Joshua Spoke To God’s People

God had His the people out of slavery in Egypt through a series of mighty miracles. God then led them through the wilderness for forty years. And finally, He fought for them and gave them the land. After all this, Joshua gathers the people and speaks to them, knowing that he will soon leave them. Joshua recounts the miracles that God has done for them and reminds them of their own failures to follow God. At the end of his speech, Joshua says, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.” To serve God with sincerity means to be free from efforts to make ourselves proud, using deceit, or to cover our weaknesses. To serve God with faithfulness means to be steadfast in our affection and loyalty to Him, as well as to be firm in fulfilling our commitments to Him.Joshua commands the people to decide on that day whom they will serve. He adds His own commitment by saying, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We all must make the choice of whom we will serve. Will we choose to serve ourselves through selfishness? Or will we choose to follow God and serve Him with sincerity and faithfulness? Our choice has eternal consequences or rewards. So choose with careful thought and commitment.