Joshua 24 - Choose Ye This Day

The journey is over.  The Israelites have been promised the land for generations.  They have been led through some hard times.  They have been blessed by the LORD.  Joshua's days are almost over.  He reminds the people of all that the LORD has done for them and tells them: 

     "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness;   put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Rive and in Egypt, and    serve the LORD.  Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, shoose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."  (Josh 24:14-15)

Who indeed will you serve?  Which gods?  Will you revere the LORD in sincerity and in faithfulness?   As Joshua encouraged the Israelites to recall their history with the LORD God, I encourage you to do the same.  Who brought you out of bondage?  Did any of your false gods really help you?  You cannot serve two gods.  Choose ye this day, whom you will you serve.  And, whichever one you choose know that they will each desire faithfulness from you.  Will you choose the One who first chose you, who is faithful, and has always been faithful to you?  Will you choose the one who loves you so much that He was willing to die for you?  Or will you choose a lesser god, a god that does not love you, will only take from you, a god that will take your very joy and leave you alone and helpless?  Choose ye this day...  And, do not be deceived there is only one God that loves you.  Put away all those false gods, for you cannot serve them all and live.

God's promise to you is a for an abundant life in His Kingdom - in His very presence.  Do not choose to receive a lesser gift than this.  Do not turn your back on the LORD who gives you life.

Joshua 9 - Joshua Forget Something?

Thus, the LORD says...  I love it when I read the LORD says in the Bible...  God is talking directly to someone.  He is guiding someone to do His will.  God is directly interacting with someone.  Do you see any of that in this chapter?  No, it is glaringly absent!

Joshua enters into a treaty without even consulting God!  He forgot or neglected to ask God about these people who claimed to come from a far country.  He got tricked into not obeying the previous command of the LORD to go in and take the land and destroy the people.  The Gibeonites lied to Joshua, yet Joshua did not lie to them.  He had made a covenant with them, guaranteeing that they, the Israelites, would let the Gibeonites live and he does.  The Gibeonites, in spite of their deception, live because of the integrity of Joshua and the other leaders.

How much easier our lives would be if only we would remember to ask the LORD for direction in our own lives.  I learned a long time ago that there was something that I needed to do if I wanted to live through a relatively peaceful day or week - come intentionally into the presence of the LORD every morning; study His word; pray - both speaking and listening to Him.  If I do not spend time with the LORD every morning, my days are usually pretty fruitless.  The same goes for Sunday Worship...  Years and years ago I found, that if I did not attend a Worship Service on Sunday, so that I might be refreshed and prepared to go out into the world, my going out into the world the rest of the week could be pretty messed up.  You see, I am a sinner, and without the help of God, without those means of grace received chiefly through Word and Sacrament, I can be and am someone who can get pretty ugly be the end of the week.  I realized long ago, that if I am not in worship on Sunday morning, by Friday morning no one is going to want to be around me! 

How about you?  Wondering how your life could go a bit smoother?  How about spending time with the LORD?  Consult Him...  Read, hear, and study His word...  Pray often... Both speaking and LISTENING.  The LORD will guide you, but you have to remember to ask... and then listen...

It really amazes me that Joshua doesn't think to inquire of God when it comes to the Gibeonites.  Did he simply forget?  May God help us to remember that He is there to guide us in the way that we should go, in the things which we should do.