By Kelly Epperson
After conquering the land of Canaan, Joshua called the Israelites to Shechem. It was here that he delivered one of the most powerful speeches recorded in history, telling the people,
“Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:14b-15 (NKJV).
Most people know the stand Joshua made for himself and his family. It is very important, though, to note how the people responded to Joshua’s call for action. They answered him,
“Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God” Joshua 24:16-18 (NKJV).
In their reply, the people gave 3 reasons for serving the Lord: 1) He brought them out of bondage, 2) He saved them from their enemies, and 3) He was their God. Those same reasons apply to us today. Let’s examine them closer:
- He brought us out of bondage.
The Israelites were referring to their bondage in Egypt. God, through His servant Moses, led the people out of slavery. Today, while slavery is outlawed in this country, it is all around us. Many people live their lives in bondage to sin. Paul makes this comparison in Romans 6. He then says, “But God be thanked, that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that doctrine to which you were delivered.” What doctrine? The doctrine of Christ. God sent His Son to die on the cross, which gave us an opportunity to escape the bondage of sin and live a life to God, through obedience to Him. At the time of Moses, God used the 10 plagues and other signs to prove that He was God. Christ also used miracles to prove He was the Son of God. After His death, the apostles were given the power to perform signs to confirm the Word. Now, we have a record of those signs in God’s Word, still proving today that His Word is True.
Imagine what joy, what thankfulness, what relief was shown by those slaves who were set free 150 years ago! We should have that same gratitude to our Lord, who has set us all free from sin. We should serve the Lord, because He brought us out of bondage.
- He saved us from our enemies.
When leaving Egypt, the Israelites faced many enemy nations. The Lord was faithful, and defeated these nations, saving the Israelites from destruction. Today, God saves us from our enemy, that serpent of old, Satan. When we come into contact with the blood of Jesus Christ through baptism, God removes our sins, and we are saved from Satan’s hold. The ultimate power Satan possessed was death (Genesis 3, Romans 5), but Christ destroyed the power of death when He was resurrected 3 days after His crucifixion (I Corinthians 15:55-56). When we become Christians, death loses its power for us. The grave has no hold any longer. For this, we should serve our God, who saved us from our enemies.
- He is our God.
When the Lord commanded Moses to go to Egypt, to set His people free, He said, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The very existence of God is so powerful, that it demands our reverence and obedience. The wicked ask, “Who is the Almighty that I should serve Him?” The righteous respond,
“He is the God Who created the Heavens and Earth from nothing.
He is the God Who formed our being from dust.
He is the God Who lifts up the humble and destroys nations.
He is the God Who sees our hearts and discerns our thoughts.
He is the God Who makes the earth tremble and the winds obey.
He is the God Who loves us and sent His Son to die for us.
He is the God Who allows us to accept or reject Him, in spite of all He has done for us.”
Why should we serve the Lord? We must serve Him because He brought us out of bondage. We must serve Him because He saved us from our enemy. Most of all, we must serve Him because He is our God. Our wonderful, loving, fearsome God.
