Joshua 24:14

Joshua 24:14 says, Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.  Joshua called on the people of Israel to put away the other gods that they had once had in their lives in Egypt and on the other side of the flood, and to serve the only true God in sincerity and truth.  We, as Christians, can substitute the cross for Egypt and the flood, and we need to put away anything that was a god to us before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Then we are to serve God in sincerity and truth.  Verse fifteen declares, And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Joshua called on them to make a choice.  They could either choose to serve some false god or the one true God.  There were many other gods to choose to worship, from those worshipped before the flood to those of the people of the land the people of Israel had just conquered.  We today must at some point choose whether we are going to serve the gods of this world or the God Who created this world.  Everyone will choose one or the other by their acceptance or rejection of Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Joshua said that he and his family chose to serve the true God.  We really can't make that determination for our family, but we can and should point them to Christ.  Verse sixteen states, And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;  The people of Israel proclaimed faith in God.  This did not mean that they all would remain faithful to God though.  It is one thing to proclaim ourselves to be faithful to God, but the proof will come when we are faced with temptation or a fearful situation.  Verse seventeen adds, For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:  The people professed that God had delivered them from Egypt and bondage.  Christ has already delivered everyone from the bondage of sin today, if people will only accept that deliverance by putting their faith in Him.  Verse eighteen continues, And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.  They testified to what God had done for them, just as we must testify to what God has done for us today if we are followers of Christ.  Verse nineteen declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.  Then verse twenty adds, If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.  Joshua warned the people of Israel that they could not serve God and serve false gods at the same time.  He said God was  jealous God, expecting their total allegiance and He still is today.  We cannot serve God effectively and allow anything to become more important to us than He is.  Verse twenty-one says, And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.  Once again, the people declared there obedience to God.  I believe that we must each day declare our obedience to God, or we may find ourselves chasing after the things of this world, which in effect become gods to us, since they become more important than our relationship to God.  Verse twenty-two declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.  Joshua said that their declaration of obedience to God served as a witness against them.  When we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ, our words of faith serve as a witness against us.  If we are not sincere in our profession of faith, or if we later falter in our relationship with God, we alone are responsible.  Verse twenty-three adds, Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.  Joshua charged them to put away any strange gods, just as we must today.  Verse twenty-four states, And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.  The people of Israel once again stated that they would serve the LORD their God.  Joshua made the choice very clear, and every time the people of Israel said they would serve the Lord.  Though salvation is a one time decision that lasts forever, we must daily choose whether or not we are going to allow God to be first in our life.  Verse twenty-five declares, So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.  Just as Joshua made a covenant with the people, we as followers of Christ make a covenant with Him, and then we are called on to daily fulfill our part of the covenant.  Christ has already fulfilled His, when He died for us on the cross.