Contemplative Bible Reading

Joshua 24:14-15 (New International Version)

¹⁴ “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. ¹⁵ 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 and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

For me, this is one of the great passages in the Bible. Joshua is about to lead the people into the promised land. They have been through much – much more than I have in my exciting 20th-21st century life. Now  Joshua challenges them with one short, simple, yet profound statement:

choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve

Look at the elements:

choose – We have to select one thing or the other. There is no default position and no abstaining.

yourselves – Some translations use the work “you” as in “you choose.” We choose for ourselves. We can’t stand behind someone else and let them do the  choosing for us.

this day – Today. Right now. Not later.

whom – We are choosing a person to serve –  God or Satan. We are not choosing a philosophy or some vague notion.

serve – We will be serving this person. We will be working for them. We won’t be standing around until it is time to go home and eat dinner and watch television.

Ever need a sermon or a Bible lesson in short order? Pick this little statement. If you can explain it in short order, please send me the text of your lesson. I have been working on this one for a few decades and am still struggling.