Daily Devotions
Divided Allegiance
Reading for March 12th: Joshua 23-24
But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God..."
Joshua 24:19
Right after Joshua uttered that famous challenge, "choose this day whom you will serve... As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," the people pledged their commitment to serve the Lord.
Do you think Joshua's response is a little harsh? Notice he is not predicting what he thinks they will do ("I don't think you will serve the Lord"), he's saying they aren't even able to do it. The NKJV says, "You CANNOT serve the LORD."
Why so strong? Joshua's call is not simply for the people to serve and worship the Lord. They were already doing that. His call was for them to ONLY serve the Lord.
His call was for them to put away their idols. They had to choose; they could not have both God and the idols they brought with them from Egypt (v. 15). If they were going to serve the Lord, the idols had to go (v. 14, 23). God won't have it any other way. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not accept divided allegiance.
Chances are you have hanging on your wall that famous statement from Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The question is, if Joshua came to your house or mine, would he tell us to take that down from our walls. Would he tell us we can't serve the Lord?
Father, you are a holy God! You are a jealous God! Help us see the idols we still cling to and eliminate them from our lives!
