Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Todd Buegler
January 24-25, 2009
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, and our Savior! Amen.
We continue our week-by-week journey through the Old Testament together by taking a look today at Joshua. If you would grab your Bibles, and would turn with me to Joshua, chapter 24. If you’re using one of the pew Bibles, it can be found on page 213. And while you’re looking that up, I’m going to set the stage for you.
Last week we talked about the story of Moses, the Israelites and the Exodus. After the Jewish people left Egypt, they were headed for the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. However, in the journey, the Jews lost their faith and began worshipping other Gods. Remember the story of Charlton Hest…oops…I mean Moses going up on the mountain to the 10 Commandments? While he was on the mountain, the Jewish people lost their faith and began worshipping another God, a golden calf. When Moses returned, he found that they had completely wandered away from the God who had led them that far. And so God punished the Israelites. And for 40 years, he led them through the wilderness, so close to the promised land that they could almost touch it…but never quite taking them there.
After 40 years of this, and after Moses had died, God finally led them into the land of Canaan. He had selected a new leader, and his name was Joshua. Joshua was a man of faith and courage; a brilliant military leader and a strong spiritual influence. But the real key to his success was how he submitted himself to God’s will. When God spoke, Joshua listened, and was obedient.
This then, is the theme of the book of Joshua: Obedience to God and following God’s will. In the first half of the book, the story is told of the Israelites moving into the land of Caanan and the struggles that took place in that move. The second half of the book, from chapters 13-22, records the assignment and settlement of the territory. And the book concludes in chapters 23 & 24 with a gathering of all the people, a farewell address, and the death of Joshua.
We’ll pick up the story in chapter 24, verse 14. Joshua is giving what will be his farewell address to the people. He says to them “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
In these verses, Joshua clearly plants his flag. Look with me in verse 15. Joshua says “…if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” and then comes his slam-dunk line: “but as for me and my household…we will serve the Lord.” He is emphasizing that whatever you decide to do, is up to you. But Joshua’s house will be a house of the covenant. Joshua, widely admired and beloved, was making an important statement to the Jewish people; he was telling them now is the time. Today. Phone or get out of the booth; (wait…ok…you’d only get that reference if you’re over age 40.) Ok, fish or get out of the boat; make a decision about what kind of household, what kind of people you are going to be? People of the covenant? Or people who wander spiritually?
As I’ve been thinking about this piece of scripture over the last couple of weeks, it has led me to a question: What does my house stand for? It’s a question I’d like for us to think and wonder about this morning. I think it is a healthy question to ask ourselves, on a couple of different levels:
What about this house? This church? Lord of Life has been so blessed! In the 21 years I have worked with children, youth and families at Lord of Life, I have seen this place grow both wider and deeper. I have seen faith strengthened in young and old. I have seen homes built for people in need…I have seen hundreds of thousands of meals packed and shipped around the world…and tons of food distributed through our local food shelves. I have seen homeless fed and clothed…I have seen feet washed, literally and figuratively…I have seen the power of prayer…I have seen healing…I have seen God’s grace given through the water, the bread and the wine… As for this house. I have no doubt. This house…this community, it has, and it will continue to serve the Lord.
So what about our houses? What about in our homes?
You see, I believe that the home is the most important institution in this country; and in all honesty, I believe that it is an institution that is at risk. I’ve heard a story about a giant oak tree falling down in Vail, Colorado a few years ago. Trees fall down all the time. What’s the big deal? Well, this tree coming down was a big deal; such a big deal that it made all the local news broadcasts that night. This tree was more than five hundred years old. It had been a mere sapling when Columbus sailed to America. It had been struck by lightning fourteen times; it had survived storms, withstood earthquakes, and endured mud slides. Everyone was curious about what had finally brought it down. After an extensive examination, it was discovered that some tiny beetles had bored under the bark, dug into its heart, and eaten away at its fibers. The mighty oak was destroyed from within, and it came tumbling down.
Over the years, I have been blessed to spend time with many, many young people and their families. And my observation is that our culture places incredible strain on our homes, from the inside out. Whether your home is a family of 5, or you’re a single mother, or you’re a single person, we all struggle with the tyranny of busy-ness. We struggle with rampant consumerism. We all struggle with communications and with the pace of change. I have no doubt that our homes are under stress. It feels like a family’s faith life together frequently gets squeezed by everything around us. From my vantage point, it is clear: families are at risk. But the challenges families face are not political, social or time management issues; they are issues of faithfulness. Faithfulness to God, and faithfulness to each other.
And Joshua’s words to the Israelites, who have spent 40 years trying to be faithful, but occasionally losing their way, could be spoken to us as well. Joshua could look at each of our households and say to us: “choose whatever you choose…but as for me and my household, we will be faithful to the Lord.”
Faithfulness is a value. And families are places where values are taught, and are passed on. Whether house and home is 1person, 2 people, 4 people, 6, 8 or 10; however you define family, we all live within a values system and those values are passed on from person to person. It has been said time and time again that the home is the first and most influential school any of us attends. If we don't make an intentional effort to pass along Christian values and family traditions to others; parents to children, friends to friends, spouse to spouse…if we don’t; well then perhaps no one else will.
Here at Lord of Life we talk a lot about ‘passing on the faith’, and about ‘being families of faith. It’s a lot like a relay race in track; the most difficult part of a relay race is when one runner passes the baton to the other. Relay teams spend hours practicing this simple action; because they know, no matter how fast you run…if you screw up passing the baton, nothing else matters.
It's similar in the home. One of the primary responsibilities and opportunities of the Christian home is to pass values from one generation to the next; from one person to the next. It is not easy. But as Christians, we all live in households of faith, and we share the faith with others, and that’s how faith is grown. And studies have shown the benefits of being a family that practices its faith in the home; that prays together, that talks about their faith together, that serves together; relationships are stronger…at-risk behavior is reduced…school grades are higher…self-esteem is better, and marriages are stronger.
You might be familiar with Peder Eide, the Christian musician. Peder has sung at Lord of Life many, many times. This year he is our regular musician at our Confirmation Sunday Night Festivals. Peder and his wife, Sherri, are the parents of 5 young children. To help bring order to the chaos that can sometimes be a household of 7 people, Peder and Sherri have established what they call their “Family Rules”. These rules have become the DNA of their home. There are 5 things that they teach the kids and are re-enforced every single day. To help the kids remember, they have assigned one rule to each finger. For the thumb the rule is “have fun.” For the pointer finger, the rule is “glorify God.” Then it’s “serve your neighbor and your family”. Then “never give up”. Finally, it’s “family never leaves family behind.”
• Have fun.
• Glorify God
• Serve neighbor and family
• Never give up
• Never leave family behind.
They live and breathe these values. When one of the older kids gets tired of helping the younger sister with coloring, Peder or Sherri can just look at them and can point to their pinky finger, and without even saying a word, the kids know: “Never leave family behind.” When one of them grabs food before the family has said their dinner prayer, Sherri or Peder can hold up their pointer finger, and the kids know: Glorify God. They have integrated their faith into their household. They have decided. As for Peder, Sherri, and their house, they will serve the Lord. They have chosen faithfulness.
Faithfulness is the value Joshua was speaking of. Faithfulness is what we want our lives and our homes to be about. And we can do that. We can do it because God makes it possible for us. God gives us the gifts…and the tools to live lives of faithfulness. It isn’t easy…and there will be challenges. The same was true for the Jews. After Joshua’s death, while they worked towards faithfulness, they still encountered challenges. They still slipped. But they worked towards faithfulness.
We live lives of faithfulness because God is faithful to us. God looks at all of creation…he looks at our world…he looks at our nation…he looks at our church…he looks at your home…and God says “as for me and my house…” (and remember, that God’s house is really, really big. It is all of this) …”as for me and my house…I will be faithful to you. There is always room for you in my house…there is always love and grace…there is always forgiveness.”
• My friends, be faithful, because God is faithful.
• Be faithful, because God loves you unconditionally.
• Be faithful, because we are the children of God, and
Amen.
