Friday Devo
Scripture:
Joshua 24
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Commentary:
24:14 Against the backdrop of the Lord’s faithfulness in fulfilling all his good promises, Israel is called to fear the Lord—a technical expression connoting not simply fear but reverence and true devotion—and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Israel’s duty to “serve” (or “worship”) the Lord is the dominant theme in the final major section of the book of Joshua (chs. 22–24). The word “serve” in Hebrew (‘abad) occurs no fewer than 16 times in ch. 24 and an additional four times in chs. 22–23.
24:15 choose this day whom you will serve. Joshua has urged the people to serve the Lord alone, and to put away the false gods (v. 14). Now he makes his admonition even sharper: if it is evil in their eyes to serve the Lord (i.e., if they prefer not to be loyal to the one true God, the Lord alone), then they must choose between two different categories of false gods: (1) their ancestral gods from Mesopotamia, or (2) the gods worshiped by the peoples they have dispossessed in Canaan. Joshua exercises leadership by example, committing himself and his household to serving the Lord. The people’s response was to decisively reject false gods and to serve “the Lord our God” (vv. 16–17)—which Israel did “all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua” (v. 31), but which Israel failed to do in subsequent generations, as is tragically evidenced in the book of Judges.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 430.
24:15 choose this day whom you will serve. Joshua has urged the people to serve the Lord alone, and to put away the false gods (v. 14). Now he makes his admonition even sharper: if it is evil in their eyes to serve the Lord (i.e., if they prefer not to be loyal to the one true God, the Lord alone), then they must choose between two different categories of false gods: (1) their ancestral gods from Mesopotamia, or (2) the gods worshiped by the peoples they have dispossessed in Canaan. Joshua exercises leadership by example, committing himself and his household to serving the Lord. The people’s response was to decisively reject false gods and to serve “the Lord our God” (vv. 16–17)—which Israel did “all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua” (v. 31), but which Israel failed to do in subsequent generations, as is tragically evidenced in the book of Judges.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 430.
Questions:
- The challenging question we were left with on Sunday was this: "WHO or WHAT do you SERVE?" We all serve something. Maybe it's yourself. Maybe it's culture. Maybe it's money. Maybe it's status or a relationship or even your kids. Maybe it's even your calendar! But really it comes down to one of two choices... either you are serving Christ or you are serving the god of this world. What are things in your life that you can tend to start serving if you aren't careful? What are the potential idols in your life?
- Think back over the devos from this past week. What has God been speaking to you through this message? What is He asking you to do? What needs to change?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would help you tear down the idols.
- That you would be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
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