Title: Swear Allegiance / Joshua 23:14~16
Contents
Subject: Swear Allegiance
Bible: Joshua 23:14~16 Hymn: 25. 369. 372.
Learning Goal: God's people must be loyal to God.
Main content: Make a religious decision based on experience.
1] The Israelites had experiential faith.
2] As a leader, Joshua had a leadership personality.
3] Faith is not a temporary feeling, it is loyalty and obedience to a lasting command.
words that start
The modern social psychologist Eric Fromm refers to humans as Homo Esperance.
Esperans) was defined. A simple translation of this word is [person of hope].
Meaning. That's right. Humans live because they have dreams. Also in Proverbs 29:18
“A people without dreams perish,” he said. At the time, the background of the text
Even the Israelites were able to overcome the hardships of the wilderness because of the hope of conquering Canaan.
There was.
In this way, people live for hope. But the problem is that people
What is the set hope? The Bible is the source of dreams and hopes
called you. The modern theologian Moltmann also wrote in his book [The Theology of Hope].
It is clear that the hope of the modern times that can only be despaired is in God (Jesus Christ).
said bluntly.
According to the text, after the occupation of Canaan was made on the people of Israel,
There was a need to check the faith. because they have to
In the land of Canaan, the heterogeneous beliefs of those who already live are also a problem.
But, furthermore, the eternal life of the holy saints chosen by God
It was because I had to make them realize that hope is not from the land of Canaan, but from God.
I did. Therefore, when Joshua realized the principle of this faith, the people of Israel
He recalls the past and commands him to remain faithful to the God of hope.
1. The people gathered in the land of Shechem
At the end of his life, Joshua showed the grace of God to Israel.
He gathered all the people together in order to remember and speak historically. this house
For the meeting place, the land of Shechem was chosen, to recall the past and trace the traces of our ancestors.
It was an accessible historical place. Because Abraham landed in Canaan
It was Shechem where he first built an altar when he came to Esau (Genesis 12:6-7), and Jacob
After returning from 20 years of wandering at my uncle's house in Mesopotamia, I prayed to God.
Because it was Shechem where they decided to serve and buried their idols (Genesis).
Ki 35:4).
What kind of people are Israel loved by God? Israeli
The tribe does not have any superior conditions compared to other peoples, and they worship idols in the same way.
They were sinners, but God chose them and saved them.
In Joshua 24:2-4, “Joshua said to all the people, “Your fathers
(Ancestors) Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor, dwelt beyond the river,
You served the fields, but I brought your father Abraham out from beyond the river.
to him to bring him in, to go through the whole earth, and to multiply his seed.
Isaac, Jacob and Esau to Isaac, Mount Seir to Esau
But Jacob and his descendants went down to Egypt.”
said that.
But why did the people of Israel come all the way here? In Joshua 24:5-13
As you can see, even when the people of Israel left Egypt, they were subjected to collective action.
It was a group of chaos that didn't exist, but God's hand miraculously guided it
He says he was with them. Indeed, History is God’s
As it is well explained that it is a story, is God in charge of history?
All. The Bible reiterates the importance of the events of Jesus. Apostle Paul
He said, “I have the marks of Jesus on my body” (Galatians 6:17). therefore
Experiential faith is the key to drawing closer to God. By the way
How is our life? A life full of traces of Jesus in ourselves
It's whether you live.
2. Me and my house will serve the LORD.
Joshua morally urges the people of Israel to make a faith decision. 24:15
He said, "Choose whom you will serve today." This means faith
is to make it clear that there is no middle ground. If you look at Revelation 3:16, yes
The Master said, "Because you are so lukewarm, you are neither hot nor cold.
Because of you, I will vomit you out of your mouth.” Therefore, “Today
The word "choose" is more important than having to go to any university in life
Are you saying that a decision on a matter of faith should never be postponed?
All. Because faith is directly related to life.
For this reason, Joshua is setting an example as a leader. "Only me and me
The house shall serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) is Joshua’s clear statement.
It is to reveal your posture. Here, Joshua commands others
It is not a dictatorial type who takes care of things, or a leader who leaves it alone to do it, but a brush.
He was a leader with strong trust in leading by example.
This can also be seen in the disciples of Jesus. For example, Nougat
In Eum 14:25-27, a great crowd went with Jesus, and Jesus
He said to the field, "Everyone who comes to me, his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and children
Unless you hate the rod and even your own life, you cannot become my disciple.
Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot become my disciple.
I can't," he said.
The meaning of these words is, in order for us to become disciples of the Lord, we must first overcome ourselves.
In the passive aspect, one's own surroundings and one's own internal flaws and shortcomings
Not only do you have to overcome the difficulties, but you also have the spirit of sacrifice for others in an active way.
and to become imitators of Christ.
However, in the text, the people of Israel listened to Joshua, their leader.
They no longer hesitated or feared. Joshua, leader of faith
It was like a decision I made.
3. The Confessional Testimony of the People
The people who listened to the leader Joshua testify of their faith. That
As the testimony of Joshua that we heard, all the successes so far have come from their own strength.
Rather, it acknowledges what has been accomplished by the power of God. so they too
He decides and declares, "I will serve only God."
However, Joshua was not satisfied with their declaration alone,
It was emphasized that the determination should not be changed, and at this time the Israelites
He firmly confessed again that he would serve Jehovah God, and at this time Joshua
They themselves are said to have become "witnesses" of their confessions, and even stronger
I vowed to them to serve only God. (Joshua 24:21-24) And
The 'stone of the covenant' was erected as a symbol of the oath in front of the people. frozen
By setting up a stone monument for medicine, the people reaffirmed their choices and unconditionally obeyed the Lord.
He made a decision to serve, and made a solemn covenant that was eternally binding.
Conclusion (Conclusion)
Dear students!
Joshua's faith personality and the people of Israel's religious decisions are based on past experiences.
It can be seen that it originated from A deep faith full of Christian vitality
also cannot be an exception. We remember the grace we have received from God
We must live while keeping the thrill of salvation.
If we swear to live worthy of God's people, God
You will be able to do greater things through us. therefore u
Let's become people of deep faith looking only at God.
Amen.