"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself 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." - Joshua 24:15
We've all seen this verse. Many of you may even have the last sentence of this verse cross-stitched, embroidered, or printed somewhere in your home. I've even seen it tattooed on someone. It's a great verse and it preaches really well; especially that last sentence.
"But as for me and my house, we will..."
The most powerful of God's gifts to all mankind is in this verse. In fact, it is right here in this simple sentence.
The gift is free will.
The power on display is the power of choice.
The power of choice is unique to humanity. There are no other creatures on this planet who possess this gift. We're it. We're the ones God chose to empower with the ability to decide. Every other creature on the planet, from single-celled organisms to the most sophisticated mammal are governed by instinct. Turn on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet and watch how animals act. All of their needs are met by their natural instinct to build shelters or form communities, kill for food, pro-create, and unleash their young upon the world to continue this instinct-driven cycle till the end of time.
That's their existence. Survive by instinct. Till death do they part from the Earth.
Man's existence is completely different. God did not create us to simply survive by instinct. He gave us the ability to reason, to discuss, to debate, and to decide. Individually speaking, God has given each of us abilities and talents to (potentially) solve problems, create better methods, and improve our existence through ingenuity and technology. Man is the only creature on the planet that truly "evolves" from a social, organizational, and technological standpoint.
Animals don't evolve socially. You won't travel to Africa and find a city built by lions. You'll never find a Chinese village built by and exclusively populated by tigers. You can walk every inch of Colorado and never find a town built, inhabited, and run by bears. What you will find is the same instinct-driven existence that lions, tigers, and bears have lived by since the beginning of time.
But man has evolved. For millennia, man has built cities, erected monuments, created empires, and invented technologies to better their existence. For countless generations, mankind has used their unique collections of abilities and talents to completely transform the Earth from the Edenesque paradise described in Genesis to the reality we all live in today.
I'll leave it to you to conclude if that transformation has been beneficial for mankind or not.
All of human history has unfolded the way it has because of the gift of choice. Every city that was ever built owes its existence to the choice someone made to build it. Every monument ever erected started with the decision to create. Every empire in existence was birthed from the decision to conquer. Everything that has ever been done in the history of humanity has occurred as the direct result of the power of choice; for good or for ill.
I'll repeat myself again. This gift of choice is the most powerful gift God has given to mankind.
You have this gift and if used properly, it is guaranteed to empower you to completely transform your life for the better.
But, and I cannot emphasize this enough, if used improperly, this powerful gift will absolutely destroy you.
How does the gift of choice destroy us? Well, I'll get into this in more detail in later blogs, but for now you need to know that if we use this gift improperly, we can put ourselves in the same position as the beasts of the field; surviving our existence purely by instinct.
But, if we choose properly...
So, what is the "proper" way to use this gift? Well, I've got some great news for you. God not only gave us this gift, but He left us with instructions on how to use it. Easy instructions. Instructions so simple a child can understand them.
How does the gift of choice destroy us? Well, I'll get into this in more detail in later blogs, but for now you need to know that if we use this gift improperly, we can put ourselves in the same position as the beasts of the field; surviving our existence purely by instinct.
But, if we choose properly...
So, what is the "proper" way to use this gift? Well, I've got some great news for you. God not only gave us this gift, but He left us with instructions on how to use it. Easy instructions. Instructions so simple a child can understand them.
In fact, the verse in Joshua is a prime example of just how easy those instructions are to understand. Of course, understanding the instructions and following them are not the same thing.
For example, let's look a little closer at Joshua 24:15:
The setting of this chapter is beautiful. Israel has been in their "promised land" for many years now. They have enjoyed an unprecedented season of victory, provision, and blessing from God. Literally hundreds of years of struggle and hardships are finally at an end and God's people can finally enjoy the benefits that come from being God's chosen people.
The speaker is Joshua; God's hand-picked leader of His people. Moses usually gets the lion's share of the credit for leading Israel out of Egypt (and rightfully so) but for all of Moses' accomplishments, Joshua was the leader who accomplished what Moses could not - lead Israel into their "promised land".
Joshua has been here since the beginning. He was one of only two people to survive the entire Exodus journey from Egypt to Canaan. Now, after an extraordinary lifetime of following God, Joshua is about to die of extreme old age and he has a few parting words of instruction to share with God's people before he passes on.
Now, it is common knowledge that most people near the end of their lives love to reminisce about the good old days and Joshua was no different. But, Joshua wasn't just interested in reminiscing. In two short chapters, Joshua does two things for Israel:
One: He reminds Israel of the true source of all of their victories and their current peaceful and prosperous living conditions complete with a warning not to stray away from that source unless they want to see first-hand what life without God's power and favor looks like (Joshua 23).
Two: He gives Israel a God's-eye view of their history from Abraham to present time (Joshua 24:1-12) concluding with the revelation that they are now enjoying the benefits of God's provision by receiving from God "a land for which you did not labor, cities which you did not build...and vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant." (Joshua 24:13).
All good reminders for us all and especially for the Israelites listening to Joshua's trip down memory lane. But, Joshua wasn't just an old man reliving the past. He had a point to make and he makes it brilliantly in verse 15. He shows Israel the simplicity and the power of God's gift of free will by not only instructing them to use it but by giving them an example of its proper use.
Again, chapter 24 comes at the end of Joshua's life. That point is important when you consider His declaration "As for me and my house...". Even on his death bed, he is showing Israel the proper way to use the gift of choice. An impressive attitude and a testimony of faithfulness that is impossible to ignore. Joshua was a leader till the end because of his decision to "serve the Lord" no matter what life threw at him.
And that, dear reader, is the point. We're going to dive deeper into the power of this gift in the next few blog entries. But for now, I need to leave you with a parting thought for you to ponder until next time:
Why do you suppose the subject of Israel's power to choose is so important to their dying leader? What was he so concerned with, do you suppose?
That's a rhetorical question, by the way. Joshua's own words contains the answers to these questions in a verse that I've been skipping on purpose until now:
For example, let's look a little closer at Joshua 24:15:
The setting of this chapter is beautiful. Israel has been in their "promised land" for many years now. They have enjoyed an unprecedented season of victory, provision, and blessing from God. Literally hundreds of years of struggle and hardships are finally at an end and God's people can finally enjoy the benefits that come from being God's chosen people.
The speaker is Joshua; God's hand-picked leader of His people. Moses usually gets the lion's share of the credit for leading Israel out of Egypt (and rightfully so) but for all of Moses' accomplishments, Joshua was the leader who accomplished what Moses could not - lead Israel into their "promised land".
Joshua has been here since the beginning. He was one of only two people to survive the entire Exodus journey from Egypt to Canaan. Now, after an extraordinary lifetime of following God, Joshua is about to die of extreme old age and he has a few parting words of instruction to share with God's people before he passes on.
Now, it is common knowledge that most people near the end of their lives love to reminisce about the good old days and Joshua was no different. But, Joshua wasn't just interested in reminiscing. In two short chapters, Joshua does two things for Israel:
One: He reminds Israel of the true source of all of their victories and their current peaceful and prosperous living conditions complete with a warning not to stray away from that source unless they want to see first-hand what life without God's power and favor looks like (Joshua 23).
Two: He gives Israel a God's-eye view of their history from Abraham to present time (Joshua 24:1-12) concluding with the revelation that they are now enjoying the benefits of God's provision by receiving from God "a land for which you did not labor, cities which you did not build...and vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant." (Joshua 24:13).
All good reminders for us all and especially for the Israelites listening to Joshua's trip down memory lane. But, Joshua wasn't just an old man reliving the past. He had a point to make and he makes it brilliantly in verse 15. He shows Israel the simplicity and the power of God's gift of free will by not only instructing them to use it but by giving them an example of its proper use.
Again, chapter 24 comes at the end of Joshua's life. That point is important when you consider His declaration "As for me and my house...". Even on his death bed, he is showing Israel the proper way to use the gift of choice. An impressive attitude and a testimony of faithfulness that is impossible to ignore. Joshua was a leader till the end because of his decision to "serve the Lord" no matter what life threw at him.
And that, dear reader, is the point. We're going to dive deeper into the power of this gift in the next few blog entries. But for now, I need to leave you with a parting thought for you to ponder until next time:
Why do you suppose the subject of Israel's power to choose is so important to their dying leader? What was he so concerned with, do you suppose?
That's a rhetorical question, by the way. Joshua's own words contains the answers to these questions in a verse that I've been skipping on purpose until now:
...to be continued...
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