And if it seems evil to
you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the
other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD (Josh 24:15, emphasis mine).
When Joshua
made that statement, he must have recalled the importance of choice, by
experiencing firsthand, the results of Israel’s disobedience in the wilderness.
The wandering in the desert lingered for nearly forty years (Num 14:34; cf.
Deut 2:14) as a result of the murmuring concerning the report of the spies.
He was one
of the twelve spies dispatched from Kadesh Barnea by Moses (Num 13:2, 3, 8), to
generate a surveillance report on the promised land before going to war. Upon
the completion of the mission that lasted forty days, something went terribly
wrong. During the debriefing upon their return, ten of the twelve spies gave a
negative report (Num 13:32, 33). Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, presented
a more positive assessment in line with the will of God, “We can do this thing
(cf. Num 13:30)!”
Keep in mind
that these spies were representing their respective tribes and were entrusted
to be accurate in their reporting and not to put their personal spin on it to
undermine the will of God in the matter. Have you ever noticed those who oppose the will of God always tend to go hyperbolic? All of the spies agreed about the
fruit of the land (Num 13:27), but the majority of the spies (83%) were wrong
in their inflated assessment concerning everything else. Exaggerations became
facts, and the truth became suspect (cf. Num 13:28-29, 30-31-32, 33). The crowd
went with the majority opinion, and it cost them dearly; this divisive report
led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands (Num 14:29-33).
Joshua and
Caleb, along with Moses, visibly witnessed the grueling years of people
dropping like flies as they wandered in the desert due to unbelief at Kadesh Barnea.
We quickly learn as a believer that any place we decide to be that is outside
the will of God for our lives is barren and brutal (cf. Num 14:29, 31-32, 33,
34). Will God allow us to go there? Absolutely, He will if we choose the place of
disobedience over obedience to His will!
The land was
given by Yahweh for the taking (cf. Deut 1:7, 8; Josh 1:3). Ten of the spies,
with their entitlement spirit, only wanted the land if it was gift wrapped with ribbon and bow, figuratively speaking; God, however, intended for Israel to conquer
it. They realized too late that blessing is found in obedience to the will of
God; it is no different today. But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh, declares Joshua to the people of
Israel following the corporate conquest of the land.
I am of the
opinion that even if the faithful had to suffer (like Moses, Joshua, and
Caleb) for the unfaithfulness of others, Joshua and his household would
and did serve the LORD until the day they died. You never read of any complaint
of unfairness from the three of them; that is amazing in light of the attitudes
of today among believers.
You would
think that it would be patently obvious that it is far better to abide in His
will and be blessed rather than being in His will to wander due to disobedience,
given the testimony of Scripture (cf. Rom 15:4)! It takes a different spirit than we are accustomed to seeing
in Christianity today – a can-do spirit when it comes to the will of Yahweh
(cf. Num 14:24). Choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve: self, another, something, or Yahweh. Be wise; don’t
choose to lose. <><
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