Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (NRSV)
Read Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 24Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. Verse 2And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors-Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor-lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Verse 14"Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
Verse 15Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region 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." Verse 16Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; Verse 17for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; Verse 18and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God."
Devotion
One of the issues of "dealing with life" is our need to choose a god. We always depend on something to make our day a good day. Our god can be many things: "I got a lot done today"; "I had a good time with my family today"; "I stood up for what was right today"; "My team won today"; or "Look at what I bought today!" Whatever god we choose, we use that god to deal with life.
The people of Israel chose the Lord as their God because God brought them out of the house of slavery. God helped them deal with life by giving them a new life under God's rule, not that of the Egyptians. In Jesus, God has chosen us and rules over us with forgiveness and mercy, so we can deal with life and depend on God for the goodness of our days.
Prayer
Merciful Father, give us Jesus' death and rising, his forgiveness and mercy, to make each day a good day. Help us to rely on him to deal with our life each day. Amen.