“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14-15
Although the last few words of this passage are the ones most people remember and quote, there’s some built-in irony in the words just before them that needs to be explored a little deeper.
The Israelites were commanded by God to go into the Promised Land and literally annihilate every tribe, group, and people who occupied the land. God desired to rid the wickedness from the land so the Israelites would have no outside influence of sin and be a pure and holy people whose hearts would be turned towards their God only.
Unfortunately, the Israelites didn’t obey God and allowed several people groups, specifically the Amorites, to stay. Instead of eliminating them the Israelites decided they would subdue them and make them slaves. This would prove to be detrimental to their future peace and prosperity that God promised because the Israelites would begin to intermarry and worship the gods of the Amorites (Baal for one) warranting the future chastisement and disfavor of God.
The lesson to be learned here is what the apostle Paul implied when he wrote the Corinthians, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Leaven represented sin and left alone it would have the power to influence the rest of the lump of dough. How true it is that when we allow a “little” sin to stay in the promised land of our minds we allow it to influence the way we think and behave. While we will not be completely sinless while living in our current bodies, we can spend time daily with God and His Word, repent and ask for forgiveness, while striving to rid sin completely. I encourage you to do what Joshua did and serve the Lord and Him only!
Serving Christ Together,
Dave
BONUS TIDBIT:
Anytime “LORD” is printed with all capital letters, it represents the sacred name “YAHWEH.” The Jews, out of reference for God’s holy name, regularly substituted the Hebrew word “Adonai” when they came to the name YAHWEH (YHWH) in reading the Scriptures. When “Lord” is spelled with one capital and the rest lowercase letters, it represents the position or title of Lord, ruler or owner. These different uses of the word “Lord” are prevalent most in the NASB version of the Bible.
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