Joshua 24:14
Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Of the many great men and women of the Old Testament scriptures, Joshua stands out for his unrelenting faith and dedication to the word of the Lord. Though he may not have been the most eloquent orator, the most ferocious warrior, or even the most charismatic leader, one thing he displayed that few of his contemporaries did. He had unwavering trust in the promises of God. And that includes God’s promise to bless as well as His promise to punish. And it’s with that insightful forethought that he declared, But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
The words of Joshua seem reasonable, rational and understandable to our modern audience mainly because we fail to see the gods we’ve erected in our lives that the Lord would have us remove…and remove immediately. But when you understand the God that Joshua encountered you too will understand the urgency of ridding yourself of everything, and everyone that may cause you to miss your blessing and steal your promised property away from you.
To truly understand the determination of Joshua you need to study the events of his early life with Moses. The 32nd chapter of Exodus tells us of an account where Moses and Joshua went up into the presence of the Lord at Mount Sinai to receive the Holy Commandments. During their absence the people at the foot of the mountain got restless and decided they’d waited long enough for God to move; so they created a god of their own. They made a golden calf and decreed it was the calf that brought them out of bondage and not the Lord.
I don’t know how much thought you’ve given to this sad account but it reeks of arrogance, ungratefulness, audacity and unmitigated gall. How could a group that was enslaved, imprisoned and marginalized become so callous and intolerant? (Sound familiar?) Well, the Israelites took that occasion to turn their backs on God; and the results were not pretty.
Please note that although God is loving, kind and true, He is equally powerful, steadfast and unflappable. He never changes. He cannot be charmed, tricked or manipulated. Israel had agreed to receive tremendous blessings and favor from God. They received wealth, protection and prestige they didn’t earn or merit. It was a gift from God. But in return for God’s favor, they were warned to never, ever serve other gods. They accepted the blessings knowing full well of the consequence of not keeping their end of the bargain. And although it took years, the children of Israel paid a heavy price. None of them were allowed to enter the promised land. They all died in the wilderness. All except Joshua and Caleb.
You’ve heard of the term guilt by association? Associating with the wrong people at the wrong time can cost you dearly. The Children of Israel made the mistake of not taking God seriously and paid the ultimate price. I’m sure some lamented that it wasn’t their idea. I can imagine some said they only were following the crowd. Doesn’t matter. God held everyone responsible that was there and didn’t speak up. That’s how Guilt By Association works.
But there’s another principle at work in this scripture: Innocence By Association. At the time of the rebellion, Joshua was on the mountain top with Moses. He was nowhere near the altercation. There’s no way he could have been associated with the incident. Since he was with Moses at the time he was presumed innocent. But what about Caleb. How did he escape the punishment that everyone else got? Caleb did the one thing every sincere believer must learn to repeatedly do, and that’s trust God no matter what everybody else may say or do. While Joshua had Moses as an associate to vouch for his whereabouts. Caleb had his word and honor unto the Lord. When pressed by the people, instead of folding, Caleb went against all the odds and was found on the Lord’s side. He too was found Innocent By Association.
God bless
