EXPLORE THE TEXT
Each person must consider how he or she will respond to the Lord.
14 “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth.
Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,
and worship the Lord.
15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord,
choose for yourselves today:
Which will you worship-
the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living?
As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”
16 The people replied,
“We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods!
17 For the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt,
out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes.
He also protected us all along the way we went
and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through.
18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples,
including the Amorites who lived in the land.
We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.”
Recount the significant moments from Joshua’s life.
He challenged Israel with a final covenant renewal.
Explain the nature of Joshua’s final message to the people:
Joshua challenged the people to choose whom they would worship. .
Their forefathers worshiped other gods in Mesopotamia and Egypt,
and now the Israelites were in a land where its populace, the Amorites (Canaanites),
worshiped more false gods.
The gods of the Canaanites’ seductive fertility cult
would tempt the Israelites with materialism and immorality.
Either the Israelites would worship the Lord alone
and reject all other gods, or they would worship other gods and in so doing reject the Lord.
They could not do both. (PSG, p. 67)
Joshua’s positive example and the people’s commitment to follow that example by serving God wholeheartedly.