This week we are looking at Joshua 24: 1-3, 14-25.  Today we are looking at the world behind the text.  In this passage, Joshua is standing amongst the people. And the entire Old Testament up to this point has been a retelling of covenants. The people have had many covenants, This reminds me so much of the covenant that Moses made with the people where Moses takes the people through this valley, and there are two mountains on either side. And he said, one mountain represents death. One represents life. One represents curses, one represents blessings, and choose what you’re going to do; choose which path you’re going to go.

Much of the Old Testament is about that concept of Covenant. And that’s what’s happening here. If you ever bought a house, you have your closing, where you meet the lawyers, and you sign a bunch of papers and you buy the house and you sign so much your hand hurts, but when it is finished you’ve signed all paperwork, and you’ve signed all the contracts. And now you’ve made this transaction. That’s what this is. This is that contractual signing, where Joshua said, choose, you choose the god you served beyond the river. Choose the gods of your neighbors.

But choose, choose these gods or choose the Lord your God. You have two choices in front of you today and make a choice into which path you’re going to go. 

And the people at this moment have to make that choice which path will they go will they choose to follow God or they choose? 

That is a constant theme throughout Scripture. Think of all the times in Scripture, we see choices and covenants, where Moses gets the law and mount on Mount Sinai and the people make choices throughout the rest of the Old Testament, Noah, Abraham, David, and now us as Christians with the new covenant. If we follow the grace given to us, we shall be saved. This is this moment of choice. That’s what a covenant is, is a moment of choice, what will we choose. 

So today, friends, we have been given multiple covenants, and we are given multiple choices. As Christians, if we responded to the offer of grace, in the covenant of grace that God has given to us through Jesus, then we have already made a choice to follow. But the question becomes today, what will we do? What choice will we make? We choose to follow the teachings of Christ, or we choose to follow the teachings of the world, it really is our choice. So today, let’s choose wisely. Let’s choose to follow God. Let’s choose to be obedient to the promises that he has made to us. 

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