Perhaps no passage provides a better entry point into the question of our
identity as the people of God than this very familiar passage. The context
in which this passage occurs provides the great significance for this moment
in the life of the people of God. They are soon to face a potential identity
crisis and are thus called to a rehearsal of who they are and a recommitment
to that identity.
In the preceding chapters of the Book of Joshua, the torch of leadership has
been passed from Moses to Joshua, a new generation of Israelites has crossed
the Jordan River and possessed the Promised Land, and the land has been distributed
to the various tribes. Before the assembly disperses to live as a people settled
in the land, they gather at Shechem to hear once again the call to serve the
Lord. In order to live faithfully as the people of God, the people must be
reminded of who they are and who their God is.
Although this gathering to renew the covenant with God seems to have become
an annual event for the Israelites, its importance for this moment is great.
The people will soon return to live their daily lives in a culture where the
dominant worldview is one of control and manipulation. The prevalent religion
of Baalism will provide the people with simple ways to attain their desires
through performance and achievement. The tendency for the people will be to
acknowledge the Lord as the God who delivered them from Egypt but to acknowledge
Baal as the god who provides the daily necessities of "real life."
Into the midst of this tendency toward dividing life between the Lord and
Baal, the sacred and the secular, Joshua calls the people of God to make a
choice (v. 15); however, the choice cannot be to remain divided in their loyalties.
The people are called to a sincere wholeness (literally tamim, which means
whole or undivided, and 'emet, which means truth or honesty). This call to
undivided loyalty involves both casting away the gods of the dominant culture
and serving the Lord (v. 14).
In response to Joshua's call to undivided loyalty, the people acknowledge
that the Lord is the One who has delivered them, provided for them, and protected
them (vv. 16-18). Their conclusion acknowledges that they will serve the Lord
for one reason: He is already their God (v. 18).
An understanding of this call to covenant renewal would not be complete, however,
without emphasizing the preceding verses of chapter 24. To stop short at Joshua's
challenge and the people's acceptance of that challenge alone would fail to
acknowledge the context in which this call takes place. Before the challenge
can ever be given and before the people can ever accept the challenge, the
basis of the people's identity is established: God's gracious activity. The
"now therefore" of verse 14 (KJV) is the pivotal point of the text,
connecting the people's response to God's initial activity. Beginning at verse
3, the first person activity of God ("I did this" and "I did
that") is repeated over and over again. The people already are the graced,
blessed, and gifted people of God. The people have never previously done anything
to earn or manipulate freedom, provisions, and protection. Why would they
now turn to a system of control and manipulation? They belong to an alternative
kingdom--a kingdom that contrasts with the dominant culture. Why would they
ever begin to view life through that culture? Based on who they are as the
graced people of God, they are reminded of that identity and subsequently
called to be who they are--undividedly. This call to "undividedness"
is ultimately a call to trust the God who had given them life in the first
place for all of life!
In the same way that the Israelites' dominant culture enticed the people of
God to worship Baal, so the dominant cultures in which the people of God find
themselves today continue to lure them to bow at the feet of systems that
can be manipulated and controlled. Throughout our journey as human beings,
performance and achievement become the manner by which we earn position, power,
and possessions. From the server who earns high tips by good service to the
athlete who earns a starting position by high performance to the business
executive who earns a promotion by outstanding achievements, we learn early
in life to operate both people and God as vending machines. We make a deposit
in order to get a high return.
As a result of this enticement, the people of God often find themselves with
double loyalties. On the one hand, we worship a God who saves by grace; however,
on the other hand, we bow in service to economic, political, and religious
systems that can be controlled and manipulated to provide us with the everyday
needs of our lives. We confess our lives to be fully dependent upon God's
grace, but we live our lives as if they are fully dependent upon our achievements.
As a result, we seem to have a foot in two competing worlds.
Our identity as the people of God is grounded in what God has graciously done
in our lives. We therefore have the deep need to hear who we are in light
of what God has done. In hearing who we are in light of God's gracious activity,
we affirm that no other systems, powers, or deities have shaped our identity
and thus are to hold no allegiance in our lives.
God creates a people of grace--a people who know that their very existence
is utterly dependent upon His activity and presence. Therefore, the people
of God are to be a people who continue to trust Him. However, the enticements
to other systems that seem to work compete for loyalty and trust
.
Into the human dilemma of divided loyalties and misplaced trust, God repeatedly
confronts His people, calling us to wholeness, to undivided loyalty to Him.
However, this undivided loyalty is not simply the result of human achievement
or religious performance. Otherwise it would simply be another form of Baal
worship. Rather this wholeness is the response of the people of God to what
God has already done in delivering and providing for them. Knowing that we
indeed are the graced, blessed, and gifted children of God, we are called
to be wholly who we already are--graced people in every aspect of our lives.
Whatever response is made to such a call can be understood only as a response
to the grace of God. Recognizing that the life, the forgiveness, and the freedom
that we already have in Christ are not the results of our performance or our
achievement, we are called to allow our identity of grace to overflow into
the whole of our lives. Knowing that the God who delivered us will continue
to deliver us and that the God who provided for us will continue to provide
for us, we are freed from whatever systems may be sought to give us life and
freed to serve God in wholeness. While the response includes "putting
away foreign gods" (see v. 23, NASB), that response is grounded in a
much deeper response--trust in the God who has consistently graced and blessed
us. Only out of such trust will the "foreign gods" find no significance
in our lives.
(For a full manuscript of this sermon, go to www.preachersmagazine.org.)
As the sermon begins, the congregation will identify with the familiar mind-set
of our dominant cultures: "If it is going to be, it is up to me";
"Play hard, play tough, and play to win." A brief introductory story
that embodies this mind-set might be given, with two or three other brief
examples following.
As the sermon continues into its first movement, the association of this dominant
mind-set with the world of Baalism and idolatry should be made. At this point,
the world in which we live and the world of the text begin to merge into one.
Not much has really changed in over 3,000 years, simply the names of the gods.
The dilemma facing Israel as they enter into the Promised Land is the same
dilemma we face--many systems that we can manipulate and control to provide
life for ourselves.
Into this dilemma the words of Joshua are proclaimed: "Don't forget who
you are. You are not people of a system, but the graced, blessed, gifted people
of God." A very brief sketch of the opening verses of chapter 24 might
follow, particularly noting how many times the pronoun "I" (referring
to God) is used. We are not people who have freed ourselves, provided for
ourselves, or protected ourselves.
Finally, the challenge of the text enters the sermon. Based upon who you already
are as the graced people of God, be wholly and completely who you already
are! Based upon trust in the God who has brought us to this point, we are
called to abandon the systems/gods of our dominant culture that promise life
and to serve the Lord in completeness. Because this call is made not only
to individuals but to the people of God, the opportunity for response might
be given to the congregation as a whole in the form of a concluding "covenant
renewal" act. This renewal of the covenant may take the form of a song
of affirmation or a responsive reading between pastor and people.
This Pentecost sermon series, "Celebrating Our Identity as the People of God," is presented by Dr. Tim Green, dean of religion and philosophy at Trevecca Nazarene University.
