Springs. There was a preacher—a craggy, rough preacher, full beard, big voice. He scared me but fascinated me. I would go just for the sermon. I was afraid somebody would speak to me in the earlier part and say what’s a boy like you doing in church? And I was afraid. One Sunday after I had been going for some time, some of the people cued up in the aisle and I
4 Craddock, Fred “The Craft of Preaching” St. Louis Mo, Chalice Press 2011
couldn’t rush out as I usually did. I couldn’t get by. I began to get chills, oh somebody will say something to me and I need to get out of here. “I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked out of the corner of my eye and it was that preacher. I saw his beard and I saw that face and I thought ‘oh no.’ That preacher looked at me and said, ‘well boy, boy, you are a child of,’ and he paused, and I thought ‘oh no.’ He said, ‘boy, you are a child; you are a child of God. I see a striking resemblance.’ He swatted me on the bottom and said ‘go claim your inheritance.’” He said, “I was born that day.” I said to the old man, “What is your name?” He said, “Ben Hooper.” And then he left. Ben Hooper? Ben Hooper was the twice elected governor of Tn.
Craddock, Fred B. Craddock on the Craft of Preaching (p. 30). Chalice Press. Kindle Edition
We have been given a great promise and inheritance too. We have been promised a home in heaven by the blood of Christ shed on the cross of Calvary. Jesus came because we could not keep all the commandments, decrees, and regulations of God. He came to do what we could not, he came to save us and by placing our trust in him and accepting the free gift of salvation through him we have been given a promise, Jesus said “ in
John 14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2There is more than enough room in my Father’s
home.[a]If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b]3When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
Won’t you claim your inheritance today as a child of God? Will you be like the children of Israel and claim God’s promise for yourselves today?
Let us pray.
