The People Make Their Choice

Joshua 24:1-8, 14-18

OUR last lesson preceding the Christmas study found Joshua, the new leader of the Israelites, beginning the conquest of Canaan, with the Lord giving him an outstanding victory at the start in conquering Jericho. Joshua, like all members of the fallen race, was imperfect, and made mistakes, and these the Lord usually brought to his attention, as in the case of his endeavor to capture the small city of Ai without first consulting his divine leader. But at heart he was loyal to Jehovah, who blessed his leadership in the conquest of Canaan and the division of the land among Israel’s twelve tribes.

Today’s lesson finds Joshua nearing the end of his faithful life of service. The Lord had blessed him in driving Israel’s enemies out of the land, and that task was finished. The land had been divided among the tribes in keeping with the Lord’s instructions. This faithful leader of Israel was now 110 years old, and realizing that he had about reached the end of his life he summoned an assembly of Israel’s tribes to Shechem for the purpose of exhorting them to faithfulness in their worship and service of Jehovah, the only true and living God.

While Joshua’s parting’ message to the people was not nearly as lengthy as was the oration of Moses just before his death, its purpose was the same; namely, reminding the Israelites of their covenant obligations to God and of the importance of fulfilling these obligations if they expected his blessings to continue with them. He admonished them to serve the Lord “in sincerity and in truth,” and to “put away the gods” which their “fathers served on the other side of the flood [Jordan], and in Egypt,” and to serve Jehovah.—Ch. 24:14

Joshua based his plea on the marvelous manner in which God had dealt with and blessed them, beginning with their father, Abraham, and tracing the Lord’s providences on his behalf and on behalf of his descendants through their experiences in Egypt, the Exodus, in the wilderness, and finally in their victorious conquest of the land. This recounting of the Lord’s blessings, though briefly stated, reminded the people of the many outstanding ways in which the hand of the Lord had been manifested in their midst for their guidance, blessing, and protection.

It was a wonderful foundation of fact upon which to build a plea for faithfulness, a plea in which appreciation of divine goodness was used as the motive which should inspire the Israelites to loyalty to the God of their salvation. It is the same reasoning as used by Paul concerning Christians, when he wrote that because Christ died for us we “judge,” or decide, that we do not belong to ourselves, but to Christ. True thankfulness for divine blessings is sure to find expression in the terms of loyal devotion to God and to his service.

Joshua was what we might today call “subtle” in presenting his exhortation. After recounting all that Jehovah had done for them, including the destruction of all their enemies who had trusted in other gods, he said, “If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord [Jehovah], choose you this day whom ye will serve.” What Israelite, under the circumstances, would be ungrateful enough to say that he would consider it “evil” to serve the God who had so wonderfully blessed the whole nation, and in continuing to bless them had delivered into their hands a land “flowing with milk and honey”! And when Joshua climaxed his oration with his own affirmative stand on the Lord’s side, saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” there was no other answer the people could give than the one recorded, “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.”

The two greatest sins of the Israelites seem to have been their tendency toward unbelief and their proneness to serve other gods. These were manifested soon after they left Egypt, resulting in their rebellion against Moses and the worship of other gods. Moses rallied them to a decision to serve the true God when at Sinai the nation agreed to the terms of the Law Covenant. And now again, Joshua had stirred the people up to take a stand for Jehovah. Throughout the centuries of the Jewish age there were various other times of revival, but the general course of the nation was sway from Jehovah and in the direction of false gods.

It was not long after Joshua succeeded in getting the Israelites to affirm their loyalty to Jehovah that they became a nation of backsliders and the Lord permitted calamity to come upon them. They were rallied to the Lord’s side under the leadership of various of the “judges,” particularly Samuel, who was also a prophet. Thus, in a measure, they were kept as the people of God and held together until their Messiah appeared. Then they failed again by rejecting him. Let us, in noting these failures of the past, be on the alert lest we, through unbelief, fall away from our steadfastness in the faith.

QUESTIONS

What motive did Joshua present to the Israelites in exhorting them to faithfulness?

Did the people live up to their pledge of loyalty?

What practical lesson may we, as Christians, derive from this lesson?

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