Week 12 Joshua 24 & Psalm 81
Right near the end of his life Joshua makes the tribes an offer. It’s a pretty interesting one: so honour the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Serve the Lord alone. But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today who you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?
This sounds to me like a fair choice that’s on offer. If it’s disagreeable to serve the Lord then choose someone else to serve. Since y’all gotta-serve-somebody feel free to make your choice.
The psalm I was reading today quoted the Lord: my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their…way, living according to their own desires.
This is the sense I usually get reading the bible. The Lord makes an offer and Israel gets to make a choice. Free to choose what’s on offer…or free not to.
One thing the Lord usually does is to spell-out consequentialities – outcome x is the consequent of action y. But I don’t get the impression the Lord is a terrible punitive vindictive I’m-gonna-get-you kind of God for mentioning after effects. To me it sounds more like a fair warning. More like a don’t-drive-through-a-red-light-at-high-speed-at-a-busy-intersection kind of warning.
In the end the choice is mine to make.
Note: quotes from Joshua 24:14-15 & Psalm 81:11-12 (NLT)