“We Will Serve the Lord”
War has changed. In the past, there were fronts. Lines were drawn. Sure, the enemy could outmaneuver you and the lines could cross and become disorganized but there was still a sense of objective position, even if you couldn’t subjectively perceive it. The enemy was defined. That’s not how war is anymore. Fighting an insurgency is complicated. People who might appear to be friends may be hiding malicious intent. A man wandering down the street could be a law abiding citizen who just got lost, could be a drunk wandering aimlessly, or could be an enemy masquerading as someone less threatening while trying to gain an advantage. There aren’t uniforms. There aren't any lines. The enemy may be hard to define, and when that happens your own goals become harder to define. War has always been hell, but now it is a different kind of mess. And with the added ease of global travel and technological communication, it becomes difficult to even cut enemies off from support. While it may seem odd, it isn’t unthinkable to imagine Taliban leaders using a Google or Facebook account to send out a newsletter to supporters.
How do you fight a war when the enemies are living incognito among you? How do you fight a war when you don’t know who you are fighting? How do you stay true to yourself when you don’t really know what you’re fighting for anymore?
This is the predicament that the Biblical Joshua found himself in at the end of his career. The conquest of Canaan had been largely successful. Most the the powerful kings had been killed with their people either slaughtered, driven out, or subjected to slavery. Some people had formed alliances with the Israelites, pledging their loyalty in exchange for protection. However, there were still pockets of people who were not Israelites and who were unwilling to worship the Lord. That certainly made things harder. When the prosperity of the Israelites relied so heavily on their adherence to the Law of God and when such adherence required some social cohesion, they were very vulnerable to outside influences. It wouldn’t be hard for enemies to lead the people astray and fracture their nation.
As if all that weren’t scary enough, there were more complications. Joshua had seen how faithless the Israelites could be. In his youth, he assisted Moses. He saw the Golden Calf incident take place. He witnessed the panic of the Israelites that resulted in God condemning them to wander in the wilderness until that entire generation had died. When he led the conquest into the Holy Land, he had witnessed his people not take God’s requirements seriously. If they lost battles, it was always because someone in Israel had sinned by disobeying God’s clear commands.
Now, looking back on his lifetime and knowing he is near death, he is worried about his people. The conquest was clear enough. People who were living in the land were enemies. The Israelites only needed to rely on God and themselves. They didn’t need to forge alliances. They hadn’t really functionally split into tribes yet, so social cohesion was powerfully maintained. They could strike into Canaan like hammer into anvil with no confusion about purpose or means.
This was all about to change. Some tribes had chosen to settle across the Jordan. Once they had spread out through the land, they would start to become more independent. There were Canaanites still alive in the land worshipping different gods who would try to lead the people astray by befriending them as neighbors. The Israelites didn’t have a good track record of holding true to the Lord when even the slightest challenge presented itself. How does Israel maintain its relationship with God? How does Israel stay true to itself when its enemies are now within, corrupting and polluting its mission?
Joshua calls the leaders of the people together and gives them a choice. If they wanted to go serve other gods, this would be the time. If they wanted to serve the Canaanite gods or the gods of Egypt, they could choose that now. They could walk away from what the Lord had done for them. This offer to choose may not have been real. This may have been reverse psychology or an option that was so clearly wrong that no one would think of choosing it in context, but the choice isn’t the part that everyone remembers about this story.
“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15b)
I’ve seen those words on various decorations in many Christian households. These words carry a tremendous weight. They indicate a choice to follow God and serve the Lord, rejecting all distractions, but is it really a choice?
Diligent readers will notice that Joshua doesn’t say, “my house will choose to serve the Lord.” There is no clear indication that Joshua is claiming that he made a choice here. Serving the Lord is what he must do because he knows who the Lord is. This is not a choice coming from rational logic. This is an obligation carried by relationship and love. Maybe this isn’t about making a choice. This is about recognizing a connection that already exists. Not choosing a new love, but realizing you were helplessly in love all along.
Before we get worried that these words not being a choice diminishes their power, I think this actually makes it better for Joshua and for us. We live in a world that tries to pull us away from God, and sometimes it seems that the world wins. We drift away; we falter in our spiritual practices; we forget to pray and delve into the Scriptures; we lose sight of why we loved God in the first place. But perhaps these words can be a reminder to us. Just as Joshua couldn’t help but commit to serving the Lord because God had already committed to loving and caring for him, we can remember God’s love for us on the cross, in our lives, and throughout all time. God loves us, and we can’t help but respond in love and service. We will serve the Lord.
