Joshua 24:14–24 < The Truth of the Covenant Revealed at the Moment of Choice >

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📖 Joshua 24:14–24 < The Truth of the Covenant Revealed at the Moment of Choice >

24 Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”

✨ Israel Standing Before a Final Choice

At the end of his life, Joshua gathered all Israel at Shechem.
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).
The gods of Egypt, the gods their ancestors served, or the idols of Canaan.
Joshua allows no neutrality. There is no compromise between the LORD and idols.
Faith is always a matter of choice, and that choice determines the direction of one’s life.

✨ God’s Warning Against Superficial Commitment

The people respond immediately: “We will serve the LORD.”
Yet Joshua does not accept their confession lightly.
Instead, he says, “You are not able to serve the LORD” (24:19).
This is not a denial of faith, but a sober exposure of human weakness.
Joshua warns against formal decisions and emotional, momentary commitments.
God is holy, and serving Him cannot be sustained by human strength or willpower alone.
Here we see the doctrine of total human inability.

✨ True Service Made Possible by Grace

Nevertheless, Joshua still calls the people to serve the LORD.
Why? Because God had already delivered them from Egypt and faithfully led them through the wilderness into the land of Canaan (24:17).
Service is not the condition for grace, but the result of grace.
We are not saved by our decisions.
Rather, God’s covenant grace comes first, holds us fast, and enables us to respond in obedience.
On this foundation, the people declare, “We are witnesses.”
Faith is a covenantal declaration made before God.

🙏 Prayer

Covenant-keeping God, we confess how weak our resolve truly is.
We believe that only by Your grace—not by fleeting zeal—can we serve You.
Expose the idols within our hearts and renew us to serve You alone.
At every moment of choice, help us remember Your grace and live as Your covenant people.

🔍 Application

• Examine whether you are still trying to hold both God and the values of the world at the same time.
• Reflect on whether your commitment to faith rests on God’s grace rather than your own resolve.
• Practice living out the confession, “We will serve the LORD,” in your home and daily life.

💡 Meditation Point

Joshua 24 calls us to a place of decision.
Yet this choice is not rooted in human determination, but in response to grace already given.
Only those who remember grace can remain faithful to the end.
Stand humbly today before the God who holds His covenant and leads His people by grace.


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ヨシュア記 24:25–33 〈 契約として残された信仰、次の世代への証し 〉

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Joshua 24:25–33 < Faith Preserved by Covenant, a Testimony to the Next Generation >

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