Joshua 24 We will serve the Lord

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 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 the 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.”​

I love the last 12 words of the verses this morning.

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Apparently the preachers like this verse too. Where there was very little commentary witness for the rest of the chapter, there are plenty of sermons written about these last few words.

This is from sermonwriter.com.

“but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh”. Joshua exercises a fundamental principle of leadership—leading by example. He and his family will demonstrate in their personal lives that they have chosen to serve Yahweh. By doing so, they hope to lead the fence-straddlers to move to the Yahweh side of the fence. They hope to influence the entire nation of Israel by their personal example. The next verse suggests that they will be successful—although we know from subsequent events in Hebrew history that the people will turn out to be fickle and often unfaithful.

This is from workingpreacher.org.

In fact, Joshua recognizes that serving God may not be something people want to do. Verse 15 begins with Joshua's acknowledgment that it may not be desirable (NIV), or the people may not be willing (NRSV) to serve the Lord. These translations miss the raw honesty of the ESV and the KJV, which reflect the drama of the literal Hebrew. It is not simply that serving God seems unpleasant to the people, but that it may be "evil in your eyes," (ESV) and it may seem "evil unto you" (KJV).

If it is a choice--perhaps undesirable, perhaps even evil--to serve God, then why make it? The Israelites themselves give us two answers, signaled by the word "for." The first one comes in verse 17. The reason to serve God is because of what God has done for them. They were listening to Joshua's sermon! They echo back the history that Joshua himself recounted in detail for them. The second reason emerges naturally from the first. If God has done this for us, then he is our God. This affirmation becomes more profound when it is set against the background of polytheism.​

Using this verse in any conversation, historically in my experience, usually means something is about to happen and someone is being forced to make a stand. I've only said these words twice in my life. Both times something life changing occurred after uttering them. I didn't know to say "Joshua 24:15" before those words.... but I knew the words.... I didn't say "in the Bible".... but I knew the words and I said them out loud. "As for me and my house... we will serve the Lord".

Joshua was lucky when he said these words. He was a proven leader.... a man in a place where women were subservient. Where men were in charge of the everything.... When a woman says these words.... she better have her dukes up and be ready to stand up for herself.... because women don't really have the same voice as the male head of household.... Joshua was proven.... I had to prove it.

Oh don't get me wrong... women are perfectly capable of making a stand.... but Joshua had a whole lot going for him when he said it than I did when I said it.... when a person says it.... they have to be ready to back it up.... and back when Joshua was saying this.... women didn't have any clout... come to think of it... I didn't have any clout when I said it either.... but it's amazing what prayer will do for a girl making a stand for what's Right.

:coffee:
 
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