I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 23-24.
Like Moses before him, when Joshua knew he was about to die he summoned the people of Israel and gave them a speech recounting what God had done for them. I want to note that Joshua tells us that Abraham’s father worshiped other gods when he lived beyond the Euphrates. This raises questions about my idea that Terah left Ur because of the idolatry there.
However, the most important part of Joshua’s speech was towards the end where he tells the people of Israel that they must choose today whom they will serve. Joshua gives them three choices. They can serve God. They can serve the gods which their ancestors worshiped when they lived “beyond the Euphrates”. Or they can worship the gods which the people of the land they were now living worshiped. After giving them this choice, Joshua males one of the great statements of faith, “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” While this was certainly a rhetorical device to encourage the people to make the right decision, it was still a brave statement. Joshua was saying, “I am calling on you as a people to choose what religion you will follow. As a nation we cannot survive unless we all follow the same gods, or God. However, if you choose some faith other than the worship of God, know that I and my family will not go along with you.” We should follow Joshua’s example. We need to point out to the people around us that if they do not choose to all worship the same gods, or God, they will not survive as a nation. Along with that we need to make a statement that no matter what gods they choose to follow, we will serve God and teach out family to do likewise.
Finally, I want to return to something I had mentioned earlier. I know of people who believe that the Bible is a source of great wisdom but do not truly believe in God’s power. They look at the Old Testament and say that the ancient Israelites were polytheist, which is true. However, they go on to say that the idea of monotheism is only a late development in what we now call the Jewish religion. This passage shows that the latter part is not true. Joshua makes his speech and his call for a choice because the Israelites were worshiping many gods (were polytheists), but he calls them to give up those other gods because worshiping other gods is incompatible with worshiping God. The religion which Joshua preached, and Moses before him, was monotheistic. The failure of the Children of Israel to practice monotheism does not change that.