Tuesday, January 28: Joshua 24- the lure of other gods.

       And so the book that bears Joshua’s name, as well as Joshua’s life and ministry, ends with a call to Israel to be faithful to the Lord! Twice Joshua pounds home his call and twice the people respond.

"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. 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" (14-15).

And then a few verses later as Joshua sounds his call again the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD." Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes, we are witnesses," they replied. "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey him" (21-24).

I was surprised to see that in both instances Joshua demands that the people throw away the foreign gods that they had (I bolded the words above). For decades in the desert and now years in the land, many of the people, despite repeated vows to the Lord, have kept foreign gods. Really!?! Some gods were apparently brought from Egypt, others were picked up from their travels or from conquered peoples.

This caused me to think about how easy it is to pick up the foreign gods of the people around me. Faithful as we might be, it is easy to slip a little of this and a little of that from the surrounding cultures into our lives. Then before we know it, pockets of devotion to gods, other than the Lord, pop up in our lives.

Joshua has incredible godly wisdom to call the people to throw away the foreign gods they have invited into their lives. It is a practice that would be healthy for all of us to engage in from time to time.

I spent some time examining the cultural ‘foreign god’ that creeps into my life… I bid you to do the same.

Lord, where have I allowed beachhead of competing gods to be established in my life? Sports allegiances? Money and materialism? Personal comfort coupled with lack of care for the poor? Sin and bitterness harbored?

Lord, I open my pockets… examine me and see if there is any wickedness in me. Excise any wickedness that I might live for in order to honor You with my living. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.