📖 Joshua 24:14-24

While continuing his farewell speech, Joshua urged the people to think on what God wants from them. Joshua stressed on the three commands by which they would developed a good relationship with the Lord (v 14 ) :
✳️ Fear the Lord
✳️ Throw away the idols
✳️ Serve the Lord

📌 Joshua gave them a chance on that day to choose whom they will serve ( v 15 ) :
✅ The God of Israel
Or
✔️ The gods of the heathens .

📌 And Joshua himself declared one of the most popular statement recorded in the scriptures : As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (v 15 b) .
Household comprises of parents, children and servants. Normally it is easy to declare the individual’s commitment publicly but to declare on behalf of others/groups, one must have 💯% of their consent /conviction. It would not be wrong if we categorise the credentials of Joshua as :
🎯 A godly Husband
🎯 A godly Father
🎯 A godly Leader
🎯 A godly Master

✅ With the above credentials Joshua was confident that his household would also serve the Lord.
✅ His relationship with the Lord and his exemplary lifestyle had influenced and convicted his family and the household.
✅ Thus, Joshua could declared ” .. my household will serve the Lord “.

📌 The people immediately echoed Joshua’s words listing everything that God had done for them (v 16-18) and they declared three times that they would serve the Lord ( v 18, 21, 24 ) 🙌

💕 Beloved Church, let us revist Joshua’s farewell speech and ponder upon his three commands :
✳️ Fear the Lord
✳️ Shun the idols
✳️ Serve the Lord
And declare As for me and my household we will serve the Lord…🙌

Glory to God 🙏
✍🏽 Mark Boje, ArP 🇮🇳