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Battle of the Gods

 


The land promise had been fulfilled. The conquest of Canaan had come to an end. Joshua now stood before the people to deliver them a message. He said, “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 24:15)

This battle of the gods boils down to the question, “Who will you serve?” On one hand you have the one true Living God. The Israelites acknowledged Him and His great power. Note what they said.

So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 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. 18 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)

The Israelites acknowledged that God delivered them from Egypt and gave them the land of Caanan. It was by His power and goodness that they were blessed, not by their own strength or merit.

Contrast this with the other gods. What did they do to bless Isarel? The short answer is nothing. In fact, all the other gods were nothing. They knew nothing. They were less than nothing. If they at least could know they were nothing, that would have been something.

While it would be easy to criticize Isarel of their idolatry, we must ensure we are not falling into the same trap today. Paul wrote, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

We can fall into the same snare that the Israelites did by coveting the material possessions of others. Like idols, these objects cannot see, hear, or know anything. Yet, the devil uses them to battle for a place within our hearts.

Jesus taught, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

The idols may have changed, but the question remains the same. Who will you serve?

 

God Bless each of you,

Eric Hicks

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