1

DATE: AUGUST 26, 2012 SERMON TEXT: JOSHUA 24:1-2a, 14-18 SERMON TITLE: “As for Me and My House . . . “ Are you familiar with the book of Joshua? It is a continuation of the history of Israel as they make their way to the Promised Land of God. Joshua follows Deuteronomy. In the 34th chapter of Deuteronomy we leave Moses standing on the top of Mount Pisgah, which is directly across from Jericho, looking over into the Promised Land, a land which he would not live long enough to enter. With a sort of cruel irony, Moses dies at Moab, never experiencing fully the covenant with God. That honor would be given to Joshua, a protege of Moses, who we are told was a man full of wisdom, a man who was literally the hands-on successor to Moses. Joshua was an Egyptian-born Hebrew slave who followed Moses across the Red Sea. Throughout Moses’ ordeal as Israel’s leader, Joshua was sort of Moses’ second lieutenant. Joshua first appeared as a military leader in Exodus 17, leading Israel into their first battle. In Exodus 32, Joshua accompanied Moses to Mount Sinai to meet with God on the day the rest of Israel stayed back and erected a golden calf. It was Moses who changed Joshua’s name from “Hoshea,” which means “helper,” to “Joshua,” which means “the Lord saves.” It is also important to note that Joshua is the Greek form for “Jesus.”

2

The book of Joshua, therefore, is the story of Joshua’s leadership, and it begins with Israel poised at the Jordan River, ready to cross over with Joshua as their new leader to claim God’s promise. This morning our text comes at the very end of the book, as Joshua makes his final speeches prior to his own death. In the context of his speech, Joshua reminds the community of a very important aspect of their faith journey, and that is this: one’s desire to be a follower of God is a choice. It sounds pretty simplistic, doesn’t it? But that was the crux of Joshua’s final message. You either decide to follow the gods of your ancestors, or you follow the God of Moses and Jacob and Isaac and Abraham; it is entirely up to you. Joshua had been around long enough to know that “God-following” had always been a tension in the lives of the Hebrew people. You have to remember that the concept of God-worshiping was not something known only to the Hebrews. They were surrounded by other cultures who worshiped other gods. And every time the Hebrews came into contact with the gods of other cultures, they were tempted to merge their belief systems with the belief systems of the opposing culture. For instance, human sacrifice was a practice among many of the pagan religions of the opposing culture. Many times the Hebrews were tempted to

3

incorporate such practices into their religious observances just to cover all the bases. Old Testament literature is filled with stories of the Hebrews’ constantly being led astray by the temptation of other religious practices, being unfaithful to God, recognizing their sinfulness, crying out to God for forgiveness, and being accepted again into God’s good graces. Knowing this pattern of behavior, Joshua reminds the Israelites that is their choice. He tells them, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served or the God of Abraham. But as for my household, we will serve the Lord.” And serve the Lord he did. Joshua died as one of the most popular religious and military leaders of Israel’s history. With his passing, he left not only his legacy, but a wonderful view of servanthood, a view I would like to lift up this morning. The first is choice. The desire to serve God is about making a choice. God is such an important part of who we are that we probably never thought of serving him as a choice, but it is. Think about your own faith journey. Wasn't there a time in your life when you made a conscious decision to serve God? For some of you, you grew into knowing God as a child and confirmed your belief as a young teen. For others of you, you were reborn as a result of a significant experience. Regardless of how you came to the understanding, there came a point

4

in your life where you made a conscious decision that God was important in your life and you were going to allow God to be part of your life. A second understanding that Joshua had concerning servanthood is about the influence of our ancestors. I would wager that for most of us here our families of origin played a major roll in shaping the foundations of our faith. We are in church today because of the influence of our parents or grandparents or another significant relative who helped to direct us on our paths to servanthood. I know this is true for my own journey. My parents were always active in the church. As a child, I grew up watching them live their lives in the context of the church. My parents were never vocal to their children in expressing what they believed to be true about God. However, it was clear to all eight of their children that their faith was important to them. As a result as adults, my parents’ children choose to serve the Lord, just as their parents chose to do. My parents were guided by their parents to the paths of righteousness. As a result, the desire to follow God became an intergenerational decision, passed down from one generation to the next, as each generation reaffirmed the commitment of the generation that preceded it. This scenario of discipleship that follows from generation to generation is a common one. It is not, however, the scenario for all servants of God. There are those of you sitting in the congregation this morning whose story is much different.

5

Some of you had parents who were not God-fearing mothers and fathers at all, and as a result, they affected you in a negative way. There are others of you who had to pave your way to servanthood on your own, without the aid of Christian mentoring. However, regardless of whether you were the children of good, modeling parents or the son or the daughter of unbelievers, we all have one thing in common: we had to choose. Like Joshua, we had to choose to be a person intent on serving God. The wonderful opportunity for those of you who are first-generation servants is the legacy you have now started in your own family. You will impact in a significant way the lives of your children or other relatives who watch you model a way of life that is alien, yet extremely appealing, and their desire will be to emulate you. A third observation that Joshua made is about the impact of God’s activity in our lives as it relates to our desire to follow. What makes our individual stories so unique is the way we have been able to see the hand of God at work in all of our lives from generation to generation. Whether your family heritage is rich in a tradition of Christian discipleship, or whether that tradition is non-existent, what moves us to a point of decision is God’s activity in our lives. Again, in my own life, as I look back I can vividly see the hand of God at work in my life and in the lives of my family. It is the reason Joshua was so quick

6

to remind his listeners of how the mighty hand of God had been active in the lives of his people. In contrast, Joshua also reminds his people of the days when they followed other gods. Joshua knew that when the comparison was made there would be no other alternative but to follow the God of Abraham. Just listen to the response of the Israelites to Joshua’s challenge: “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods. It was the Lord God himself who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, from the land of slavery, and performed great signs before our eyes.” In these words they were rehearsing again their history. And when they recalled all the good things God had done for them, the only natural choice was to follow God. To rehearse the past is an effective way to keep ourselves on track as we strive to be servants of God. During those times when our faith is in question, during those times when we are tempted to follow the other gods of our worlds, it is good for us to stop and to take stock of all the ways that God has manifested God’s self in our lives. And just like the children of Israel, the only response is to choose God. Choose this day, brothers and sisters, whom you will serve. Continue to serve the God of your mothers and your fathers. Continue to be the role models of the generations to come. Continue to be faithful in your journeys, for your

7

experiences of God in your life today will become the inspiration to continue to serve tomorrow.