“throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Joshua 24:16-33

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 

And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

Joshua's own readiness to commit himself wholly to God remains unwavering at the end of a long life. The eagerness of the people to follow him in renewing the covenant is in itself sufficient tribute to his leadership. His 'we shall serve the Lord' is echoed and re-echoed by the voice of the people: 'It is a high note on which to conclude the book, and verse 31 indicates the strength of Joshua's influence for good. The contrast between this and the book of Judges, which follows, is marked. Verse 32 rounds off the history of the patriarchs as Joseph's bones are buried in the promised land.

Why?

Joshua witness "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord",  

So all of the Israelites be encouraged to witness we will serve the Lord because he is our God.

Joshua shows his caring for his people, but he has his life limit so he said to Israelites to remember God's word and serve the Lord.

Even make stone be a witness among Israelites. But people's hearts is easy to turn to the world and attracted by our selfish mind and turn away from the Lord. We are weak and we need to remind by the Holy Spirit every day. 

Only we experienced the goodness of the Lord we will keep and obey the word of the Lord. We have emotion and ambition in our flesh. Reading the word of the Lord in the morning is a good way to remind us of sins.

You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. Joshua declared the characters of the Lord. For the Lord is holy, so we have to be holy to serve Him.

God is jealous, it means the Lord is righteousness. No one can stand before the Lord if he is no holy.

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jealous God: The Lord and us can not allow have any other gods.

約書亞沒有因為百姓說必事奉耶和華而高興，反而指出耶和華是忌邪的神。

約書亞要求百姓提出行動，即除掉外邦的神。我們敬拜時可能很感動，或是聽道時很感動，願意為主奉獻自己。下一步是除去心中的偶像。我們的信仰不能腳踏兩條船。23約書亞說：你們現在要除掉你們中間的外邦神，專心歸向耶和華─以色列的神。

約書亞死後，長老還在世時，以色列人還敬畏神，但是這些長老離世後，就變質了，忘記以前立的約。

以前大家依賴摩西、約書亞帶領，自己不能站起來嗎？

約書亞沒有立接績的人，這要神同意。這是一個時代的結束。同時各支派有自己的事，誰要聽誰呢?

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How?

Be aware of the Lord, God is love and God is jealous. Walking with the Lord is the way to serve the Lord.