As For Me and My House – Joshua 24:14-24
Aug. 31/Sept. 1 2002
Intro:
Joshua is now quite old; and he has seen a lot in his lifetime. His early, formative years were spent in service to the great liberator, Moses, and his later years were spent leading God’s people into battle in the promised land. He has seen the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the trip through the desert to the edge of the promised land and then the trip back into the desert for 40 years of wilderness wanderings. He saw God part the Jordan river, crumble the walls of Jericho, and send the enemies into a panic. He also saw the punishment of Achan after his sin, and then the restoration of the blessing and presence of God.
And now he is quite old. He has led a full life, he has been strong and courageous as God commanded, he has the scars from a hundred battles, he has known the power and presence of God in his life and in his leadership, and now he recognizes his death is near.
So he gathers the people together, summons their leaders, and gives his final address. And it is quite shocking. Joshua Chapter 24 records this address, with the first section recounting all the mighty things God has done for His people, concluding with the affirmation that God has given them this great land. Then we come to verse 14.
Read Joshua 24:14-24
1. A Call to Commitment (14-15):
Here, on his deathbed, Joshua calls the people to commitment. To “fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.” He calls them to “throw away” all the other gods and make a choice to serve God alone.
The call is the same to us today.
Who are you going to serve? It was relatively easy for the Israelites to worship the other gods – they didn’t demand much. It was easy to carry a wooden carving, throw a bit of grain at the feet of an altar, bow to the sun. But God demands all. It is relatively easy for us to carry our own dreams and desires and live for them, throw a bit of money at a charitable cause, raise our hands and shout praise to a sports hero. But God demands all.
Maybe Joshua is getting less patient with age, but he lays it out pretty bluntly – either serve the Lord WITH ALL FAITHFULNESS or, if you don’t like that, then choose some other god to serve. It will probably be a lot easier serving another god – they don’t demand too much now. Neither do they offer much in return. Joshua says “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” And he concludes with his own testimony: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
I want you to notice the standard of service Joshua demands: “with all faithfulness.” He doesn’t leave room for casual faith, for serving God when it is convenient or when things are going well or when life is easy. He doesn’t leave room for doing faith on our terms. He calls us to serve “with all faithfulness.” What if there is no reward? No appreciation? Nothing but opposition? Joshua says “serve the Lord with all faithfulness.”
I know that is not easy – it isn’t easy to hear and it isn’t easy to say because I know it applies to me as much as to anyone else. I’ve had a whole bunch of conversations with people this week that have left me just longing for heaven, when all the struggles and pains and difficulties and unfairnesses of life will be over. Joshua knew the struggles – he had lived through more of them than you or I combined. And you know what I think he is saying here is, “it is worth it.” Serve God with all faithfulness because it is worth it. You will be glad you did, even though it is tough and even though the alternatives are easier, the best road is serving God with all faithfulness.
As blunt as it is, this is not the shocking part of Joshua’s final address.
2. The People respond (16-18):
We get the expected reply from the people. We won’t serve any other God’s! We know how much God has done for us, and they list a bunch of the miracles, and so we will serve Him only. It is what we expect, it is what Joshua has been calling them to.
The shocking part comes next.
3. Joshua’s response (19-20):
Trent Butler, in his commentary on Joshua, calls verse 19 “perhaps the most shocking statement in the OT” (p. 274). After spending an entire chapter – actually, an entire lifetime – trying to get the Israelites to commit to serving God, and after getting the affirmative answer he was seeking, Joshua says: “You are not able to serve the Lord.”
I can sort of imagine the scene – the people all gathered around this once-mighty-but-now-old-and-frail leader whom they hold in deepest respect, affirming their desire to serve God as he has just implored them, and then hearing this response. Can you picture the hall going instantly quiet? Then a whisper or two, “Did he just say what I think he said??” The mood shifts drastically, suddenly gets really quiet and tense, the people on edge, having just had their commitment thrown back in their face.
Joshua goes on and gives two reasons for his startling statement: God is holy, and God is jealous. This is a huge shift in focus. Up until now, the focus has been on all the things God has done. Suddenly, the focus is on who God is. It was, “God did this and this and that and the other thing…”; now it is “God is holy and God is jealous.” The people affirmed all that God had done for them and then said they would serve Him “because He is our God.” Now Joshua says “You are not able to serve Him” because God’s character is so far beyond our comprehension and ability to manage. God is holy – meaning by definition that God is beyond, distinct, unfathomable, so morally perfect that we cannot hope to have anything of merit to offer Him. And God is jealous – meaning that God’s love for His people is so strong and perfect that He will not accept anything less than total commitment, total fidelity, all faithfulness.
I honestly think Joshua is trying to shock the people. He is trying to shift their thinking from a God who does stuff for them to a God who is holy and jealous for their love and service. He is trying to get them to see that if they are simply going to say “yup we’ll serve God cause He does stuff for us,” that won’t sustain them through difficult times, through times of struggle and testing and times when it looks like God isn’t doing anything for them.
You understand this difference I think. You know what it is like to be in a place of struggle or testing, wondering why God isn’t stepping in to rescue you. Why God isn’t doing anything. If our service is based on God’s actions and not His character, we will waver according to how we understand our circumstances. Maybe I should repeat that: If our service is based on God’s actions and not His character, we will waver according to how we understand our circumstances.
Joshua’s purpose in saying “You are not able to serve the Lord” is to call them to a deeper commitment based not on God’s actions but on God’s character. Service based on who God is and not just what He has done. The difference is that God’s character never changes. He was holy in Joshua’s time, He is Holy today. He was jealous in Joshua’s time, He is jealous today.
I know this is fairly heavy – let me try to make it simple. I believe Joshua is saying God is so much more than we can even dare to imagine. We have nothing He needs, nothing that will make Him more complete. He is holy and we are not. He is a perfectly faithful God of love, and we are fickle. And we can’t serve Him just by saying “ok, I’ll serve Him.”
So what hope do we have? That sounds pretty desperate! We might decide to give up, to throw our hands in the air and say “why bother then?” If I am not able to serve God, then why ask me to commit to serving Him?? And what about everything I’ve ever heard and believed about how I need to serve God???
I have a one-word response to that: grace. Because of God’s grace, we are invited into relationship with God. Because of God’s grace, Jesus came and died for us and bridged the chasm that separated us from God. Now, we are invited to be in relationship with God, invited into a reunion with the Holy and jealous God Joshua describes. God gives us the grace to serve Him.
We can’t serve Him on our own. We won’t last if we simply try to serve Him because of the things He has done, as mighty and miraculous and perfect as they are. But here is the heart of the Gospel: we can serve a holy and jealous God because He has invited us to by His grace.
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13). That is the key verse by which to interpret Joshua’s words. I can’t serve God on my own, but through Christ who gives me strength I can do all things.
Joshua’s response to the people’s commitment is difficult to understand, but I think he is trying to shock the people into recognizing that serving God is something we cannot do on our own. It is only something we can do in relationship with God, as He gives us the grace to serve Him.
The Israelites appear to recognize this, because their re-affirmation of their desire to serve God takes things a step further than it was previous. Let’s read vs. 24. To the expression of a desire to serve God is added a commitment to obey – literally in the Hebrew “to obey His voice.” It is a different statement than the first – their first commitment was to serve God because of all the things He had done. Now, they commit to serving God and listening to and obeying His voice. This speaks to me of a recognition of relationship – of them seeing that they need to know God and hear His voice, and then they will be able to serve Him.
I know this has been a little heavy to wade through, especially for a long weekend. So let me summarize as simply as possible. Without God’s grace, without being in a relationship with Him, we cannot serve Him. But, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Conclusion:
I need to close with the same challenge Joshua posed: “choose you this day whom you will serve.” Will you serve God, with all faithfulness, knowing that you cannot do it on your own and knowing that God is holy and jealous. Will you serve God, knowing that it is hard, that there will be opposition, that there will be struggle and battles?
It isn’t easy. It’s not always pleasant. There is toil, there is difficulty, there is cost. I know I’m not making this very attractive, but I am trying to make it real. Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” He didn’t make it sound really attractive either! So why would you? Why choose God instead of an easier route? Why serve a holy and jealous God when it is so much easier to be self-serving, to live life according to your own desires instead of yielding control to God?
(Sat night – make those not just rhetorical questions but actually ask a few people why they have made the decision to serve God).
Let me share with you my reasons for choosing to serve God in His grace:
1. Because the relationship with God is worth it. (eg. Being a parent).
2. I know God knows what is best for me better than I do. (eg. Being a parent).
3. I know that even the most difficult life with God is going to be more full of joy and purpose than the easiest life without God. (eg. Becoming a pastor).
4. I have a steadfast hope for an eternity in heaven with God; and I can’t say from Scripture that I could have that sure hope without giving God all of my service. And I really don’t like the alternative to eternity in heaven with God…
I don’t know where you sit this morning – whether you have ever made a decision to serve God, whether you have made one but not made it complete and without condition, or whether you stand with Joshua saying “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I invite you along with Joshua to make a choice today. Scripture doesn’t leave room for sitting on the fence, for saying we’ll serve God but then doing things on our own. God asks for our all. What is your response?
