EXPLORE THE TEXT
We’re to put away any idols that might demand our devotion that rightfully belongs to the Lord.
19 But Joshua told the people,
“You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God.
He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.
20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods,
he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after he has been good to you.”
21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”
22 Joshua then told the people,
“You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.”
“We are witnesses,” they said.
23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you
and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.”
Discuss why Joshua said the people would not be able to keep this commitment.
Following God can be challenging at times.
What Joshua meant regarding God’s refusal to forgive the Israelites’ sins:
“The statement, ‘he will not forgive your transgressions and sins,’
was not an absolute, eternal statement for the Lord’s covenant people.
The remainder of the Scriptures demonstrates this (see Rom. 11:11-24; Eph. 2:11-22).
Nevertheless, it did mean that God would not overlook their unfaithfulness
and there would be consequences for their sin.
The law warned that if the Israelites were unfaithful to the Lord,
then they would experience drought, famine, disease,
defeat, and ultimately exile from the promised land (Deut. 28:15-68).
Joshua knew this.” (PSG, pp. 69-70)
On the board, write WORSHIP vertically as an acrostic.
Suggest words or phrases that are related to worshiping the Lord.
Encourage them to use these words to evaluate their own lives
and to determine if idols are hindering their absolute commitment to God.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 72 of the Personal Study Guide:
Call for the group to review the statements and to discuss some practical ideas that help a believer live out their devotion to the Lord. Encourage them to find specific ways they can express worship to the Lord each day.
Divide the group into two teams. (Note: For smaller groups, an individual can be a team. For larger groups, more than one team can work on the same assignment.) Direct one team to discuss the first question set on page 72 of the PSG, while the other team does the same for the second question set on page 72 of the PSG. After a few minutes, allow volunteers from each team to share their responses. Challenge adults to read and reflect on these questions throughout the week and identify ways they can apply these
truths personally.
Lead the group in a time of silent prayer, encouraging the adults to ask God to reveal any idols in their lives that are keeping them from a true commitment to Him.
Reinforce the session by texting or emailing the group this message: Just as Joshua challenged the people to choose the Lord over the gods of the Canaanites, I challenge you to choose the Lord over the idols of this world this week. Encourage adults to continue reflecting on the questions from page 72 of the PSG. Let them know that the next session begins a study of the book of Judges.
Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. (See John 5:24; 10:27-29.)
Use a Bible study resource to learn more about a biblical principle.
Joshua 24 highlights a renewal of the covenant between the Lord and His people. Use a Bible atlas to locate Shechem on a map of ancient Israel. Look up the word “covenant” in a Bible dictionary. Read and reflect on the following Scripture passages to learn more about ancient covenants: Genesis 9:8-17; 12:1-3; 15:1-21;
17:1-27; Exodus 19:1-8; 2 Samuel 7:1-17. Consider how the Israelites responded to God’s covenants through the years. Why was a new covenant sealed by Jesus’s death and resurrection necessary for God’s people?