Joshua_24

Scripture

Joshua 24:15¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Observation

Joshua brings everyone together and delivers a message from God – basically the story of their people, from their lineage to the battles won for their freedom.

Understanding

We’ve been working on persuasive speech for Elijah’s English class with Ms. L – telling people about the book they’ve read in a way that convinces others to read it.You start out with the context – the title and author, the type of book and the intended audience – and end with a cliffhanger that is intended to entice the classmate to read it for themselves.

Joshua (delivering the message from God) has got this down!He calls all the tribes together and all the decision-making people of those tribes – elders, leaders, judges and officials.He reminds them of where they came from – descendants of Abraham and a people who once worshiped other Gods beyond the Euphrates.Then he talks about the journey their people have gone through – throughout Canaan, Seir and Egypt.He reminds them of the battles won on their behalf – from plague-afflicted and Red Sea-drowned Egyptians to defeated Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites and more…from creating dry land in the middle of the sea or river to sending the hornet ahead to drive people out – and the provision and blessings given along the way.

Verse 13 - “So I gave you land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.”

And, now, the cliffhanger: you’ve seen life with God, that’s what got you here…and, “as for ME and MY household, we will serve the Lord.” But what about you, what will you choose?

Quite the convincing speech, if I do say so.[Ms. L would be proud! J] Even greater, is once they do choose to serve God, Joshua does a “take away” – nope, sorry, “You are not able to serve the Lord.”He goes on to remind them of God’s character, what serving Him would require and the consequences of not following through – “he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

Now they’re fighting for it!Ready to throw away their foreign gods!…And a covenant is made.

Life Application

 

I don’t mean to make light of this moment – as if it was just a sales pitch done well (hook, line and sinker) or persuasive speech done successfully.It’s actually a pretty big deal – the God of their ancestors became their God when the covenant was made because of their choice to serve him.But, like a good pitch or speech, there are things to garner from HOW it was done.

 

Joshua reminded them where they'd come from and how God had worked in their lives.  They remembered and recounted the details of how God had shown up.  And, there were likely some "oh, that's right!  I'd forgotten about that!" moments as he did.  

 

We each have a story to tell – a love story of how God came after us, came after our hearts, proved Himself real to us and how our lives were changed as a result.We can all speak to the divine intervention that happened along the way, how God was working in the details of situations big or small, how he’s provided and/or blessed us.These “stories” have the power to create change in the lives of those around us.  I’m reminded, though, that I sometimes forget how much good God has done.  I need to keep my story fresh, front of mind, writing down the continued ways he shows me that I’m seen, heard and loved…so that I’m always ready to share when the opportunity comes.

 

God, you are so incredibly good to me.May I meditate on your goodness, not for my own peace and joy (which it surely brings) but so that I am ever ready to share your goodness and your love with those around me in a way that brings change.Use me today.I want to see lives transformed because of you.

In your name, I pray.Amen.

-Rei

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