Contemplative Bible Reading

Joshua 23:7-8 (New Living Translation)

7 Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them. 8 Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.

Here are a few emphasized instructions to the people as they are about to enter the land promised to them by God. There were many peoples and cultures in the promised land. There would be many occasions to be led astray by those peoples and cultures.

God’s people were told clearly to not even mention the names of the gods of the peoples in the land. Instead, they were to cling tightly to Jehovah their God. Jehovah their God was the Creator, the all-supreme God.

Cling tightly. I find this two-word instruction to still hold for me today. There is nothing else. This is pretty simple, but we tend to make things complicated. Cling tightly.