Daily Devotion – September 8, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.
24:2a And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors–Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor–lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
24:14 “Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose 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.”
24:16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
24:17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;
24:18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
There comes a point when we make a choice: do this thing and live with the consequences, or don’t.
Joshua had been the military and community leader of the Israelites since Moses died at the border of the promised land. Everywhere the Israelites went inside Canaan the resident people had been defeated by Joshua’s army, powered by the Lord, so that the Lord could keep all the promises he had made to Abraham. Joshua was now old, about to retire from leadership, nearing death. He wanted to remind the people that the Lord who had brought them to this point was a promise-keeper, and Joshua wanted to use his last public speech to encourage them to make some promises of their own back to God.
This is the day, he is saying. Abraham turned away from false gods to serve the Lord. What will you his descendants now choose to do? Serve some ancient gods of your family? Worship the gods of your new neighbors in this new land? As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.
The people agreed and made that choice, that day. Now, in the 11 Old Testament books after Joshua that recount the history of Israel (before you get to the psalms and the prophets), we read many many descriptions of lapses in this promise to follow God by the people of Israel. But this point was a pivotal point. It was chosen by Joshua because he himself was at a turning point in his life.
When was the last time you had a turning point where you chose to do something and be willing to accept what that decision cost you? What might the Lord have had to do with your turning point?
Might there be a time soon when you will make a decision, even a small one, to spend more time strengthening your relationship with God? Whether you will be as good at keeping that promise as God was to the Israelites or as faulty as the Israelites were, know this: the consequences of faithfulness to God are always bounteous and strengthening. Don’t avoid a turning point because you worry that you’ll falter. Because that doesn’t matter to God. Only you matter to God. God keeps promises. Always.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for keeping your promises to Israel. Thank you for sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit to keep our attention on you. We promise to remember you every day.  Amen.
