Pentucket Baptist Church

God Centered, Bible Teaching, Community Minded

joshua 24:1-33 Decision day



   Take me to 5-Day Devotional

This powerful exploration of Joshua 24 confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: we cannot serve God while holding onto our convenient idols. The passage takes us to Shechem, where Joshua gathers all Israel for a covenant renewal ceremony. After recounting God's faithfulness from Abraham's call out of Mesopotamia through the conquest of Canaan, Joshua delivers a stark challenge: choose this day whom you will serve. What makes this moment so piercing is Joshua's declaration that 'you cannot serve the Lord' - not because God is unavailable, but because the people were still clutching their household gods, those small idols inherited from ancestors or picked up in Egypt. These weren't just ancient relics; they represented a divided heart. The text reveals that even Rachel, Jacob's wife, stole her father's household gods when leaving home, and Jacob himself had to bury foreign gods under a tree in Shechem centuries earlier. The message cuts to our modern context: Are we carrying pocket-sized versions of Jesus, convenient gods we pull out when needed but put away when inconvenient? Or do we worship the Most High God who demands our complete allegiance? This isn't about religious artifacts but about the state of our hearts. We're challenged to examine whether we've created a Jesus who serves us rather than the Jesus we must serve - the one who humbled himself to death on a cross and now reigns as Lord over all.

Chapter 1: The Sacred Assembly at Shechem

We explore the setting of Joshua's final covenant renewal at Shechem and examine how ancient peoples, including Abraham's family, brought their folk beliefs and household gods with them when they migrated.
Chapter 2: The Preamble and Proclamation

We hear God's recounting of His faithful acts from Abraham through the conquest of Canaan, followed by Joshua's call to fear God, serve Him in truth, and put away ancestral gods.
Chapter 3: The Choice and the Persistent Problem

We examine Joshua's proposition giving Israel a choice between serving Yahweh or other gods, and discover the persistent problem of household idols that people refused to abandon.
Chapter 4: The Covenant, Witnesses, and Aftermath

We see the formal covenant established with witnesses, including a memorial stone, followed by the deaths and burials of Joshua, Joseph's bones, and Eleazar.
Chapter 5: The Real Jesus vs False Versions

We apply the lesson to our lives by examining false versions of Jesus from tradition and culture, contrasting them with the true Jesus who is the Most High God.
  • 8 East Road, P.O. Box 804
  • Atkinson, NH
  • Rockingham County
  • 03811

(603)505-9197