But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
A devotion for September 10th through the 16th
Yesterday in Sabbath School (youth group/small group study), we had quite a discussion about some verses in Joshua (Joshua 23:14-16). There were references for these verses that led us to Leviticus 21:33 and Deuteronomy 28:15-16 so we read many of these verses plus a few others. It led to a discussion about how it seemed to paint a picture of a tyrannical God. If you were to read just these verses it might seem like God is horrible, wanting to do terrible things to you. One person said the verses in Joshua, as well as the others, sounded like threats. We all agreed if someone reads this with the wrong perspective, they might think God is not a loving God.
I think of these verses more from the perspective of how I am as a parent. When my children were little, I would warn them of things that could happen if they did something they shouldn’t. I tried to protect them from getting hurt by warning them of the consequences that could happen if they did something they shouldn’t. We all try and warn our children. “Don’t touch the hot stove or you could be burned” for instance.
I feel like these verses, although dark in many ways, were God’s way of warning people, all of us, what could happen if we made poor choices and went down the wrong path that took us away from Him. He protects us as His children. He tries I should say. We, as sinful humans, still tend to stray away and there are consequences when we do.
The Bible needs to be taken all together, the good parts along with the parts that warn. It is God’s gift to us to guide us to the path that leads to a peaceful, loving eternity with Him. It also provides warnings of what will happen should we decide not to follow Him. There are always two ways, two sides. In the great controversy that is going on right now, there is good versus evil, God verses Satan.
Which side do you choose? If you are looking more toward the world than to God, maybe you should think about changing your perspective? Eternity is waiting.