Now Therefore Fear The Lord And Serve Him

Joshua 24:14; “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.”

The verse above contains Joshua’s declaration among the people of Israel shortly after they have settled in the Promised Land, which is worthy of our consideration as it speaks about our solemn duty unto God.

“Now therefore fear the LORD…” – Joshua admonished the people to fear the LORD. This means “to stand in awe; in reverence; to be stricken with a deep sense of honor, and worship.” It has the idea of recognising the exalted position of the Lord and standing in awe of Him. This is not about “fear” as that of “being afraid” or scared in crippling fear, cowering in His presence, but that of reverence, honour, and worship. Joshua knew very well that the moment the people ever lose their fear of the Lord, their spiritual demise would soon follow.

We live in a time where people have no fear of the Lord, as the Bible says in Romans 3:18; “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” And this is evidenced in the way they live, that is, with no thought of accountability to God. Many may not agree as many will not admit it, this is even true among God’s people! Sure, many do profess to such fear of the Lord but their practice shows that they don’t possess it.

“And serve him in sincerity and in truth.” – The people were admonished to serve the Lord in sincerity and truth. Joshua had witnessed enough “lip service” unto the Lord with no genuine service. Joshua is not interested in the people being able to speak well of their faith, rather he wanted the people to practice their faith well by serving the Lord. He wanted them to be sincere in their service to God and seek to do so in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

One thing that you will find in an average Christian home is a Scripture reference on display either hanging on the wall; or placed on a frame; or table top even on refrigerator doors. Well and good! But unless the message of the verse put on display is translated into practice by everyone in the home, it accomplishes little.

People are watching and carefully watching our lives. And what are they seeing? Are they seeing genuine service or just a show or a display like the Scripture references hanging on the wall? We must be willing to actively engage in service for the Lord!

“And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.” – After all that the Lord has done to Israel, Joshua knew so well that there’s still idolatry among the people. There were false gods among them. Some of the people had been influenced by the nations around them and chose to worship their gods. All of the people were not seeking holy, sanctified lives. They wanted to receive the Lord’s blessings and abundance while holding on to the pleasures of the flesh. Joshua challenged them to put away their idols and serve Jehovah and Him alone!

The same is true to us today. Our homes will never be all that God desires until we are willing to put away the strange gods. You might argue that there are no idols within your home. Yes, you may not have idols and images in your homes but it could be that you have idols in your hearts! Remember? Anything that stands in between you and God is an idol. Anything in our lives that has priority over serving the Lord and our submission to Him is an idol. They come in different sizes and shapes! And we, Christians, often stumble in any one of them and get caught up in idolatry. Perhaps, we need to examine ourselves; “do I have any of these idols?”

Blessed Lord’s Day!

Reverend Reggor Galarpe