We’re back in history again today, wrapping up Joshua (chapters 21-24).
Today’s notes…
Joshua 24:8-13 (NIV)
8‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.11Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you — also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
In these verses, as Israel is about to return to their newly conquered lands, Joshua conveys a message from the Lord. Verse 13 is the kicker… He gave Israel lands, cities, vineyards, and olive groves… none of which they have established on their own.
Aren’t we in the same boat in regard to God’s favor? Through faith in Christ, we have priceless blessings (eternal life, forgiveness from sin, spiritual gifts, just to name a few)… none of which we have had anything to do with creating or establishing ourselves.
God’s grace and love is simply awesome.
Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV)
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. 15But 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.”
Joshua really takes a stand here, declaring that he and his household will serve the Lord.
How so, you say? It’s not that he takes a stand… but that he stands up in his role as spiritual head of his household and declares that all within will serve the Lord as well.
As a parent of three kids, I’m learning just how difficult it is to shepherd a child’s heart and lead them in the way they should go. The whole free will thing always seems to get in the way when I’m trying to teach Jeffrey or Jenna something about right and wrong. No matter how many times you discipline… no matter how many times you preach… no matter how many times you model appropriate behavior… sin sometimes manifests itself in their hearts and lives.
I realize there’s nothing unnatural about that. We’re all born with a sin nature, and it never completely dies in us as best I can tell. And in some people, the sin nature will be too appealing, the temptation to follow self rather than God too large. Not all will find saving faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how good the upbringing we parents do.
So I find Joshua’s stand amazing. “As for me AND MY HOUSEHOLD, we will serve the Lord.”
I pray that all of my children (and eventually their children and their children’s children) will choose to follow the Lord. I choose to stand as Joshua did, with all intent to be that kind of spiritual leader. But I don’t know that I can live with the expectation of complete success because of the influence of free will (or election, if you tend to lean more reformed in your theology). My declaration would be more along the lines of, “As for me, I will serve the Lord. And I will do everything in my power to ensure my household serves Him as well.”
Perhaps my faith is too shallow, or my resolve too weak.
What do you think?
Being a father also, I share your same feeling on my family knowing the Way. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens even if it kills me. And you know how I feel about leading by example. But I also realize that I can only do so much in my power.
Thanks John for all of these devotions on “Bible in a Year”. I thoroughly enjoy reading them everyday as I read along with you. It’s nice to hear what your getting out of them, as you sometimes see things that I never saw in that part of scripture. You are challenging me everyday…Thanks
Thanks for the encouragement, Tom!