Choose

¹⁴ "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the 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 forefathers served 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."

I am sure that you have heard this passage from Joshua 24 as many times as I. But I wonder if it has had as much impact on us as I think it should have? Yes, the people of Israel had come out of Egypt. Yes, the Lord had set them free. Yes, the Lord had smashed and demolished, one by one, the Egyptian gods and goddesses which they had taken to serving. One for each plague. And now, they had a choice to make - serve gods or serve God.

The idea of serving a god which was made by the hands of men seems almost laughable to me. Who would create a god of wood or stone, perhaps layer it in gold or other precious things, set it up on a pedestal and then worship the thing? That is nuts. Who would entrust their future, their very life, to some created thing such as that? Well, most of us.

I have been guilty of building a business, and then trusting my future to it. I have built plans and asked God to bless them, instead of asking God to establish the days of my life. I have built houses, purchased cars and other expensive toys, and looked to them to fulfill me and bring me the joy which God alone can bring. My possession may not be made into the likeness of something you would call an idol or a god, and they may not be overlaid in gold and jewels (some actually are...) but they are idols nonetheless. And I am choosing, this day, to serve God once again.