Thoughts for the Day

Then 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. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:

‘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. Now 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.’

Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for 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; and 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.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

There are many times in our life when we review or renew contracts - like annual insurance policies, or our baptism promises, or when we review an agreement or promises we make to other people. In the case of our reading today, Joshua needs to check that the people are still with him; that they agree to the promise (the covenant) they made through Moses with God. As they move into the Promised Land Joshua needs to know that the twelve tribes are on the same wave-length, before they go to their allotted territories, and not least before Joshua's death. The covenant is still binding upon them, but a renewal of it seems advisable..

Joshua offers the people four choices. They can worship the old Egyptian gods, or the gods found in the wilderness on the other side of the river Jordan, or the gods found among the Amorite people in Canaan, or they can worship the Lord - the God who had brought them out of Egypt and protected them during their forty years of wandering in the desert.

Look at the way Joshua answers the question to the people with his own answer. His utter confidence in God, should get to us emotionally, as he says: "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." How often does a leader have that God-given confidence to lead his or her people?

At our Baptism God invited us to become His children, through our faith in His Son, Jesus. The promises we (or our godparents or sponsors) made then, or we made later for ourselves, were just as binding. We made an eternal covenant with God. Do we have that confidence today to renew our allegiance to God and say "As for me, I will serve the Lord!"?

Lord God,
You called us to be Your sons and daughters,
and to commit our lives to You,
following wherever You lead.
Today we come before You to re-commit
ourselves to You, saying
"As for me, I will serve the Lord!"
May we take these words into the future,,
no matter our situation,
vowing to live for You in the world.
Amen.