Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18, 26-30

2018 09.02 Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18, 26-30 1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 14 Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. 16 Then the people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 Joshua said to all the people, See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God. 28 So Joshua sent the people away to their 1

inheritances. 29 After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old. 30 They buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 2

If These Stones Could Speak Most schoolchildren in America begin their school day with the ritual of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance [SLIDE]. Their eyes still full of sleep, they stand up from their desks, place their hands over their hearts, face the American flag that is hanging from the corner of the classroom, and pledge their allegiance to the flag and all that it symbolizes. I haven t had to say the pledge for more than 25 years, but I can still remember it word for word. It s only one sentence long: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. When my classmates and I were in elementary school, we said the pledge with at least some degree of enthusiasm. That was probably due to a combination of respect for the flag but also fear of the teacher. But as we got older, our enthusiasm waned. And by the time we were well into our high school years, the pledge had largely become an empty ritual. We stood, but with our shoulders slumped, not at attention. We faced the flag, but our eyes were half closed or rolled in teenage apathy. (Ironically, the students who took the pledge most seriously were the Jehova s Witnesses, who refused to take the pledge, or even to stand.) I can still remember one student, Michael Scalia, who sat directly in front of me (we sat in alphabetical order), having trouble with one word in the pledge, indivisible. Indivisible means incapable of being divided. But instead of saying indivisible, Michael would say invisible, as in one Nation, under God, invisible. The Pledge of Allegiance dates to the late nineteenth century, a time of large-scale immigration to the United States. With waves of immigrants arriving on American shores, the authors of the pledge were concerned with instilling a sense of patriotism 3

in the children of these recent immigrants. The idea was for these children to begin each school day by reciting the pledge, so that it would be ingrained in them that their allegiance, their loyalty, lay not with the country of their birth but with their adopted country. A pledge is basically a promise. In pledging their allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands, American schoolchildren are promising to be not only loyal to their country but to embrace the values that the flag symbolizes, namely liberty and justice for all. Today s Scripture reading concerns another pledge. The setting this time is not a classroom of schoolchildren but a gathering of all the leaders of Israel: elders, heads, judges, and officers. They have been gathered by their leader Joshua. Joshua had taken over the leadership of all the tribes of Israel upon the death of Moses. But Joshua is now an old man. He knows that his life is nearing its end, and he wants to ensure that after he is gone the people remain committed to the God who has been committed to them, the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt, protected them on their wilderness journey, and drove out the peoples who had occupied the promised land. This is a momentous occasion for Israel. The people stand on the threshold of at last taking possession of the promised land. God s promise to them has been fulfilled. Now Joshua wants the people to make their promise to God. To encourage the people s loyalty, he recites all of the things that the Lord has done for them. There isn t space in the bulletin or time in this sermon to list them all. If you want to see what they are, you can read verses 3 to 13. But the litany begins with Abraham, who began his life as a worshiper of other gods, the gods of his father in his father s land beyond the Euphrates River. 4

But through the grace of the Lord, Abraham was led from his father s house to a new land to be the father of a new people, the very same people whom Joshua is asking to pledge their faithfulness to God. In light of all that God has done for them, he tells them [SLIDE], Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord (Josh. 24:14). Let s take note of exactly what Joshua is asking for. He s not asking for a statement of faith. He s not asking them to recite a creed. He s not asking for their intellectual assent to a set of propositions. He s asking the Israelites to revere and serve the Lord. He s asking for them to pledge their allegiance to the God who has delivered them from slavery and brought them into the promised land. This is about more than belief; it s about allegiance. This is a Presbyterian church, as you may have heard. In other breaking news, Presbyterians prize words. We put a lot of emphasis on the written words of the Bible and on the spoken words of the sermon. That s why historically, Presbyterians have cared a great deal about doctrine, about getting what we say about God right. Sometimes we care too much about doctrine. Our obsession with doctrine has led to the continual dividing of the church. No other branch of Christianity divides more readily or more often than the Presbyterian church. We break off into smaller and smaller groups in a misguided attempt to create a more pure church. South Korea alone has more than one hundred different Presbyterian denominations! Yes, doctrine is important, and so are words. I love words! I studied English literature. I worked as a copywriter. I prepare a sermon of about 2,500 words each Sunday. But our faith is more than words. Our faith is more than what we believe. Our faith is also shown in what we do, for better or worse. I say for better or worse because what we do is so often at odds with what we profess to believe. I m sure that each of us can call to mind how that last sentence holds true for us. 5

We are not alone in this regard. As shown in the pages of the Bible, Israel s history is one of continual disobedience. If you think about it, this is pretty remarkable. I don t mean the disobedience...that is to be expected from humans who are captive to sin. No, what I m referring to is the fact that Israel enshrines their disobedience in the pages of their scriptures. They deal with themselves honestly. This is not like us with today s social media where we often present an idealized version of ourselves, always smiling, traveling, exercising, and generally having a wonderful life. By contrast, the Israelites keep it real. They know their character. They acknowledge their sin. If the ancient Israelites had a Facebook page it would contain posts of them complaining about the food along their wilderness journey (manna again?!) and photos of them worshiping at the shrines of foreign gods (Here I am bowing at the temple of Molech). Joshua has seen it all firsthand. He was of the generation that served under Moses. He was there when the people rebelled, when they wanted to return to Egypt as slaves rather than continue on the difficult wilderness road that led to freedom. He knows all too well that the people are prone to wander, prone to leave the God they love. Therefore he tells them point blank [SLIDE]: choose this day whom you will serve (Josh. 24:15a). The Israelites have a decision to make. Will they serve the gods of their ancestors, the gods of the land they are moving into, or will they serve the Lord, the God who has brought them from slavery to the promised land of freedom? Joshua makes it clear where he stands: as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Josh. 24:15b). (I don t know about Korea [SLIDE], but this phrase often appears on plaques in Christian homes in America.) Joshua isn t bragging; he s leading by example. My guess is that he knows. Old and wise as he is, having led the Israelites for as long as he has, he knows how tempting it will be for them to fall back into old habits to return to the gods of old or to develop new habits that they will learn from the surrounding nations. Joshua knows that even after all of the 6

signs and wonders that God has performed the people s faith is weak and easily shaken. As he prepares for his own departure from them, having them pledge their allegiance to God is his way of strengthening them and keeping them from following their worst instincts as they transition from sojourners to settlers. There are several transitions happening here [SLIDE]: (1) the Israelites transition from sojourners in the wilderness to settlers in the promised land; (2) Joshua transitions from life to death; and (3) the narrative of the Israelites transitions from the book of Joshua to the book of Judges. Chapter 24 is the final chapter of the book of Joshua. The lectionary reading ends with verse 18, but I added verses 26 to 30 so that we could get a sense of this theme of transition. Perhaps it s coincidence, but the idea of transition has been on my mind of late. Soon the English ministry will experience its own transition. This Sunday marks the start of my sixth year as an associate pastor here. (Have I really been here for five years?!) As many of you know, associate pastors at this church serve terms of six years. That s simple math, even for an English major like me. It means that I have exactly one year remaining before the English ministry transitions to a new pastor. In this final year I want to begin preparing for that transition. I want to ensure that the EM continues apace after I leave. I want to create an environment in which the new pastor can jump in without being overwhelmed. Toward that goal, I want to raise and train leaders from within the congregation to help make the transition a smooth one. That s why the format of the Bible study is changing. The Bible study used to be about having a conversation about the day s Scripture. And that format was helpful in developing a sense of fellowship, which is something that was lacking when I first arrived. But after five years I think that we have created a strong sense of fellowship, and so now it s time to move beyond fellowship. 7

In the next twelve months we re going to focus on discipleship and evangelism. We re going to talk about how our individual faith stories fit within the larger story of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And we re going to learn how to share both of those stories with those who have never heard the Gospel or who heard it but for various reasons rejected it. This coming year is going to be about putting our faith into action. It s going to be about making clear to ourselves where our allegiance lies. Don t worry, I m not going to ask you to make any sort of pledge. But I am going to ask that we commit ourselves to serving the God who has faithfully served us in Jesus Christ. I am going to ask that we make our allegiance to God known. Not our allegiance to the EM, mind you, but our allegiance to God. In today s Scripture, after the people pledge their allegiance to God, Joshua sets up a nearby stone as a witness to their words [SLIDE]: See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us (Josh. 24:27a). The stones themselves will cry out against the people if they are unfaithful, if they once again offer their allegiance to the gods rather than to the Lord. Oh, what a tale those stones could tell! No sooner does Israel take up residence in the promised land than they break their promise of allegiance to God. Joshua s body is not even cold before they abandon God and worship the gods of the surrounding peoples. You foolish, faithless, wishy-washy Israelites! What is wrong with you? Of course, we know that it is to God that we owe our allegiance, but if these stones could speak, if the brick and cement of these walls could talk, they would testify that while we pledge our allegiance to God here each Sunday, in truth we have many competing allegiances. We sacrifice for them. We bow down to them. We give 8

ourselves over to them. They don t have foreign-sounding names like the Canaanite gods. Their names are much more familiar to us: careerism, materialism, tribalism, self-interest, vanity, lust. These are among the things that we live for, the things that we turn to in order to give our lives meaning, the things that wreak havoc on our families, our relationships with our neighbor, and our planet. These things and many others compete with our allegiance to God the Father, Son, and Spirit. And yet while our allegiance to God is ever fickle, God remains steadfast in his faithfulness to us. While the stones may testify against us, Jesus is our rock, and he testifies in our defense. His death on the cross testifies to the gravity of sin, but his resurrection testifies that sin has been overcome. Jesus has won the victory for us. In his death and resurrection Jesus does what we cannot do, so that we might do what he calls us to do. I know that was a mouthful, so I will say it again [SLIDE]...Jesus does what we cannot do (namely, serve God faithfully and obey God fully, all the way to the cross), so that we might live as people who have been redeemed, as people who have been empowered to carry out his mission of love and mercy. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus famously tells Peter that he is the rock upon whom Jesus will build the church. Peter may be the rock, but the cornerstone, the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ. As the opening hymn reminded us, he is the solid rock on which we stand. All other ground is sinking sand. 9