Choose this day
Devotional for September 29 · Joshua 24:15 · 13-minute read
13So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ 14Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!” 16The people replied, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17For the LORD our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because He is our God!” 19But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins. 20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.” 21“No!” replied the people. “We will serve the LORD!” 22Then Joshua told them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “We are witnesses!” they said. 23“Now, therefore,” he said, “get rid of the foreign gods among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.” 25On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance. 26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD. 27And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
Context
Joshua 24 is the last chapter of the book and the last assembly Joshua calls, now an old man. He gathers all the tribes at Shechem, in the heart of the land, probably near the end of the conquest period (the exact date is debated, somewhere between the 15th and 13th centuries BC). The place is no accident: it was at Shechem that Abraham received the promise of the land (Gen 12:6-7), and it is there, at the end of the chapter, that Joseph's bones are finally buried.
The chapter has the shape of a covenant renewal. First, Joshua speaks on God's behalf and retells the story: Terah serving other gods, the call of Abraham, Egypt, the sea, the wilderness, the conquest. Only then comes the call for a response. The underlying question is decisive for a generation entering a land full of other cults: now that the promise has been fulfilled, whom will this people serve?
What the text says
- v. 13: Before asking for anything, God reminds them of what He has given: “a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build.” The demand comes after the gift.
- v. 19: When the people promise to serve, Joshua answers in a shocking way: “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God.” He refuses an easy promise.
- v. 23: The final request is concrete: “get rid of the foreign gods among you.” The idols were not only in their ancestors' story; they were inside their tents.
Reflection
Read verses 2 to 13 and notice how often God says “I”: I took, I sent, I brought, I delivered you, I gave you. Israel's history is told with God as the subject of almost every verb. Only in verse 14 does the “Now, therefore” appear. That order matters. Biblical faith does not begin with a person straining to earn God, but with God acting first. The choice Joshua sets before them is a response to grace already received, not currency to buy it.
Notice too what verse 15 does not offer: the option of serving no one. The alternatives are the gods of the past, “beyond the Euphrates,” the gods of the surrounding culture, of “the Amorites in whose land you are living,” or the LORD. Every human being serves something. Today the names have changed: money, approval, security, performance, our own comfort. Joshua's question is still current because no one lives neutral. Choosing not to choose is also a choice.
Then comes the part people tend to forget. The people answer with enthusiasm, and Joshua tells them they cannot serve a holy God. It is not contempt; it is pastoral honesty. He knows that excited promises fall apart, and the book of Judges shows that after Joshua's generation, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD (Judg 2:10). Verse 31 confirms it: Israel served God as long as those who had seen His works were alive. Faith does not pass automatically from parents to children; each generation has to choose.
That is why verse 23 comes down to the ground: there are foreign gods “among you.” Declaring loyalty is not enough; something has to be taken out of the house. For you, that might be a habit, a hidden expense, an app, a grudge that rules your reactions. Joshua speaks of his house, “as for me and my house,” and that does not mean controlling anyone's faith. It means he decides the direction of what depends on him and owns that decision in public, in front of everyone.
Joshua and Jesus share the same name in Hebrew, which means something like “the LORD saves.” The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that the rest Joshua gave the people was not the final rest (Heb 4:8). Joshua set up a stone as a witness against the people (v. 27); Jesus took on Himself the failure of those who cannot keep their promises. If you have already failed in this choice, the invitation is not over. It is still being made today, and it is still a response to the grace that comes first.
Connections
- Judges 2:10 (cross-reference): Shows the next generation, who did not know the LORD, confirming that faith is not an automatic inheritance.
- Hebrews 4:8 (stated in the text): The New Testament mentions Joshua and says that the rest he gave pointed to a greater rest.
- Matthew 6:24 (editorial reading): Jesus takes up the same logic as Joshua: no one can serve two masters.
To apply
- Heart: what “god” of the surrounding culture has been receiving your time, your anxiety and your obedience without you noticing?
- Relationships: how would your household (family, roommates, close friends) see, in practice, that you have chosen to serve the Lord?
- Today: identify one concrete thing in the middle of your home that competes for God's place and take one step to remove it.
Prayer
Lord, You acted first. You brought Your people out of slavery, You gave them land and cities they did not build, and in Jesus You gave me what I could never earn. I confess that my promises are fragile and that I still keep idols in the middle of my house. I don't want to serve You with pretty words only. Give me courage to get rid of what occupies Your place and to incline my heart to You. May I and my house serve You sincerely, today and tomorrow. Amen.
To memorize: Joshua 24:15
Today's step: In the next 24 hours, remove or limit one specific thing that has been taking God's place in your routine, and tell someone in your household about that decision.
To go deeper: read Joshua 23–24 and get to know Joshua.