Bible Passage: Joshua 24:14-15
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: August 29, 2021

Bulletin August 29, 2021

Joshua 24:14-15

¹⁴Joshua said, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Remove the gods that your fathers served in the region across the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵But if you see no benefit in serving the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whomever you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers 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!”

A Proper Response to the LORD’s Mercy: “We will Serve the LORD”

Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ, who has freed us from slavery to sin and death and given us an inheritance among the saints,

I don’t suppose the culture around us would have very good things to say about Joshua or about the words which he speaks in the text before us today. The cultural elites would probably brandish a few different labels to mark Joshua as someone out of step with their values. “You’re too close-minded, Joshua,” they might say. “Who are you to single out Yahweh as the only true god?” “You’re too patriarchal, Joshua! Who are you to speak up for your entire household? Why don’t you let your wife and your children and your grandchildren make up their own minds and speak for themselves?” “You’re just too preachy, Joshua! Who are you to command the Israelites to throw away all other gods and to serve the LORD, Yahweh, alone?”

No, the culture around us would not think highly of Joshua or his words. But what about you, dear Christian friends? What does your culture think about Joshua? What would you have to say about Joshua’s words? As Christians we say these words are a proper response. They are A Proper Response to the LORD’s Mercy.

Joshua had lived about 110 years when he addressed the people of Israel with the words of our text, and over the span of that very long life, Joshua had experienced many mercies of the LORD toward Israel. He could recall the sight of Moses arriving in Egypt. “Look, can you see him? There’s the prophet sent by the LORD, on his way to tell Pharaoh, ‘Let my people go!’” Joshua could recall the beautiful sound of music as Moses and Miriam sang praises to the LORD: “Listen, can you hear them singing that the LORD has hurled Pharaoh’s horses and riders into the sea.” Joshua could remember the taste of manna sent from heaven, a sweet taste like that of thin wafers baked with honey. He could remember the refreshing taste of clear water flowing from a rock. And Joshua could remember what happened after Israel entered the Promised Land of Canaan. He could remember feeling the ground shake under his feet when the strong wall of Jericho came a’tumblin down. He could remember smelling the aroma of fresh wine and fresh oil pressed from grapes and from olives which the Israelites had not planted. Over the span of Joshua’s life The LORD had performed so many great wonders for his people. He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and he had given them a good land for their possession.

No other god had done a single thing for Israel. No other god would ever do a single thing for Israel. In mercy, the LORD wanted Israel to be his people, and, in mercy, he wanted Israel to know him as their God. His endeavor to make this a reality went back long before the exodus from Egypt, centuries before the Israelites even went down to Egypt. In the ancient past, the LORD had graciously called their forefather, Abraham. Abraham had lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. He was from a people who worshipped false gods. But the LORD called Abraham out of that darkness. The LORD promised to bless Abraham and to bless all people through him. The LORD promised that Abraham’s offspring would possess the land of Canaan. It was all mercy; Israel’s history from Abraham down to Joshua was all undeserved mercy. So how could they respond in any other way than by affirming their faithfulness to the LORD? How could they respond in any other way than by saying with Joshua, “We will serve the LORD,” [18]?

Do you find it curious at all that Joshua had to tell the Israelites to remove other gods? What are they doing worshipping other gods? Hadn’t their fathers and grandfathers seen the great signs of the LORD in Egypt and in the desert? Hadn’t they, themselves, seen the great signs of LORD delivering the Promised Land of Canaan into their hands? Why does Joshua have to tell Israel to remove other gods? Well, one of the clearest lessons that we learn from Israel’s history is that idolatry dies hard. Idolatry does not go down easy. Like weeds in the garden, it must be constantly be addressed and uprooted. When it goes unchecked, it quickly takes over.

We can presume from Joshua’s words that while the Israelites lived in Egypt, some of them worshipped other gods, perhaps Egyptian gods. We know from Scripture that while the Israelites were travelling through the wilderness, thousands of them were put to death for worshipping the golden calf and the Baal of Peor. In the years after Joshua, many Israelites would worship the detestable gods of the nations around them, gods like Baal, and Asherah, and Molek. At every step of Israel’s history, idolatry was a problem that needed to be addressed, and the proper way of addressing it was the call to repentance. So Joshua called for repentance in his time. He called the people not merely to throw down images made out of wood and stone. No, Joshua called for a housecleaning of the heart. He said, “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully,” [14]. And the whole company of Israel responded to the LORD’s mercy, just as Joshua had responded to the mercy of the LORD. Joshua said, “As for me and my household – we will serve the LORD!” [15]. And the whole company of Israel said, “We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God!” [18].

So what about us? Has the LORD been merciful to us? Surely he has! Before we were born, before the creation of the world, the LORD chose us to belong to his Israel. He chose us to be his holy people in Jesus Christ, our Savior. He wanted to be our God, and he wanted us to be his people, and this was mercy, pure mercy from a most merciful God. We were rebels; we were strangers. When our lives began, we were wandering in the darkness of idolatry. We were slaves to sin, deserving eternal death in hell. But the LORD called us out of that darkness. He called us to be his holy people. He brought us through the Red Sea of Holy Baptism. Yes, at a font, like this one, the LORD drowned the sin that enslaved you. At a font, like this one, the LORD washed away the shame that entangled you. He marked you with the cross of Christ, your Passover Lamb, whose blood has redeemed you from sin and from death and from hell. You now have a new life from the LORD, a new life rich in blessings. And you have an eternal home in the Promised Land to come. Yes, the LORD has been merciful to us! The LORD has performed great wonders for us! No other god has ever done a single thing for us. No other god will ever do a single thing for us.

So it is proper for us, also, to hear the call to repentance. It is proper for us to remove other gods, to undertake that housecleaning of the heart that Joshua called for. The nations around us might not flock to temples for Baal and Asherah and Molek, but whatever a person trusts the most has become that person’s god. So there are many false gods. Some worship mammon, the god of wealth. They believe, “If I store up enough treasure today, then tomorrow I can buy everything that I need.” Then there’s the god of the intellect? Wasn’t that the god that many people chose over Jesus in today’s Gospel text? They said of Jesus’ teaching, “This is a hard teaching! Who can listen to it?” [John 6:60]. And they turned away from their Savior, just as many do today. Another very popular god these days is the god of ease, the god who is worshipped by those who want an existence in which nothing is ever too urgent and nothing is ever too real. They lead lives medicated with the drug of their choice so that they can have minimal struggle, minimal suffering, and minimal commitment.

But these false gods cannot save. They cannot atone for your sins. They cannot overcome death. They cannot secure a place for you in heaven. False gods cannot do a single thing for you, and they have no claim on you. The LORD has claimed you. Christ has paid for you with his precious blood. He set you apart from the idolatrous world and marked you as his own possession in Baptism. You do not belong to an idol; you do not belong to yourself; you belong to the LORD, the true God. So respond to his mercy. Turn away from the idols who cannot help you. Say along with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!” [15].

And Christian men, say that on behalf of your household. Don’t be ashamed to serve as a Joshua; lead your house to serve the LORD. God has put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to the direction that your family will go. So lead your family in the godly way. Lead them to hear the words of Jesus and to receive those words as the truth.

Christian women, if you aren’t married and you are looking for a husband, then find one who will be a Joshua for you. Find one who will lead you and your children to serve the LORD. If you have married that kind of a husband, then encourage him, support him, and help him as he leads your house. If your husband is not a believer, then pray for his conversion, and seek to win him over to the truth. Until that happens, take your stand to serve the LORD and do all you can to guide your children to serve the LORD as well.

The culture around us might think little of us. The culture around us might say that we are strange. But what matters a lot more than what they say is what LORD says. He says “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,” [1 Peter 2:9]. He says that you have been “justified by his grace,” and that you are “heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life,” [Titus 3:7]. He says that you are “a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing,” [Ephesians 5:27]. Now, therefore, let us fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Others may choose the gods of the nations, but we will serve the LORD.

Amen.

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