For today's meditation, I want to consider with you the very words of Joshua here in our text that read: "Choose you this day whom you will serve." Thus, the title of today's message: "Choose You This Day."
On a day-to-day basis, we all make decisions and choices, ranging from the simple, casual, and typical to the more serious and crucial decisions—decisions that may have lifetime consequences, decisions that could make or break, decisions that can bring us up in the ladder of success or bring us to our own defeat.
As we think of all these choices, it all boils down to this: it is a choice between obeying God or disobeying Him. Our text for consideration this morning is a very familiar verse to many of us, where we find Joshua having led the children of Israel in conquest of the promised land and having given each tribe their portion of the land. He gathered the people together, all the tribes. In verse one, we can take a look at Joshua 24:1 where it reads, "And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God."
There was indeed a gathering of God's people together as Joshua thought about speaking and addressing the people of Israel. What followed then was a brief recapitulation, a brief review of the events, purposely to remind the people of Israel of God's goodness, of God's faithfulness upon them in bringing them into the promised land.
As you can see, the brief recapitulation of events brought them back to the time of Abraham, as we read in verses 2-3, "And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.”
As we carry on with the recapitulation from Abraham, the review of events brought them to their time in Egypt, then from Egypt to their time in the Exodus, in their wilderness wanderings, and their battles against the people of the land, and eventually their conquest of the promised land. Then we read in verse 14, "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord."
Notice carefully here how Joshua calls the people firstly to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. On the other side of it, notice how Joshua called upon the people to put away the gods which their fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and to serve the Lord.
We know very well that Abraham's family, back in Ur of the Chaldees, even in Haran, were all idol worshippers, as we read earlier in verse 2, "Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods."
Yes, the family of Abraham from the other side of the flood served their gods. Thereafter, as Abraham left and journeyed into the promised land, we know very well how indeed he ended up in Egypt. Thereafter, in Egypt, he continued wandering, and he ended up in such a way that his children bore a son, as we read in verse 3, "And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave Esau mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt."
Coming down to Egypt, we know very well that Egypt was also deep into worshipping false gods. From Egypt, as the Lord delivered them out of bondage, in all their wanderings in the wilderness, they ended up in Canaan, whose people were also deep into idol worship.
Thus, as we read earlier in verse 14, Joshua called their attention to "fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord." Coming down to our text, we find Joshua calling upon the children of Israel: "Choose you this day." It was a time to make a choice. It was an hour of decision.
As we think about the word ‘choice,’ it presupposes at least two alternatives. When Joshua spoke to the people, "Choose you this day whom you will serve," the choice he gave them was between Jehovah, the God of Heaven, and the false gods of the land. But before the people could reply, Joshua made his choice, as we read in verse 15, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Indeed, picking up from Joshua, we must strive to make the right choice. We must strive to make a godly choice—a choice that pleases and honours the Lord. Even as we think of the future ahead of us, I am sure we all have our plans. I am sure we all have something in mind that we want to pursue and achieve for ourselves. Whatever it may be, let it be that we choose to do it according to God's will and according to His ways. Thus, we are to choose carefully, choose wisely, and choose a godly choice. Looking at our text this morning, I want us to consider three God-honouring choices.
I. Choose Not to Serve Idols
Firstly, I want us to notice how Joshua addressed the people by saying, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell" (Verse 15).
Joshua had already made it clear to them in verse 14 to put away the gods that their fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and to serve the Lord. Joshua here is actually presenting these choices to them, giving them a free hand or the will to choose, although he already had categorically made it clear to them to put away the gods that their fathers served on the other side of the flood.
As we look at this portion of our text, the very first choice that we are to make is to choose not to serve idols. However, Joshua, in stating the choice, would rather want them to decide for themselves. Thus, we read: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day." Though, as I already have said, for us, the very first choice that we must consider is to choose not to serve idols.
As we can see here in our text, Joshua gave them and brought to their attention the options. "If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord," they are left with two options, which are both wrong and evil. Notice how Joshua mentioned the gods which their fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, and then secondly, the gods of the Amorites in whose land they dwell. Israel must choose for themselves—if not for Jehovah, then for the idols of their fathers or the idols of their neighbours. It is just ironic that they would either go back to the past from which they were delivered and are now rejoicing for that deliverance, or they must accept the worship of those gods whom they have defied and defeated in the overthrow of their enemies.
But as you can see, Joshua made it clear to them in verse 14: "Put away the gods and fear the Lord and serve Him." So the very first choice that we are to make from here is to choose not to serve idols. By the grace and mercies of God, we have been delivered from idol worship. Even as we think of our forefathers, many of us can trace back to that old religion where we used to follow and observe the religion of our forefathers, of our ancestors—very much like that of the children of Israel here, as Joshua brought to their attention their forefathers, bringing them back to Abraham and how Abraham and his family used to serve other gods. Yes, we have been delivered from such idol worship, thanks be unto God. But it could be that we have been erecting and building our own idols deep within us.
If I may put it this way, we may have been delivered from the idols without, but it could be that we have been erecting and building idols from within, and that I am referring to our fleshly and sinful desires. Now, even as we speak about idolatry, we read in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 5: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth—fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." Notice carefully how Paul defined covetousness as idolatry.
We know very well that anything or anyone that stands between you and God—to you, it is an idol. Anyone or anything that secures the affection which properly belongs to God, anyone or anything that attracts our attention which properly belongs to God—that is an idol. Of all base passions, this is the one that most dethrones God from the soul. Think about being covetous: your mind, your heart is filled and preoccupied by something that you would want to possess for yourself, something that you would want to own, something that you would want to acquire for yourself. Or it could be somebody or someone—a person. Think about it.
Covetousness is a sin which, above others, a Christian should set himself against and endeavour to mortify and subdue, as it is a form of idolatry. It is idolatry. It draws our love, our trust, our fear, our joy from God. It draws our love, our trust, our fear, our joy away from the Lord and puts the primacy and supremacy of our affection upon that something or that somebody else. Yes, that is how dangerous covetousness is.
True, the covetous man does not believe his money to be God, but by his inordinate loving of it and putting his trust and confidence in it, he is truly guilty of idolatry. It is as if he bowed his knee unto it, for God more regards the internal acts of the mind than He does the external acts of the body. Yes, we may never see a person bowing down to money, but his internal actions, the actions of the mind, the passion of the heart—it is as if he has already bowed down to money. Thus, it is indeed idolatry.
Choose you this day, and the very first choice that we must consider is to choose not to serve idols. Choose not to serve idols.
II. Choose Not to Serve the Gods of this World
Secondly, choose not to serve the god of this world. Choose not to serve the God of this world. Remember how Joshua reminded the people of the gods of their fathers on the other side of the flood. Then he also reminded them of the gods in Egypt, then of the gods of the Amorites whose land ye dwell. Putting it all together, it is like Joshua telling them, choose not to serve the god of this world.
The Bible mentions the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4, where it says, "In whom the god of this world had blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
Obviously, this is in reference to Satan, the Devil, the adversary. In the Gospel of John, it is interesting how the Lord would call Satan the prince of this world. Turn with me for a while to the Gospel of John and look with me at verse 12. The Gospel of John and looking at verse 12, and notice in verse 31, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out."
The prince of this world here is none other than the Devil, Satan himself. Then we move on to chapter 14 and verse 30. Here we read, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
Again, notice how the Lord describes or refers to the Devil as the prince of this world. Then one more verse from John 16:11: "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." Indeed, the god of this world, the prince of this world, is none other than Satan, the Devil. And we are exhorted here: choose not to serve the god of this world.
Prior to our conversion, before we came to know the Lord, we used to be servants doing the things at the bidding of the god of this world. We used to be serving his will, and we used to be doing things at his bidding. We read of it in Ephesians 2:1-3, and here we read: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
Indeed, that is what we used to be. In time past, we walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. This is in reference to the god of this world, none other than Satan, the Devil. And look with me again in verse three: "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past."
Yes, we used to be among those that are in his fold. We used to belong to the god of this world. And by the grace and mercies of God, we have been delivered from that bondage to sin and have been made alive in the newness of life in Christ Jesus.
Yet the sad reality is that we still can fall into the wiles and the snares of the Devil, pursuing and fulfilling the lust of the flesh. That is something that we must carefully consider. This is where many of God's people continue to struggle, for there are times that we get enticed, and so we engage ourselves only to find ourselves entangled in what the god of this world has laid before us.
And we know very well that it can be one of the three, or two of the three, or a combination of all three: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Yes, nothing has changed. The very same operation that he employed in tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden, the same operation he employed in tempting David, the same operation he employed in tempting the Lord Jesus, the same operation he applies to every one of us.
And so, choose you this day. And the best choice to make is to choose not to serve the god of this world. We are all vulnerable to his influence, to his enticement, and to his temptations, and we must make that firm resolve: choose not to serve the god of this world. Yes, choose not to serve idols. Choose not to serve the god of this world.
III. Choose to Serve the Lord
Thirdly, choose to serve the Lord. Look with me again in verse 15: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
While Joshua gave the people the free hand to choose for themselves, Joshua already had made his choice. Joshua already had made clear, as far as he and his household or family were concerned. Notice carefully Joshua's choice here. Joshua said, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Firstly, I want to say that Joshua's choice was a personal choice. It is something that he made for himself. "But as for me." This is indeed interesting because, as we think about Joshua, yes, he had made that firm resolve. He had established himself in coming up with such a personal choice. In the same way that he calls upon the people of Israel to fear the Lord and serve the Lord in sincerity and truth, and to put away the gods of their fathers, it is a personal choice. And in saying and expressing his choice, perhaps Joshua would want to impress upon the people of Israel that, yes, they too must make the same choice.
"But as for me." It is indeed a personal choice. And notice how it continues: "But as for me and my house." Not only was it Joshua's personal choice, it was also a collective choice of his family. "But as for me and my house,"—a personal choice as well as a collective choice of the whole family.
Now, this is something that I'd like us to consider, perhaps among the husbands in our midst or the fathers in our midst. See to it that you make the right choice. See to it that you would initiate, and the best and the God-honouring choice must begin in you. And starting with you, it must be reflected upon everyone in the home, in the entire household—that we can have a personal choice as well as a collective choice by the family. "As for me and my house."
So, it is not just a personal choice, but also a family choice. And notice also that when Joshua here said, "But as for me and my house, we will serve," indeed, it is a personal choice and a collective family choice. And over and above, it is a God-honouring choice. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
"Choose you this day." As we look carefully at Joshua's declaration here, yes, he had made clear his choice, he had expressed his commitment, and most of all, he had made known his conviction. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." To the fathers in our midst, husbands in our midst, to the head of every family, may this be our choice also—bringing along with us our family, that it becomes a collective family choice, and making it a non-negotiable choice.
It is just sad how unstable we can be at times in terms of making choices. It is sad, even ironic, that even among Christians, even in making a choice as to whether to go to church on the Lord's Day or not, there are still some that continue to struggle with it. While others, they may have initially thought about going to church for worship, but then something happened. Perhaps he may have received a call from non-Christian friends inviting him to join them in their gathering and in whatever activities they are having on the Lord's Day. Then you seem to be affected; you seem to struggle.
Let it be, my dear brothers and sisters, that in the midst of all this, we can make the right choice. "Choose you this day." You can make a firm personal choice. "Choose you this day" to serve the Lord and fear Him. You can make that choice. "Choose you this day" to honour Him. "Choose you this day" to serve Him. "Choose you this day" to magnify Him in your life.
As for Joshua and his family, it had to be Jehovah and Him alone that they would serve. No doubt, Joshua made the right choice. It was a choice that brought about good results, a choice that brought them good success, a choice that best honoured the Lord.
And like Joshua, we too need to make the right choice—the choice to serve the Lord. And you know, my dear brothers and sisters and friends, this has to be a daily decision that we have to make. "Choose you this day." Let it be that each and every new day, we may have one and the same resolve upon waking up and rising up from our beds. We make that resolve: "Choose you this day." And choose this day to serve the Lord, to honour Him in your life. Realise that our choice must be that choice that best honours the Lord. Let us pray.
Lord, we thank You, for indeed Thy word has spoken unto us very clearly on how we are to choose this day, and in each and every new day that You will add unto our lives, that we would choose to honour You, that we would choose to serve You, and that we would choose to magnify Your name in our lives—bearing witness and testimony unto others. Even as a church, O Lord, may we stand united collectively to have that God-honouring choice. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." May this choice be adopted by everyone. May we all agree upon this one thing—that we would choose to serve the one true and living God, not just for a day or two, but all the days of our lives. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.