August 18, 2024 Text: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Dear Friends in Christ,
Thomas Jefferson should have been rich. He was born into a prominent Virginia family. He married a wealthy widow. He farmed a lot of land and had a lot of business ventures. He was President of the United States. Yet he died deeply in debt, and all his property was sold to pay for it. How did this happen?
He inherited a large debt from his father-in-law and farming was an uncertain source of income. People who owed him did not always pay him back. He spent beyond his means. His credit was bad. When he died, he had a debt of $107,000 – millions in today’s dollars.
Money is seductive. We think if we have enough, we will be secure. But that is an illusion. If relying on wealth, sooner or later it will fail you. After all, you can’t take it with you.
Joshua was aware of this as his death drew near. He knew he was leaving God’s people a rich and productive land, all of its blessings and promises. But these comforts and wealth would be worthless and soon lost if Israel forgot the Lord. Leaving them with a final word from the Lord would, Joshua knew, be a much more precious legacy.
Which G(g)od were they going to serve?
“HOW CAN WE KEEP OUR VOW TO SERVE THE LORD?”
Israel always struggled in their vow to serve the one true God. The friends, family, and neighbors of Abraham had invented some 4,000 gods. At that rate they could serve a different god every day for about 11 years. Their commitment at times was lacking.
We want to be committed to the God we know. God the Father who sent His Son to die and rise again to save us. We know Jesus has freed us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. We know the Holy Spirit came in our Baptism to make us His sons and daughters. We love God because He first loved us. We want to commit to Him. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (v. 15b)
Sounds easy enough, but is it? How many gods can we create? 10? 100? 1,000? If we set here long enough, we might come up with 4,000 like the Israelites. We trust God, but aren’t there times we think He needs our help? If your trust is not solely on Him in your sticky situations, well . . . maybe that vow is a little harder to keep.
We make poor choices. We let wealth hold back the offering. The Saturday night party that has us in no shape for the Sunday worship. The child’s involvement in an activity where their faith is sacrificed on the altar. Genetic family that comes before God’s family and fellowship. Going after our “15 minutes of fame” instead of an eternity with Jesus.
We break our vow with things that will always let us down. Only God can be trusted not to fail when we need Him most. Sometimes He can be the last one we turn to in the support system. “Lord, have mercy.” Thank God, He does have mercy.
Even though God the Son deserves our complete devotion, he set aside His glory for our sake. Sent to earth by God the Father, he was born of the Virgin Mary and became one of us. He lived a perfect life of service to God and neighbor, which God credits to us. Jesus serves us, by giving his life as a ransom for the many. When are trust wanes, he carried that to the cross. When we fail to put Him first in our lives, He forgives through His death and resurrection. God has been faithful, giving us life and salvation in His name.
By the end of our text, the people have joined Joshua in a pledge to serve this Lord. They give a confession of faith which tells of the way God had saved them.
Because Jesus served us, we can serve the Lord. When tempted to depend on earthly things more than God, The Holy Spirit reminds us through the Word and Sacraments where our true security lies. When seeing all that God has done for us, we respond naturally to praise God for His love, mercies, and blessings. When our main trust is in the Lord, and we love God above all things, we want to help others around us.
Let’s hang it proudly in our homes. Maybe have it on a poster in our bedroom or a bumper sticker on our car. The people of Israel fashion their confession after the words of Joshua. Their commitment to the Lord is the same as his. We make that same vow today, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Amen.