Choose for Yourselves

After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am old and well advanced in years. Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Joshua 23:1-2, 14, NIV 1984).

My Musings – Just as every promise that God makes is fulfilled, so too are His warnings. Like any good leader preparing to “pass the torch,” Joshua shared a warning along with the reminder of what God had done for them. “But just as every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.” (Joshua 23:15-16, NIV 1984).

In the end, it always comes down to choice. “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me [Joshua] and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15, NIV 1984).

And there really are only two choices.

There is no middle ground. For “no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24, NIV 1984). So, do not expect to hold onto both.

The choices do not shift with the times. “I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6, NIV 1984). So, do not expect His views on what is right and what is wrong to change.

The choices do not shift as society shifts. “You must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s [or society’s] own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the [changing] will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Peter 1:20-21, NIV 1984). So, do not expect society’s view on what is right and what is wrong to change what really is right and what is wrong.

What did Israel choose? “We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” (Joshua 24:18, NIV 1984). Their intentions were good. Their success? Over time, not so good.

My Advice – The same is true with us. Over time, not so good. And there is no such thing as “good enough.” There is no celestial scale that measures our “good” against our bad to see which way the scales tip. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10, NIV 1984).

Then what good is choice, if we are incapable of following through on that choice? Who then can be saved from God’s condemnation? Will we all perish? It’s a fool’s choice. It’s an impossible choice. For us. But “what is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27, NIV 1984). Therefore, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth.” (James 1:13, NIV 1984).

And what is the word of truth? “Jesus [answers], ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one [can choose to come] to the Father except through me.'” (John 14:6, NIV 1984). So, choose Jesus and live, or not and perish. Those are the only two choices we have. The fool’s choice? To not choose Jesus.