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We turn in your Bibles to Joshua, 
Chapter 24. Joshua, Chapter 24 passage that 
we have looked at in the past this morning, I want to focus 
primarily, or at least by way of some application on verse 
15, a familiar verse. But as for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord. I don't want to just parachute 
our way into Shechem and pull this out of context. So we'll 
look at the chapter as a whole. I'll just pick up reading in 
chapter 24 of Joshua, beginning in verse one. And Joshua gathered 
all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of 
Israel, for their heads, for their judges and for their officers. And they presented themselves 
before God. Joshua said to all the people, 
thus says the Lord God of Israel, your fathers, including Terah, 
the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the 
other side of the river in old times, and they served other 
gods. Then I took your father Abraham 
from the other side of the river and led him throughout all the 
land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants and gave him 
Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. 
To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess. But Jacob 
and his children went down to Egypt. Also I sent Moses and 
Aaron, and I plagued Egypt according to what I did among them. Afterward, 
I brought you out. Then I brought your fathers out 
of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued 
your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. So they 
cried out to the Lord, and he put darkness between you and 
the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. 
Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness 
a long time. And I brought you into the land 
of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan. 
and they fought with you, but I gave them into your hand that 
you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before 
you. Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war 
against Israel and sent and called Balaam, the son of Baor, to curse 
you. But I would not listen to Balaam, 
therefore he continued to bless you, so I delivered you out of 
his hand. Then you went over to Jordan 
and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against 
you. also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, 
the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered 
them into your hand. I sent the hornet before you, 
which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the 
Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. I have given 
you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you 
did not build, and you dwell in them. You eat of the vineyards 
and olive groves which you did not plant. Therefore, fear the 
Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the 
gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river 
and in Egypt. 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. So the people answered and said, 
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 
said to the people, you cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy 
God. He is a jealous God. He will 
not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake 
the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you 
harm and consume you after he has done you good. And the people 
said to Joshua, no, but we will serve the Lord. So Joshua said 
to the people, you are witnesses against yourselves that you have 
chosen the Lord for yourselves to serve him. And they said, 
we are witnesses. Now, therefore, he said, put 
away the foreign gods which are among you and incline your heart 
to the Lord God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, 
the Lord, our God, we will serve and his voice we will obey. So 
Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made for 
them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote 
these words in the book of the law of God. And he took a large 
stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary 
of the Lord. Joshua said to all the people, 
behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the 
words of the Lord, which he spoke to us. It shall therefore be 
a witness to you, lest you deny your God. So, Joshua, let the 
people depart each to his own inheritance. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Father, we come now to consider 
this passage of scripture. We pray for the ministry of your 
spirit. We pray that he would guide and direct us and help 
us, God, to take these things to heart. I pray, Father, that 
you would just bless your people here, that you would cause us 
to reflect upon the word of God, to reflect upon it not just on 
the Lord's day, but each and every day. And Father, just bless 
us for your glory's sake. And we pray in Jesus' holy name. 
Amen. The book of Joshua, as I'm sure 
you're well aware of, deals with entering the land. We're studying 
the book of Deuteronomy, and presently we're in Deuteronomy 
chapter 5. on our Wednesday night studies. And what's going on 
in the book of Deuteronomy is that the children of Israel are 
gathered on the plains of Moab and Moses instructs them. That's 
essentially what the book of Deuteronomy is taken up with. 
He is preparing them to enter into the land. Of course, when 
Moses dies, Joshua is his successor. Joshua is the military leader 
that makes good on the promise of God in terms of bringing the 
people in and seeking to dispossess the land of Canaanites. So they 
enter the land, they take the land, they possess the land, 
and then in the latter chapters, 22 to 24, Joshua exhorts them 
on how to retain the land. In other words, he is calling 
them to fidelity, he is calling them to faithfulness, he is calling 
them by way of exhortation to walk in humility before their 
God and to engage in covenant faithfulness. Just go back for 
just a moment, just so you can see a helpful key to the book 
as a whole. It's in Joshua 21, verses 43 
to 45. This summarizes the entirety 
of the book. So the Lord gave to Israel all 
the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers. and 
they took possession of it and dwelt in it. That summarizes 
chapters 13 to 21. Verse 44 then says, The Lord 
gave them rest all around, according to all that he had sworn to their 
fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them. 
The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. That 
summarizes chapters 1 to 12. And then the grand summary, the 
grand idea of this entire book is verse 45. Not a word failed 
of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. So it's on 
the heels of that theology, it's on the heels of that summary, 
it's on the heels of that interpretation that Joshua then charges the 
people to faithfulness before their God in the land that he 
is giving them. Specifically, chapter 24 is a 
covenant ratification ceremony. It's held at Shechem. Shechem 
is significant in biblical geography. Remember, it's at Shechem that 
God speaks to Abram. It is there at Shechem that God 
carves out for him Abram from amongst the peoples, and it's 
there that Abram first builds an altar to the Lord God. So, 
in a very real way, as they gather back at Shechem in Joshua 24, 
it is to highlight, it is to boldface and underline and show 
that, in fact, God is faithful to His wonderful promises. So, 
that's the specific context of Joshua 24. Now, as we enter in 
to consider it, we're going to do two things this morning. First, 
look at the review of covenant history. In other words, there 
is a particular way that covenants are founded or built or covenants 
are issued. There is a review of history, 
what God the Lord had done in their past and why He is calling 
for faithfulness. We'll do that. Review of covenant 
history, chapter 24, verses 2 to 13, and then the demand for covenant 
commitment, verses 14 to 24. It's in that section that our 
verse appears. As for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord. Let's look first at the review 
of Covenant history. The first thing to recognize 
is the grace of God. It's the grace of God. We review 
God's dealings with us. Let us not look at ourselves 
and how we've performed, and how we've merited, and how we've 
deserved God's favor. No, we must first stop and see 
and marvel at the wonderful grace of God. Notice in verse 2. Joshua 
said to all the people, thus says the Lord God of Israel, 
your fathers, including Tara, the father of Abraham and the 
father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the river in old 
times, and they served other gods. There is a writing among 
the Jews that developed that says that Abram came to himself. Abram realized the idolatry that 
his fathers were engaged in, and so Abram separated himself 
from such a venture. Obviously, to keep their hero, 
Abram, looking in the best possible light. Well, the hero of the 
Bible isn't Abram, is it? The hero of the Bible is God 
Most High. The text is very specific. Abram 
dwelt with his fathers and engaged in idolatry. It is the Lord who 
called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. So, before we get into the need 
for covenant commitment, God is tracing the marvelous grace 
of God Most High. He was not raised in the church. 
He did not attend Sunday school. He was not committed to Bible 
study and prayer. He was not, therefore, rewarded 
for his good conduct. You see, Abram didn't sit with 
his laptop while he lived in Ur of the Chaldeans and listened 
to good sermons on sermonaudio.com. He didn't click on Albert N. 
Martin. He didn't click on Paul Washer. He didn't click on Derrick 
Thomas. He didn't listen to Sinclair 
Ferguson. He wasn't feeding himself with lectures done at Reformed 
Theological Seminary. He was an idolater. He was a 
God-hater. He despised Yahweh of Israel. 
And what we are to appreciate in this review of covenant history 
is not the heroism of Abraham, but the grace of God most high. He was in that place of wickedness 
and abomination. John Calvin says Abraham did 
not emerge from profound ignorance and the abyss of error by his 
own virtue, but was drawn out by the hand of God. The first 
element in our review of covenant history that is vital for us 
to appreciate. You'll see the New Testament 
is patterned on the same sort of a motif before Paul ever gets 
to the therefore of Romans chapter 12 and verse one. What does he 
do in chapters one to eleven? But he highlights and portrays 
for us and depicts to us the grace of God. The grace of God. I hope you never get tired of 
that. If he did, you'd probably never admit it. Need to refresh yourself. Why 
Abraham? Did he have the chutzpah? Did 
he have the wherewithal? Did he have the determination? 
Did he have the resolve? Did he have the natural leadership 
ability? Did he have the characteristic? 
Did he have the virtue of a man of God? No, he's an idolater 
bowing down to those things which are not God. And God calls him 
out of Ur of the Chaldeans and initiates the greatest promise 
ever made to this particular man. You see, what we're to appreciate 
in the scriptures is the one hero, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're to appreciate the marvelous 
grace of God most high. Notice, secondly, with reference 
to this review of covenant history, this is a helpful reminder for 
us in our busy age where we operate according to the clock and when 
we take that mindset and we start to impose it upon God, we want 
God's blessings and we want them right now. We don't want to be 
like that widow, that importunate widow who continues to come back 
to the judge seeking verdict that will please her. She is 
held up by Jesus as a great example. Notice something about the pace 
of God, the way he works, the way he operates, the way that 
he engages. Notice in verse three. Verse 
3, Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, 
led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his 
descendants and gave him Isaac. It's a great statement, isn't 
it? It's kind of an interesting statement. I multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac. Think about 
it. Usually you wouldn't say, I multiplied 
my whatever by one. So we know what happens when 
we multiply something by one, we end up with one, right? It's 
kind of an interesting statement. It's not even as if Isaac had 
a whole bunch of progeny. He had Jacob and Esau. But the 
time reference is interesting. After God promises to Abraham 
that he will multiply him, that he will give him a seed, it takes 
25 years. Now again, for us looking back 
on biblical history, it doesn't seem like a lot, does it? I mean, 
25 years, according to the Scripture, is like a drop in the bucket. 
Think about 25 years for you. Think about what you're going 
to be doing 25 years from now. Though maybe you shouldn't. Maybe 
some in the group don't want to think about what they'll be 
doing in 25 years. That's a long time, isn't it? 
It's an amazing long time. We're conditioned by virtue of 
our own sinfulness and by virtue of the society that we live in 
that we want it. We want it right now. God's pace 
isn't like ours. God doesn't snap to when we tell 
him to. God has his decree. God governs 
all things according to his sovereignty. It is all in his plan. He didn't just snap his fingers 
and move Abram to Shechem and implement this ratification ceremony. What happened when Israel went 
into bondage? They were there for 430 years. Quite a bit of 
time has passed since Genesis chapter 12 and Joshua chapter 
24. God's promises are often fulfilled 
or after a long period of time. You're in the wrong business 
if you want a religion that delivers right now. You are under a sovereign God, 
whom the Psalter describes this way. Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases. It's best to submit. It's best 
to enjoy. It's best to realize that He 
has my good in His view. That Romans 8.28 isn't just something 
good for a fridge magnet, but it's something that ought to 
cause my heart to throb in the midst of good times, but in the 
midst of bad times as well. That my God will indeed cause 
all things to work for good. The pace of God. Notice thirdly, 
the ways of God. Again, sometimes mysterious to 
us, sometimes mesmerizing. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, 
verse 4. To Esau I gave the mountains 
of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to 
Egypt. Now again, it's something sitting in Shechem in Joshua 
24 looking back on this event. It's something for us sitting 
in Chiluac in the 21st century looking back on this event. But 
somewhere along the line, maybe one of the faithful in Israel 
scratched their melon and said, what's the deal here? God loves 
Jacob and he hates Esau, and yet Esau has received his possession. You see, sometimes we're super 
spiritual and we think land and agriculture and farms and all 
those things are beneath the people of God to concern themselves 
with. Again, it's easy to say that 
when you're in an affluent society in the 21st century and you really 
don't have to pray, God give us each and every day our daily 
bread. You should pray that and you do have to pray it. We get 
lulled to sleep by Costco's. We get lulled to sleep by Superstore. 
We get lulled to sleep by Walmart. We just conclude that, hey, there's 
beans on those shelves. I can go get them whenever I 
want. Think about these people at Shechem. Esau got his inheritance 
immediately. Not Israel. And what happens 
when he says, but Israel went down to Egypt? Was it to conquer? Was it to subdue? Was it to gain 
victory and preeminence in Egypt? No, it was to be slaves. It was 
to make bricks without supplies. It was to be treated harshly. 
It was to not know a Sabbath rest. It was to have oppression. You think you have government 
problems today? They certainly had it in Egypt 
under Pharaoh. God's ways, brethren, at times 
are mystifying to the people of God. He doesn't always do 
exactly what we think he should when we say it. There's an account 
of this or an instance of this or an illustration of this in 
the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 11, a passage that I've 
often thought that if there's a health, wealth and prosperity 
study Bible, they'll have to excise this. They'll have to 
remove it. They'll have to get rid of it. 
You can't put this section of Hebrews 11 in your health, wealth, 
prosperity Bible. You can't put this in your study 
notes. You can't blame them for not having enough faith, because 
the point of the chapter is that they have faith. Look at Hebrews 
11, verse 32. What more shall I say, for the 
time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, 
and Jephthah, also of David, and Samuel, and the prophets, 
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained 
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence 
of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness 
were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to fight the 
armies of the aliens, women received their dead, raised to life again. 
You hear the health, wealth, prosperity guy saying, yeah, 
that's the gospel we preach. That's the good news we preach. 
That's the Christian life we preach. Victory, victory, victory. 
It's the word we like today in the modern church. We like victory, 
don't we? We like victory. We talk a lot about victory. But the text goes on. And it's not suggesting that 
these somehow had no faith. It's the hall of faith. You might 
read it this way, who through faith, verse 35, subdued kingdoms. When we get to the latter part 
of verse 36, we'd say, who through faith others were tortured. Mystifying ways of God, huh? See, it's not always a walk in 
the park to be God's people, is it? It's not, you know, being attended 
by bluebirds. Having them clothe you each and 
every day, chirping in your ear, helping you greet the day. Others were tortured, not accepting 
deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still, 
others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains 
and imprisonment. Remember, this is through faith. 
Or who threw faith? They were stoned. They were sawn 
in two. When we're studying this for 
our Wednesday night Bible study, the prophet Isaiah. History or 
tradition says that it was Isaiah who was sawn in two. I can't 
even entertain that thought. The man who wrote Isaiah 53. 
The man who waxed eloquent on the servant of the Lord. The 
man who describes his call to the prophetic ministry of chapter 
six. The day that King Uzziah died, 
I saw the Lord often high, exalted, lifted up. He said, I saw the 
train of his robe, it filled the temple. And I heard these 
angels saying, holy, holy, holy. The text doesn't just suggest 
that it's three times and then they're finished. It's constant 
antiphonal praise. I saw these angels, and this 
is what they said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The 
whole earth is filled with his glory. When Isaiah sees this, 
he has this sudden realization of his own wretchedness before 
a holy God. He doesn't say, wow, this is 
great, I'm going to write a book about this and make lots of money 
and go on Oprah. He says, woe is me, for I am 
undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and 
I live amongst a people of unclean lips. Why? Mine eyes have seen 
the Lord of hosts." God dispatches an angel and deals with his sin, 
atones for his sin, that that man would ultimately be sawn 
in two as a testimony to the depravity of man and ultimately 
to the glory of God. They were stoned, they were sawn 
in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered 
about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, 
of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and 
mountains and dens and caves of the earth. And all these, 
having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive 
the promise. God having provided something 
better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from 
us. You see, as God rehearses covenant history here, or God, 
through the prophet Joshua, calls them to reconsider these things. It doesn't always happen the 
way we might think. This isn't a neat and tidy world, 
is it? Do you ever see the mess sin makes 
of stuff? Oh yeah, the prison system, or 
those people over there. What about the mess sin makes 
right there? Sin is a horrible thing. Sin 
is bad. Sin is wretched. We cannot forget 
the fact that God operates in a sinful world. He makes the 
crooked straight. It is mystifying at times. It 
is perplexing at times that the children of Jacob would receive 
their possession and the children of Esau would receive their possession 
and the children of Jacob would have to go to slavery. It doesn't 
make sense. It's what faith is all about. 
We realize that God Most High has all things under his control. 
He then rehearses the power of God, verses 5 to 12. Remember, 
it's a review of covenant history. We look at the grace of God. 
We look at the pace of God. We look at the ways of God. We 
look at the power of God. What did God do for you in your 
history? He brought you out of Egypt in 
the Exodus. He protected you from the false 
prophet Balaam. He protected you from the kings 
of the Amorites. He gave you victory and he did 
it in such a way that nobody could praise you as an army, 
but would have to praise the God of Israel. He said hornets 
in. This God is glorious in the display of his power. He not 
only delivers them, but he continually provides for them. Verse seven, 
it says, Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. Verse 
thirteen, I have given you a land for which you did not labor and 
cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them. You eat 
of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant. You 
see, he provides in the wilderness. He provides when they go into 
the land. God is your provider. He holds 
your God. Israel, this is what Joshua sang 
at Shechem. Look at who he is. He's gracious. He works according to his time 
frame. He does it according to his particular will. And all 
the while, he sustains you. He upholds you. He delivers you 
and he protects you. God is in the midst of the fire 
with you. Remember that in Deuteronomy, 
as we're going through that historical review, when they're out in the 
wilderness, it says that God is there with them while they're 
trudging in the wilderness. It was that they were there for 
judgment, the first generation sin. And as a result, the first 
generation dies. The second generation is then 
wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. A bystander might conclude 
God forgave or God forsook them. God's done with them. God said 
no more. I've killed your first generation, 
your second generation. You just wander out there for 
40 years until you're good and ready, and then I'll receive 
you back. It says God's with them in the 40 years. You see 
what Joshua's doing at Shechem? Behold your God. See your God. Marvel at your God! You know 
what covenant faithfulness is built on? It isn't built on your 
power. It isn't built on your strength. 
It isn't built upon your ability. It's ultimately grounded upon 
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's built 
upon our understanding of who God is. He's the victor. He's the king. He's the hero 
of the biblical narrative. We stand in the present, but 
we dwell on the past in order that we can be steadfast for 
the future. That's what they're doing at 
Shechem. That's the review of covenant history. Notice, secondly, 
the demand for covenant commitment. First, it is logical. It is a 
logical commitment. Verse 14. Now, therefore, fear 
the Lord. Now, therefore, fear the Lord. 
Serve him in sincerity and in truth. It's logical, isn't it? You see what I mean by that? 
Everybody with me, everybody trafficking, look at what the 
text says. Now, therefore. We mean by logic, Jim, it means 
it necessarily follows. Might say it this way, it is 
raining out or if I go outside in the rain, I will get wet. It's raining outside. I'm going 
outside, what necessarily follows. I'm going to get wet. Based on who God is, based on 
what God has done, based on that reality in your life now, therefore, 
fear Yahweh, serve him in sincerity and in truth. You shouldn't be 
surprised by this. You shouldn't go, wow, that's 
an amazing implication. Boy, that's dazzling, Joshua. 
That's something we've never heard before. Again, Paul does 
this very thing in Romans chapter 12 verse 1. Therefore, my beloved 
brethren, by the mercies of God, I beseech you. Present your bodies 
as a living sacrifice under the Lord, which is your rational 
service or reasonable service or spiritual service based on 
what God has done in Christ, based on the cross, based on 
justification by faith alone, based on the fact that Jesus 
is our second Adam, based on the fact that we have been we 
have been born again, that we have been justified freely by 
his grace. It is a no brainer. It follows 
necessarily that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. 
There should be no surprise in this arrangement. There should 
be no surprise to the people at Shechem that when you go into 
this land, you're to fear Yahweh, you're to serve him in sincerity, 
you're to trust him. That shouldn't perplex you. That 
shouldn't puzzle you. That shouldn't cause you to go, 
wow, that's a bit of an odd thing. No, he demands loyalty upon those 
whom he has redemptively saved. Notice, secondly, it is an exclusive 
commitment, verses 14 and 15. Put away the gods which your 
father served on the other side of the river. And in Egypt, 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 father 
served that were on the other side of the river or the gods 
of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. Notice verse 23. Now, therefore, he said, put 
away the foreign gods which are among you and incline your heart 
to the Lord God of Israel. It is an exclusive commitment. 
He said, that's a bit of an interesting twist that Joshua gives them 
can either serve Yahweh or can serve the gods of the Mesopotamians 
or the gods of the Canaanites. You should pick which one. Is 
that what Joshua is doing? Is he a pluralist? Is he foreshadowing something 
in the 21st century? You choose whatever God you want. 
I don't want to ever impose your liberty. We don't ever want to 
impose on you. I want to tell you that every 
religion is lawful and every religion is acceptable. We don't 
want to offend anybody. We want to describe an act of 
terrorism on a military installation as workplace violence. Is that what Joshua is doing? 
I think Joshua is engaged in what's called a reductio ad absurdum. 
That means reducing a position to absurdity. In other words, 
the people would hear this and say, wait a minute, we are to 
serve Yahweh. We know that it's a logical commitment. Joshua is saying, serve the gods 
from the land from which you came or serve the gods in the 
land in which you're going. That's foolish, Joshua. Absolutely. Any position that is not exclusively 
covenanted to the Lord God of Israel is foolishness. It's folly. It doesn't matter if you're a 
Buddhist, doesn't matter if you engage in Shintoism, doesn't 
matter if you're Roman Catholic, doesn't matter if you're Islamic, 
doesn't matter if you're a humanist, doesn't matter if you're an atheist. 
All of them are equally foolish in the sight of the true and 
living God who has saved you, who has redeemed you, who has 
brought you out of this place so that your commitment to him 
is to be exclusive. You don't give in. part of your 
life. You don't give him part of your 
heart. You don't just show up on Sunday, but rather you serve 
in each and every day. It is an exclusive commitment. 
This helps us to understand that this is the backdrop for what 
we find later in redemptive history. Remember Elijah at Mount Carmel? What does he say? How long will 
you falter? How long will you halt between 
two opinions? If God is God, serve him. If 
Baal, then serve him. Fisher cut bait. This is what 
Jesus says in Matthew 1230. He was not with me is against 
me. You know, sometimes young people 
or children or old people as well wonder, am I with the Lord? Well, brethren, it's not that 
difficult to determine that. Are you with him? What's the 
first response of faith in Christ, according to that blind man? 
Let's just say he was holding a Bible study. Was blind, but 
now I see. What was your first thing that 
you did? I worship Jesus. I don't worship myself. I didn't 
worship my money. I didn't worship idols. I didn't 
go following after everything that pleased me, but rather I 
bowed before the Lord Jesus Christ. He was not with me as against 
me. Either follow the Lamb or you do not. Serve or choose ye 
this day whom you will serve. Joshua's words are as appropriate 
today as they are on Shechem in Joshua chapter 24. No one 
can serve two masters. And then notice, thirdly, it 
is a serious commitment, a serious commitment. Notice in verse 16. 
So the people answered and said, far be it from us that we should 
forsake the Lord to serve other gods. They're tracking, aren't 
they? They're following. You can see the light bulb on 
over their heads if you were witness to this. That's good, 
isn't it? It's beautiful. What any evangelist 
would want to hear. Right? Look at what they say. So the people answered and said, 
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. That 
is a blessed response. They are, in the language of 
the United States Marine Corps, gung-ho. They're zealous. They want to follow. They want 
to serve. They've raised their hand. They're 
ready to walk the aisle. They're ready to sign the card. 
Certainly all that counts now is that Joshua bring them in, 
have them sign, have them bow their head and say the sinner's 
prayer. Isn't that legit, Joshua? Isn't that what every evangelist 
wants? Isn't this what Billy Graham was was urging people 
to do? Joshua's response is puzzling. 
With the mindset that we possess, Joshua said to the people, you 
cannot serve Yahweh. You can't do this. There's no 
way. You don't understand. You haven't 
counted the cost. You haven't realized his holiness. 
You haven't realized your sinfulness. We preach a God without wrath, 
to sinners without sin, and we just present a better life. Joshua won't have that. He says 
you cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous 
God. He will not forgive your transgressions 
nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve 
foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you 
after he has done you good. Again, the negativity, Joshua. 
They heard, they listened, they respond favorably. And then you 
come as the big meanie and say, you can't do it. He won't forgive 
you. He won't let you. He's going 
to visit you with harm. He's going to visit you with 
judgment. That's what Joshua's doing. He wants to shatter the vain 
confidence of men. who want to add Jesus to their 
already complete life because it's something they should do. Words of Ralph Davis, he says, 
Joshua seeks to put down that blathering self-confidence that 
makes emotional commitments rather than shutting its mouth and counting 
the cost. You see, we'll see that Joshua 
doesn't say you can't come, you can't have forgiveness. They're 
going to ratify the covenant. They're going to erect a stone 
or put up a big stone as a witness to this particular situation. 
You might meet people like this today. You might meet people 
that float from emotional experience to emotional experience to emotional 
experience. In the world of sports, they 
call them fair weather fans, right? If the Canucks are doing 
well, we're Canucks fans. If they start on the decline, 
well, then we'll root for whoever else. there is out there, the 
land of hockey. There's professing Christians 
like that, too. We will serve Yahweh as long 
as our houses are full, as long as our cars are running, as long 
as our children are happy and well adjusted, as long as I have 
mine. But as soon as a trial comes, 
as soon as a difficulty comes, as soon as a hardship comes, 
where is God? There is a blathering self-confidence 
There is a blathering emotional commitment. Covenant faithfulness 
is not seen on the mountaintops, it's seen in the valleys. It's 
not seen on the sunny days, but in hurricanes. It's not seen 
when everything's going right, but when everything's going wrong. 
You see on Shechem, If you have this idea that you're going to 
wander into the land of promise and it's only going to be blessing, 
it's only going to be good, it's only going to be happiness, this 
is all you are expecting, you're wasting your time. Again, our 
Lord takes up this same message in Luke's Gospel. He talks about 
discipleship and he uses two illustrations that show us the 
need to count the cost. Which man builds a building without 
first counting the cost, without making sure he can buy the lumber, 
without making sure he can hire an electrician, without making 
sure that he can finish the job? What man goes out to battle if 
he hasn't first surveyed the enemy army? We stand back and 
say, you're foolish, you're crazy, you're taking 10,000 men into 
battle against 20,000. You've got pea shooters and they've 
got M-16s. You're going to lose. Jesus talks 
about discipleship in that way. If you're not a Christian and 
you want to believe the gospel, by all means do. But I don't 
want to tell you everything's going to be rosy. Everything's 
going to be peachy. You're going to skip every single 
day of your life. Now, there's a rosy, peachy, 
skippy disposition that always pervades the heart and the soul 
of the believer. That doesn't mean all of your 
issues are going to go away. Right. Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou 
art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Covenant 
faithfulness, my dear brothers and sisters, is seen more in 
adversity than in blessing. That's what Joshua's getting 
at. He's not saying there's no mercy for you, there's no hope 
for you. He's saying you need to put up or shut up. You need to count the costs. 
He'd fail. any evangelistic class that was 
held today. No, Joshua, when they raise their 
hand and they're ready to come forward, you just reel them in. 
You just bring them in. Get them working to a ministry. 
Have them serve something. Do something. Get them going. 
Joshua says, wait a minute. You cannot serve the Lord. It's interesting that Shechem 
teaches us something that the Sermon on the Mount teaches us 
as well. Our need for grace. Our need for grace. Haven't we 
seen that time and time again in the Sermon on the Mount? It's 
not just this code of ethics on how to be pure like Jesus 
is pure, but it always tests us upon the mercy of the pure 
one. Shechem does the same thing. 
You can't go into this land, you can't serve Yahweh, you can't 
engage in this covenant faithfulness without God. Do you ever sense that when you're 
singing from our hymn book? Have you ever sang some of the 
hymns and wondered, how in the world can I do this? Just looking 
this morning at 133. Oh, for a thousand tongues to 
sing my great Redeemer's praise. I love the sentiment, and I love 
that it's in what's called the optative mood. It's sort of like 
a prayer, oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's 
praise. But if you ever thought soberly 
and seriously, I'd like one tongue that actually did it consistently. 
I'd like this one to do it. I think Wesley felt something 
of that in stanza two, because he says, my gracious master and 
my God, assist me to proclaim. I can't do it without you, God. I can't live this sermon on the 
Mount without the Spirit. I can't go into Canaan and dispossess 
the land and honor and serve my Lord and sincerity without 
the Lord. Or what about the hymn? My Jesus, 
I love thee. I know thou art mine. For thee, 
all the follies of sin, I resign. Can you say that honestly? Really? For thee, all the follies 
of sin, I resign. That's scary. That's difficult. Unless the Spirit is in me. Unless 
the Spirit dwells in me. Unless the blood of Jesus cleanses 
me. I can't do this. See, that's 
what Joshua highlights here. You can't come to Christ without 
Christ. The godlessness of free will. 
Teaching men they have it in their ability to choose for Jesus. When the scripture says, no one 
can come to me except the Father who sent me draws him and I will 
raise him up. And you being dead in your trespasses 
and sins, he made us alive. You see, from first to last and 
all the way in the middle, we are constantly dependent upon 
grace. That's how we should view Joshua. 
We shouldn't think that he'd fail the Billy Graham School 
of Evangelism because he failed to secure these decisions. We 
should hear him like we hear our Savior. You need to count 
the cost. God's done this. God's redeemed 
you. God's brought you out of the 
land of Egypt. When you go into that land of Canaan, you're not 
to have other gods. You're not to bow to idols. You're 
not to pray to Baal. You're not to engage in the sexual 
immorality of that nation. You're not to engage in the sorts 
of social injustice that predominates there. We talked about this on 
Wednesday night in our study of the second commandment. You 
know what happens where idolatry pervades? Social injustice. It's an amazing thing when we 
get to the land of Canaan, the children of Israel have to go 
in there and dispossess the land. The idolatry that men entertain, 
the idolatry that men pour their efforts into results in wickedness 
and sin. We want to treat the symptoms 
of wickedness and sin and never deal with the root issue, which 
is idolatry. The Apostle Paul says the same 
thing in Romans 1. After saying, the wrath of God 
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of men. Don't miss the order. It is ungodliness 
and then unrighteousness. That is precisely what Paul develops 
in Romans chapter 1. Who, although they knew God, 
They neither honored Him, nor were they thankful to Him. Therefore, 
God gave them over. And what do they do? They exchange 
the glory of the incorruptible God for an image of corruptible 
man, for four-footed animals, for creeping things. It is because 
of that commitment to idolatry that all of the sins follow. See, we want to treat sexual 
immorality in our generation. We want to treat homosexuality 
in our generation. We want to treat drug abuse in 
our generation without ever touching the root problem. These are symptoms 
of a nation given over to idolatry. What happens? This man who was 
born blind believes, and what does he do? He worships Jesus. So the problem of our generation 
is one of idolatry. Again, trace out chapter one 
in the book of Romans. Why does God give them over? 
Because they reject him. They don't even like to retain 
the knowledge of God in their mind. So what does he do? He 
hands them over. He gives them over. He gives 
them over three times. What we are witnessing today, 
brethren, yes, sexual immorality is right. Drug abuse is right. 
Shootings and murders and all those sorts of things. Those 
are pervasive. Do you know what man needs? The gospel. He needs to hear 
Christ. Needs to hear of Jesus. Needs 
to believe on Jesus. Needs to be reoriented. Needs 
to be brought to the place of genuine worship. Needs to bow 
before God Most High. He needs to come through Christ. 
He needs the power of the Holy Spirit. And then those symptoms, 
those symptoms will be cleansed, will be changed, will be redirected, 
if you will. You see, that's what Joshua does 
at Shechem. I don't want you to just have emotional fits of 
fancy. You see that sometimes again. 
I don't want to pick too much on the church but. How come faithful attendance 
at the Lord's Day and church service isn't enough. It is enough. I've seen this, 
you know, kids and I want to pick on kids, but sometimes young 
people go to a go to a camp or go to a conference. They get 
all fired up and all charged up. They come back and they pray 
for a few days. That's not what God is calling 
for, praying for a few days, calling for covenant fidelity. He's calling for long haul. He's 
calling for marathon runners. He's calling for people. that 
not only engage in the triumphs associated with Christianity, 
but are willing to be sawn into if necessary. Are willing to 
walk around destitute. Are willing to walk around without 
a place to lay their head. You see, that's what Joshua is 
impressing upon the people at Shechem. I don't want your emotional 
high. I don't want you to just get 
caught up in the feeling. I want you to realize that when 
you serve Yahweh, it is a whole soul commitment. If you're not 
into that, then go to the Amorites. Go back to Egypt. Baal doesn't 
call for exclusivity. Asherah doesn't call for exclusivity. Jehovah does. Well, brethren, 
that's where we're at. So for the next two hours, we're 
going to develop verse 15. Just kidding. Just kidding. We'll roll that over into this 
evening. Verse 15, specifically the emphasis on family religion. 
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. A familiar 
statement that demands some attention that God willing, we will open 
up tonight. Well, having looked at this, 
I want to call your attention in closing. Back to verse 19, 
Joshua said to the people, you cannot serve the Lord, for he 
is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will 
not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake 
the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you 
harm and consume you after he has done you good. And the people 
said to Joshua, no, but we will serve the Lord. So Joshua said 
to the people, you are witnesses against yourselves that you have 
chosen the Lord for yourselves to serve him. And they said, 
we are witnesses. Now, therefore, he said, put 
away the foreign gods which are among you. Grace upon grace, 
isn't it? Isn't that a statement of grace 
upon grace? Don't just review grace in your 
covenantal historical background. But right now, Joshua says at 
Shechem, put away the foreign gods. Joshua knows the score. He knows who he's dealing with. 
He knows that there's a bit of Egypt in the hearts of these 
people. He knows there's a bit of Canaan in the hearts of these 
people. So what does he say? Repent. 
Repent. Forsake. Get rid of. Put away. We might bring it into 
the 21st century and say, get rid of the mammoth. Get rid of 
the family, not realistically, but sometimes people worship 
their families. Get rid of the business venture. Again, I'm 
not calling for you to go and engage in poverty. It's a matter 
of allegiance. What demands your attention? 
What gets your time, talents, effort, money, all of that? This 
is what Joshua is saying at Shechem. Repent, get rid of it, turn away 
from it, forsake it, and come to the Lord God, Most High. Come 
to Jesus Christ. Believe the gospel. Receive the 
forgiveness of sins. Enjoy the righteousness that 
avails with God. A righteousness that you could 
never produce, but that is given freely through faith in Christ 
alone. So let's move from Shechem to 
Chilliwack. The call does not change. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn from your sins. Put away 
the gods. Put away the idols. Put away 
the things that demand your attention and your allegiance. Get rid 
of them and come to the Lord of glory. And He will, in fact, 
receive you. That's good news. Whether we're in Shechem or whether 
we're in Chilliwack, that news just is good. So believe the 
Gospel and you will, in fact, be saved. And you will be a worshiper 
of the true and living God. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word and thank you so very much for the lessons 
that we learn here concerning your character, concerning your 
power, concerning your grace and your kindness and your love. 
Our father, we just pray that you would fill each one of us 
with your spirit, fill each one of us, Lord God, with the spirit 
so that we may live as you call us to in the new covenant. We 
thank you for our covenant head and our mediator and the one 
in whom our Salvation is grounded, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
give all praise and glory to you for this wonderful gospel. 
We pray that others would believe. I pray even now, Father, that 
you'd open hearts, do that work which is impossible with men, 
but is possible with you. Cause them to see that Christ 
alone can save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through 
him. And we pray that you would exercise 
this power even now for your glory's sake and for the good 
of people. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.