March 16th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Inside Out

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Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, today may Your eternal light and Your enduring Word lead me into Your presence, I pray.

Read Joshua 24:16-33

[16] Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! [17] It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. [18] And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.” [19] Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. [20] If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” [21] But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.” [22] Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. [23] “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” [24] And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.” [25] On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. [26] And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. [27] “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” [28] Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance. [29] After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. [30] And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. [31] Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel. [32] And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants. [33] And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world–your mind and heart–put right. Then you can see God in the outside world” (Matt 5:8, The Message).

Think Further

We may wonder why Joshua is so persistent in warning about idolatry. The people seem intent on doing the right thing: three times they affirm their commitment to follow the Lord (18,21, and 24). Joshua persists, however, because he knows that, for all their protestations, the people were privately clinging to idols (14,23). That shouldn’t surprise us, though. How often do we continue with our Christian routines while refusing to let go of stubborn sin patterns? The source of the problem, Joshua points out, isn’t the hardware; it’s the “heart-ware.” Until we completely yield our hearts to God (23), our public and private lives will be at odds, and produce a dysfunctional spiritual life. 

The book of Joshua leaves us with the feeling that a sequel is coming. When the people say, “We will serve the Lord,” you just know what comes next. The book of Judges shows God’s people breaking that promise, again and again. Perhaps that’s why Joshua says, “You are not able to serve the Lord” (19). He doesn’t want them to fail, especially after investing his life in their spiritual well-being. He’s simply being truthful; human beings can’t obey, can’t follow, and can’t please God, in their own strength.

As Joshua hands on the baton of spiritual leadership, we sense his longing for a solution to this dilemma. God was using Joshua, whose name means “The Lord saves,” to set the stage for a bigger sequel, the coming of the true Savior, Jesus Christ. He would die to restore the relationship between God and his people once and for all. And the cross only set the stage for the final sequel, the day when Jesus will return to be with his followers forever. Come, Lord Jesus!

Apply

Are there any ways that your public life is out of sync with your private life? How could you bring your whole life more in step with the Spirit?

Closing prayer

Lord, I daily need Your help and grace. Infuse me with Your enabling, so I will be an authentic disciple.

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