Today is Election Day. The day where we citizens choose who will represent us in government. It’s a big deal to be able to vote! Some people don’t have that luxury. Yet, every day we face opportunities to make choices. These choices rule our lives. One of the most important choice you can make is found in Joshua 24:14-15 (KJV):
“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.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua was asking the tribes of Israel to make a decision. It was a decision between good and evil. The Amorites were a wicked people. The LORD had used the tribes of Israel to destroy them for they worshiped false gods and practiced wickedness, including child sacrifice. There was a clear distinction between the Israelites and the Amorites and their practices. The choice was clear: to serve the LORD or to serve the “gods” of the Amorites. In this chapter, Joshua reminds the people how the LORD GOD had delivered them from the wicked peoples. He reminds them of the distinct differences between these people groups. Who would they serve?
In Joshua 24:16, the people responded:
“And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;”
We can parallel the choice the tribes of Israel made to our decisions on Election Day.
How do we vote? Do we vote according to Biblical principles or worldly principles which disavow God’s ways and teachings? As a Christian, the answer is clear: “…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
