The Way
As for Me and My House
The last question of an old leader
Story
Many years later, Joshua called all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. The elders and leaders, the judges and officials came and stood before God. Joshua told them the story that began in the house of Terah beyond the river. How God called Abraham, how he brought them out of Egypt, the road through the wilderness, and the day they crossed the Jordan.
Joshua passed on the word of the Lord just as the Lord had spoken it. I gave you a land you did not labour for, towns you did not build, vineyards and olive groves you did not plant. After he had passed on the Lord's words, Joshua looked around at the people. Now choose today whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Even when he pressed them, saying they would not be able to serve the Lord, the people answered again and again. We too will serve the Lord.
That day Joshua made a covenant with the people and wrote it in the book of the law of God. He took a large stone and set it up under the oak beside the sanctuary. See, this stone will be our witness. It has heard every word the Lord has spoken. After that Joshua the servant of the Lord died at the age of a hundred and ten and was buried at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived him.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
I gave you a land you had not laboured for and towns you had not built. You live in them and eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.
Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
We will serve the Lord our God and listen to his voice.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Josh 24:1–31
Background
Shechem is Tell Balata near present-day Nablus, where Jacob once buried foreign idols under an oak. Scholars note that this covenant ceremony, moving from a review of history to demands, witnesses and a written record, resembles the form of ancient Near Eastern treaties.
Pause and Reflect
What do I and my household really serve as most important?