Daily Bible Study

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Day 222 – Choice Joshua 24:1 Then Joshua gathered the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before Elohiym. 2 Joshua said to the people, “Thus says JEHOVAH Elohiym of Israel, ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times; and they served other elohiym. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Also, I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out. 6 Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 They cried out to JEHOVAH; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. 8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. However, I gave them into your hand, so that you might possess their land, and destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 However, I would not listen to Balaam; therefore, he continued to bless you. I delivered you out of his hand. 11 Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. However, I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. 13 I gave you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ 14 “Now, therefore, fear JEHOVAH, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the elohiym which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt. Serve JEHOVAH! 15 If it seems evil to you to serve JEHOVAH, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the elohiym which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the elohiym of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. As for me and my house, we will serve JEHOVAH.” 16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake JEHOVAH to serve other elohiym; 17 for JEHOVAH our Elohiym is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in the way we went and among the people through whom we passed. 18 JEHOVAH drove out from before us the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve JEHOVAH, for He is our Elohiym.” 19 However, Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve JEHOVAH, for He is a holy Elohiym. He is a jealous Elohiym; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake JEHOVAH and serve foreign elohiym, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He did you good.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve JEHOVAH!” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen JEHOVAH for yourselves, to serve Him.” They said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “Now, therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign elohiym among you, and incline your heart to JEHOVAH Elohiym of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “JEHOVAH our Elohiym we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” 25 Then Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of Elohiym. He took a large stone and set it up there under the oak by the sanctuary of JEHOVAH. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of JEHOVAH which He spoke to us. It will, therefore, be a witness to you, lest you deny your Elohiym.” 28 Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance. 29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of JEHOVAH, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 They buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served JEHOVAH throughout the days of Joshua, and the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known the works of JEHOVAH which He did for Israel. 32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, given to him in the mountains of Ephraim. God’s name: Elohiym – Supreme God JEHOVAH – Self-existent, Eternal Yeshuwa – Jesus Christos – Anointed One, Messiah Kurios – Supreme Authority, God, Lord God’s character: Holy Jealous How do you react to a motivational speech? You either accept it or reject it and walk away. Joshua recounted how JEHOVAH took care of them after the flood and chose Abraham and his seed as His chosen people and brought them out of slavery and through the desert to the place of their inheritance. Then he gave them a choice to choose Elohiym or the elohiym of the nations they conquered. With one voice, they chose Elohiym as their Elohiym and promised to serve Him. Israel did what they promised throughout Joshua’s life and the elders with him. When did you first learn about Yeshuwa, JEHOVAH’S Son? Did you accept Him or reject Him when you first heard about Him? When you accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, did you promise to serve Him for your entire life and remain faithful to Him? Christians promise to remain faithful to Yeshuwa when they accept Him as Savior and Lord. However, often it doesn’t work out that way. People face trials they didn’t expect, and soon lose faith, though they still call themselves Christians. They put Yeshuwa and JEHOVAH on a shelf and take Him out and dust Him off occasionally and then put Him back on the shelf until a convenient time when they can publicly claim Him as Savior and Lord, though they don’t live as Christians. Then there are those Christians who faithfully follow Yeshuwa. They know the road won’t be easy, but they trust Him to take care of them no matter what trials come their way. They know the value of Christian fellowship. They know what it means to face hardship. They know because they read and study their Bibles and see how the men of faith faced every hardship possible and remained steadfast to the gospel of Yeshuwa Christos. What did you promise when you accepted Yeshuwa as Savior and Lord? Did you keep your promise? Life isn’t easy. Satan comes against you the moment you accept Yeshuwa as Savior and Lord to drive a wedge between your promise to remain faithful and the pleasures of life. It’s easy to turn to pleasures. It’s hard to remain faithful when tempted. You need to do the hard thing, remain faithful no matter what. When you do, Yeshuwa promises to give you a crown of life. James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when approved, he will receive the crown of life which Kurios promised to those who love Him. Do you love Yeshuwa enough to remain faithful to Him and keep your promise to Him. It’s your choice. You need to choose whom you will serve—Elohiym or the pleasures of life. Let’s pray: Father, help me remain faithful to You in everything. When Satan comes against me, help me turn to Your Word and promises to keep me safe in every trial and temptation. I choose You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 27 August 2024 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.