Joshua called the people of his time to make a choice about the god they would serve. He laid out for them... four choices they could make. The options were like four points on a compass, because whatever choice made, would lead in a different direction. A simple axiom... the choices we make in life ultimately will determine our direction and final destination.
Choice 1: Gods of Our Fathers
"The gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River" (Josh. 24:14).
Long before God spoke to Abraham and told him of the future of his people, a people with a special standing before God, the ancestors of Abraham worshiped the gods of the region where they lived. There were three cosmic deities, three astral deities, and a whole bunch of specialized benevolent gods and corresponding malevolent demons. Dead people came back as spirits to haunt their children. Animism was widely practiced... the hills, rocks, trees and mountains were considered to be alive and have powers.
Abraham came from a society that believed in such gods and held such beliefs. In fact, the Bible specifically tells us Abraham's father was an idol worshiper. Belief in these gods persisted even after the rise of the Hebrew people, right up to Joshua's era. Joshua wanted to know if they were going to default to the gods of their forefathers.
It's still a valid question today. We raise our children in the church and hope as they grow to adulthood they will continue fellowship in the church. We may not do so consciously, but we constantly are erecting idols in our homes and teaching our children about who or what is worthy of our worship.
Think about how this is true for you and the family in which you were raised. Is it possible the gods at war in your life today are the same gods your parents or grandparents worshiped when you were younger? Offspring often end up worshipping whatever gods their parents worshiped.
The basic premise supporting this generational transference is that our lives are determined by our thoughts, and our thoughts are determined by the things, the ideals we are exposed to. Our minds absorb, habits are formed and our lives reflect the attitudes to which we are most frequently exposed. It shouldn't surprise us that we tend to worship the gods of our fathers and mothers.
Money. Perhaps nothing was more important to your father than a successful career. His life revolved around his job. He was willing to sacrifice days off and family vacations to work his way up the ladder of success. His mood was determined by what kind of day he had at work. His temple was his office, and he worshiped there 60 hours or more each week. Is it possible that you now worship the gods of success and achievement? Instead of finding your identity and worth in Christ, do you find it in your career?
Some of the gods worshiped today... Sports, Sex, Money, Status, Alcohol, Shopping, Career, Children, Entertainment... anything that occupies our time and captures our undivided attention. Don't dismiss those examples. Think about what was held up for you in your childhood home. Your parents wanted you to be successful in life and would hold their “gods” up to you as the path to a happy and productive life. The most natural path in the world is to adopt the gods of our parents.
Choice 2: Gods of Your Past
"The gods your ancestors worshiped...in Egypt" (Josh. 24:14).
Joshua specifically mentioned the gods of Egypt. These were the gods of the previous generation, gods from the past that never completely went away from the Hebrew people.
The Egyptians had a diverse and highly developed pantheon of deities. The Egyptians had their popular gods, but they actually worshiped almost everything, including the sun, moon and stars. Smorgasbord worship, [pick one or two that suit your lifestyle] was their thing.
The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt longer than the United States has been a nation. Almost twice as long! There was no way they were going to endure that long period of time without absorbing some of the culture around them. When Moses led his people out of that land, the local gods weren't about to give up without a fight. Old habits, including old worship patterns, die hard.
Do you ever find yourself struggling with things from the past that you thought you had left behind a long time ago? Here's the point: A lot of people become Christians, but never quite “unload the old self.” Everything is great until they get bored, or their expectations are not realized, or something they wanted from God doesn't happen and they begin to drift back to what was comfortable and known. In reality, what they did was bring into their walk as Christians the gods of their previous worldly focused life. Bad habits, unwholesome attitudes, all the stuff that should have been completely eradicated from their lives, has managed to come along for the ride, lurking quietly in the background waiting for an opportunity to raise havoc.
This necessary eradication of the “old self” is hard to understand, when the Bible tells us a person’s sins are forgiven. If someone has been thoroughly cleaned, why does “stuff “ still clinging to them? It’s more than forgiveness of sins... its about changing everything that drives a person to the very core of one’s soul. Conversion means little if a person clings to old desires, attitudes and habits. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have Jesus in your life and still covet the old gods that ruled your previous life. That’s the challenge for many Christians today. The problem isn't that we need to choose to follow Jesus... the problem is that we have tried to follow Him without leaving our old gods behind.
Joshua knew there was a bit of Egypt’s gods still lurking in the hearts of his people. Old gods die hard. They hold on, creep in and quietly reinvade our most inner being. Never, never doubt their power over us. Just because you’ve committed your life to Christ, doesn’t immediately free you from the corrupting influences of your old gods. Those old gods fall silent for a while, but they surface, when you give them an opening. They want to rule our hearts to our destruction.
So even if you've chosen the True God in the past, the challenge of Joshua is to choose “this day and every day ever after... who you will serve.”
Choice 3: Gods of Our Culture
"Or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living" (Josh. 24:15).
The Israelites were challenged to conquer a land where false gods and sinful living prevailed, similar to our contemporary society. There were many people groups and many different gods. The dominant deity was Baal, whose name meant "owner, master or lord" (sound familiar?). When the Israelites would conquer these peoples, they would continue to be a thorn in Israel's side. Their weapon was proximity, these were the gods who existed in plain sight.
There was a goddess named Ashtoreth. She presided over temples devoted to abhorrent human sacrifices and sexual rituals. The lifestyle of the Amorites was alluring to the Israelites. Why? Because these gods had home field advantage... they were right there operating in plain sight, right where the Israelites lived. The True God had warned them. He told them to eradicate those peoples and their gods from their land... they didn't and the consequences were devastating and destructive.
Two of the most significant factors that consistently determine which gods win the war in our lives, are time and place. We struggle with the gods of our culture every day. We live immersed in what is known as the spirit of the age, so prevalent, and yet it often seems to be invisible to us. Could it be that we have our own idols that are hiding in plain sight that we don't recognize simply because they're so common [comfortable] to us?
Paul said, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). "The pattern of this world" is his way of describing the spirit or gods of this age. To go with the flow is to conform to the pattern of this world. The Bible advises us to renew our minds by plugging into the eternal, unchanging truth of God. God’s Word and His ways are like an antibiotic that can eventually overcome the diseases within us... a lurking virus of false gods that seek to overtake our bodies, minds and very soul. For the antibiotic of truth to eradicate the demonic influences within us, we need to be constantly feeding on the healing power of God’s Word.
Choice 4: The One and Only True God
"But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Josh. 24:15).
Joshua's fourth option was the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the One True God. Joshua might well have been the consummate pitch man, because he saves the best and they only real choice till the end of his presentation. It’s the final option. None of the other options are real. They may look promising, but they do nothing to satisfy our quest for alignment with Deity.
Before Joshua gave the people these four options, he stacked the deck a bit by describing all the things God has done for His people through the years. The Lord God had been active and worked powerfully among them redeeming, protecting, guiding and providing. So in making their choice, the obvious question for the people to ask of these other gods... What have you ever done for us?
In making your own choice, maybe you should ask yourself the same question. What enduring value has the god of wealth really bought anyone? Did the gods of pleasure ever once deliver true and lasting happiness? What about the gods of pleasure? Can they provide a joy that is more than that of a passing moment? What have these gods done for you? If anything, they have enslaved you. They have robbed you. They have disappointed you.
People are insecure and uncomfortable when they can’t touch or see something they put their life’s trust in. The True God requires steady trusting faith. Not easy. God delivers invisible, intangible things that are not convertible to currencies and assets in our world. Followers of Jesus Christ have moved beyond the “gods of this world” and accepted and hold firmly to such things as forgiveness, fulfillment, hope, contentment, joy and peace. Psalm 86:8 says, "Among the gods there is none like You, Lord; no deeds can compare with Yours."
How did the people respond to Joshua’s great four-way challenge? They said exactly the right words (see Josh. 24:16-18). Even so, he didn't let them off the hook easily. Joshua warned them about the jealousy and the holiness of God. He described the disaster that would come upon them if they didn't live up to the words they were speaking.
Joshua had watched the Hebrew people all his life. He knew how fickle their hearts were, how quickly their attention wandered. He knew how easily they said the right things only to turn around and make the wrong choices. It's so simple to produce the right platitudes on cue as they often did, but it's so hard to keep living the truth. So Joshua warned them about their relationship with the One True God.
This story of the fledgling nation of Israel did not have such a good outcome. They tried to “have no others gods before me” but they failed to live up to their words and promises to God.
The “gods of this world” will never surrender. They know how to work the “ebb and flow” of Christian people. They may lose a generation, but even then, they know they’ve got a very good shot at the next one. They may lose you for a year or several years, but they'll wait quietly and patiently for you to stumble... they never give up.
