We Will Serve the LORD

Joshua 24:1-15

Scholars believe that it has been 20 to 30 years since Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land. Joshua is now 110 years old and knows his time on earth is ending. So, he gathers the people at Shechem to give his final message to the people.

Joshua is now playing the role of a prophet, beginning his address with, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel.” He reviews the history of the promise God gave to Abraham and how the LORD kept His promise through Isaac, Jacob and Moses. Joshua makes it clear that it was the LORD who allowed them to possess their inheritance by driving the people out and parceling out the land to the tribes.

Joshua encourages the people to revere the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness. Joshua makes it clear that there is a choice to be made, and that there are only two choices – Either serve the LORD or serve something else.

Joshua declares that as for him and his household, they will serve the LORD.

In vv. 16-23, the people respond by saying that they too will serve the LORD. Joshua then reminds the people in vv. 19-23, that it is not going to be easy. The LORD is a holy God and He is also a jealous God and requires total loyalty from His people. The people insist that they will serve the LORD.

Why did Joshua choose Shechem as the place for his final message? We get some clues when we look back in Genesis:

• Shechem was where God spoke to Abraham for the first time in Canaan (Genesis 12:7)
• Jacob purchased land there (Genesis 33:18-20) and later, Joseph’s bones will be buried there
• Before heading to Bethel to erect an altar there, Jacob gathered all the idols and buried them in Shechem (Genesis 35:2-4). And Joshua’s command in v. 14 to put away the gods that your ancestors served is the same command that Jacob had given to his household.

In the polytheistic ancient Near East, it was assumed that the people worshipped and sacrificed to many deities, depending on the situation. This was the norm and there was no concept of these deities being jealous because of this. Joshua reminds the people that this is not the case with the LORD – He is a jealous God and will not accept Israel serving other gods.

Joshua is driving home the point that the LORD is not like the other deities who were worshipped by the people in Canaan. With the other gods, people would call on them for favors or to appease their anger. But what the LORD demanded was a true relationship. The LORD was willing to be fully committed to the people and He expected that the people be fully devoted to Him. This was not to be a casual relationship, but more like a marriage.

It is not just about not breaking the laws that the LORD commanded. Imagine someone telling his/her marriage partner at the end of the day and saying, “My commitment to you is complete today since I have not committed adultery.”  Similarly, it takes much more than just keeping the commandments to be considered as fully committed to the LORD.

God was fully committed to providing a path to salvation for us. He sent His only Son to the cross so that our sins can be forgiven. In return, He deserves and demands our full devotion.

Joshua was a great servant of the LORD and a great leader of people. His declaration that he and his family will serve the LORD influenced the whole nation — They worshipped the LORD.

As Joshua pointed out, it is not always easy to be fully committed to the LORD and His ways. Jesus taught that all the laws can be summarized as, “Love God and love others”, which is not easy to do.

For any person in relationship with this God must choose each moment, choose whether to be faithful to God or to some competing reality. As Deuteronomy 6:5 points out, we are to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might”. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let us devote ourselves to the Lord.

(The above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during worship on March 23, 2025.)