Who will you serve?

Where does the speech of Joshua we just heard take place?

Shechem: if you need to, look up Joshua chapter 24 in the Bible.

what else has happened there?

Genesis 12: 1-7  call of Abram

Genesis 33:   18 – 20 [ 33: 1-16 Jacob and Esau reconcile ] Jacob buys a plot of land at Shechem

Genesis 35: 2 – 4  buried false gods under the tree at Shechem.

(for more information on this see http://otl.unitingchurch.org.au/index.php?page=joshua-24-1-25 

many times the people of Israel rehear the story of their history. what is different about this story?

generally Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but in this chapter of Joshua's we go back to Terah, the father of Abraham and Abraham's brother Nahor is also mentioned.

this story takes place where Abraham and Jacob also travel, both building an altar to the Lord. And at the end of this passage we heard from Joshua again uses a large stone to witness the choice of the people, in this very same place.

Joshua had outlined the history of the people of Israel, and it starts with long ago your ancestors: even though he then mentions Terah and his sons: Abraham and Nahor, it also includes those who lived before then. The Lord through Joshua, is reminding the people that  their ancestors worshipped different Gods.

This place is also significant because it is the place where other gods, and the images of other gods, were buried by Jacob. And here we have Joshua asking the people who they will follow, which God will they worship, which God will they serve.

Genesis chapter 12 is where we hear the call of Abram to leave his father's home and to take his animals and his family and go to the land that God will show him. And God shows him the land of Canaan and tells him that his offspring will have that land. In Joshua 24 we read about Abram and Jacob and Esau, and we hear of Moses and Aaron and the people getting out of Egypt, we hear of  the time when they lived in the wilderness, and we hear of  all the different groups they fought. Joshua is telling the people of Israel that God has fulfilled his promise to Abraham.

For many of us, as modern readers, we find some of these passages in the old testament difficult. Most of us no longer talk about God leading us into battle against a foreign army, though we do still hear that language at times. This was a different time. People looked for, and expected to see, the hand of God at work in every situation.

This event occurs in a significant place for the people of Israel, Joshua outlines the history for the people, and then says to them: “decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

When Joshua asks the people whom will you serve, he is asking about worship and life. The people had been in slavery, they had to serve their Masters in whatever way the master wished. Now they are being asked to choose who they will serve: Pharaoh, one of the gods of their ancestors, or the Lord the God of Israel.

Joshua took a large stone and set it up under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord, as a witness against the people. A reminder of the pledge they had made.

reflection: Whom Will You Serve?

from Spill the Beans

Throughout history, people have served a variety of gods. We hear of the Lord's involvement throughout the history of the world; from creation, to liberation from slavery in Egypt, to the humiliation of the exile, the warnings of the prophets to live lives of Justice and peace, the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus, the one whose life shows us most clearly what God is like, the one whose teaching inspires us, and the travels of the early Christians.

What might God say to us?

Just to as our ancestors recorded in the Bible, set out to worship and serve the Lord, some time ago a group decided to start a church, in a new and growing suburb. They were blessed with leaders who helped the church to grow, and who built spaces to worship and meet, and spaces for the community to gather. the people  worshipped, witnessed, and served the Lord. and God blessed them. And there were difficulties, and pain, and celebrations.

What might God say to us?

From your birth, I have loved you.

Throughout your life, I have been present with you.

I have brought you out of slavery,

slavery to guilt,

slavery to greed,

slavery to Pharaoh  in whatever form that takes in your life.

This is the God who defeats sin in your life,

who overcomes your fear with love.

Who will you serve?

Will you serve the God of market forces?

Will you serve that God of astrology?

Will be serve the God of popularity?

Will you serve the God of shame?

or Will you serve the God who has loved you and offers you freedom and liberation?

if you respond as the people of Israel did to Joshua “we will serve the Lord for he is our God”

I bring you a challenge:

        this God is not one to be trifled with,

this God knows your heart,

this God expects all of your life, not just part of it.

So I ask you again:  who will you serve?

Are you sure you want answer as the Israelites did to Joshua: I will serve the Lord for she is my God”

Are you willing to forsake all other gods,

are you willing to be laughed at,

are you willing to be considered out of step with the rest of society,

are you willing to stand up for that which is right

even when it is unpopular and dangerous?

For this Christian life is no easy path.

Unlike the people of Israel who were responding to Joshua, we have forgiveness through Jesus Christ, we do not fear that God will smite us.

But we are still asked to respond with every fibre of our being and every second of our life.

So I ask you again: who will you serve?

[place a large stone on the communion table]

Who will you serve?

time for reflection