Choose Today!

By Amanda Beres September 26, 2026

• Amanda Beres is a writer and freelance editor based in Rhode Island. She has a Master's in Professional Writing and Communication and has worked with The Global Poetics Project and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

This is kind of a part 2 of my last blog post, continuing through the book of Joshua. Recently, I finished the book of Joshua, and while listening to commentary, a few things stood out to me. In my last post, I talked about how Joshua was more than the guy who fought the battle of Jericho. Today, I want to focus on the final chapter of Joshua, and specifically, one of the final speeches he gave to the nation of Israel. It is a line that has inspired an old church hymn and inspires me as I prepare for marriage: Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I have heard this verse many times, especially growing up. I thank God every day that I was raised by parents who stood on this verse. But the verses and context surrounding it have begun to show me the significance of this declaration. So let’s get into it!

So I mentioned I listened to commentary. I find that adding it to my own personal Bible study time explains the context and culture of Biblical times, which for me only shows off more of what God can do. Typically, I use Blue Letter Bible and Enduring Word (not sponsored, just a fan). They really break it all down for you verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Now back to the book of Joshua. The last two chapters, chapters 23 and 24, are speeches to Israel that somewhat mirror each other. Focusing on chapter 24, Joshua starts by retelling Israel’s history and what God has done for them. He reminds them that when Abraham was raised in Canaan, he was brought up in a pagan household, worshipping pagan gods. Then he encountered Yahweh and chose to serve Him. We then come to Joshua 24:14-15:

Joshua 24:14-15: “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

Essentially, what Joshua is saying is: choose who you will serve. It is not possible to serve God along with any other god and have that mix. But even deeper than that, Joshua says, “Hey! Listen! God has done all these things for you! He has given you this land! If following Him seems bad to you, then don’t and serve someone else. But choose!” He then says the verse we began with: 24 “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua makes a bold declaration! It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or does, he has served the Lord, and he will continue to. And he gets his family in on it! 

But Joshua doesn’t leave it there. He goes on to say what will happen if Israel tries to serve God and other gods. 

Joshua 24:19-20 - “¹⁹ Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a ^[a]jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins. ²⁰ If you do abandon (reject) the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume and destroy you after He has done you good.” 

That’s a lot! So God will bring the same judgment upon Israel that He brought upon the Canaanites if Israel chooses to serve their gods…that doesn’t make sense for a loving God full of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Well, let’s break it down. 

So the Canaanites had around 400 years to turn to God. That means 400 years of God trying to reach them, trying to get through to them, and they continued in their evil ways. But what were these evil ways? Well, there was ritualistic rape, child sacrifice, pedophilia, waking the dead, general lawlessness, and that’s just a few. So yeah, the Canaanites, according to theologians and archaeological research, were fairly violent, to say the absolute least. And yet, God gave them 400 years to repent of all of this! That’s mercy and grace! We see God extend the same mercy and grace when, a few decades later, Israel began integrating the Canaanite gods into their worship. (Spoiler: God doesn’t kill them but allows them to be scattered, ensalved, and exiled, with the promise that He will restore them to their land.) Even with this understanding, we haven’t touched on why Joshua instructs Israel to choose who they will serve. And in reality, it comes back to making comparisons.

Joshua says that if the Lord does not seem good, or following Him seems undesirable, then follow another god. But we also see Joshua remind Israel what God has done for them. So he is essentially saying, “Follow another god if you want…but to what will compare that god's power and goodness?” He is asking the people to weigh what God is capable of against what other gods are capable of. We see something similar happen with the prophets of Baal versus Elijah. It goes back to where we are instructed as Christians to test the spirits. (Notice how it says test the spirits, not God). We don’t need proof of God’s goodness; we have the evidence all around us. His power, might, love, freedom, peace, and mercy are everywhere on display constantly! But we do need to decide for ourselves who or what we put our trust and hope in. As Christians, this is a choice we need to make every day. The Bible does say to take up our cross and die to our flesh daily. 

So just to recap, in the book of Joshua, we see God give Joshua command of Israel. Joshua then takes command to lead Israel into conquering and possessing the land of Canaan. The whole time, he is commanded to be bold and courageous, and after conquering and possessing the land, he divides the land among the tribes of Israel. Throughout all this, Joshua is leading the nation of Israel in war and guiding them through the Law of Moses given by God. Finally, he tells the Israel to choose who they will follow, while making the bold decleration the he will serve the Lord. That’s a lot! And oftentimes, God is telling us to do the same thing!

The Bible says God has given us authority, and that we are to be bold and courageous. We are to testify to the glory and goodness of God! We are to be in the world but not of it, which will make us stand out, but that’s the point! Okay, so we're not fighting a war like the Israelites did, but our war is against spirits and principalities. And this is why God still commands us to be bold and courageous. And why we must choose today who we will serve. So choose today who you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now let’s get in that prayer closet and get to work!