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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Tim Shives

Whom Will You Serve?

Morning, Evan Hope All right as Jason mentioned I was a little nervous in preparing the message this morning But then I really thought about and I remembered that it's not Tim who's standing in front of you.

Amen Our scripture reading is going to be coming from the book of Joshua chapter 24.

All right before we open the Bible let's pray.

Heavenly Father, Lord without you we know we can do nothing.

So Lord I ask that as we open your Bible, as we study your word that Tim will disappear, that Jesus will shine forth, and that the Holy Spirit will teach us all.

May we become stronger Christians because we seek to become like your son, Jesus Christ.

All right, the book of Joshua, chapter 24, and starting with verse 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 you the Lord.

And it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord.

Choose you this day whom you 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 you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Our message today is titled, Whom You'll Serve.

This is probably 1 of the most quoted verses of the Bible, and rightfully so.

I've heard in the past 13 years that I've been a Christian, I've probably heard a dozen sermons using this verse.

And, but it wasn't until I was working on the sermon that I really understood the significance of this verse.

We have, and that's what I want to share with you this morning, is the background behind Joshua chapter 24.

So this lesson is going to be kind of a history lesson as well as the application in our life.

So if you look at verse 1 of Joshua 24, you see that Joshua has gathered all the people of Israel to Shechem, and he's renewing the covenant because he knows he's going to die.

He's 110 years old, and he knows that his time on earth is short, but he has a final message for his people.

So here at the Valley of Shechem, Israel is going to hear for the last time the words of their beloved leader.

And this is from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 522.

Before the death of Joshua, the heads and representatives of the tribes, obedient to his summons, again assembled in Shechem.

No spot in all the land possessed so many sacred associations, carrying their minds back to the covenant that God had with Abraham and Jacob, and recalling also their own solemn vows upon their entrance into Canaan.

Here were the mountains Ebal and Jezerim, the silent witnesses of those vows which now, in the presence of their dying leader, they had assembled to renew.

On every side were the evidence of what God had wrought for them, how he had given them a land for which they did not labor, and cities which they did not build, vineyards and olive yards which they did not plant.

Joshua reviewed once more the history of Israel, recounting the wonderful works of God, that all might sense his love and his mercy and might serve him in sincerity and truth.

So you see Shechem was a very special place in Israel.

I suppose as Americans if we could take Yorktown, Lexington, Plymouth Rock, and Gettysburg and mold them into 1 place, we could begin to understand the meaning that this place had for Israel.

Geography affects history, trace any civilization back to its origin and geography takes the center stage.

Be it a strategic military position or an abundant water supply or a convenient traveling location, geography determines by and large where the historical events occur.

Located in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of Shechem played a vital role in the history of Israel.

This location in the middle of the nation provided the most important crossroad in central Israel.

The city lay along the northern end of the Way of the Patriarchs.

This road, also called the Ridge Road, stretched 50 miles to the south, traveled from Shechem through Shiloh, Bethel, Ramah, Gibi, and Jerusalem.

This route appears continuously throughout the biblical text.

Because of its central location and vital crossroads, Shechem saw a lot of traffic in history.

Thus, Shechem often found itself the major events in the biblical narrative.

Are you beginning to see with me the importance of this place, this Shechem?

Let's turn to the book of Genesis chapter 12.

This is the story of Abraham and his call from his land of Ur.

And it says in verse 4 that he's departed as the Lord's spoken unto him, and lot with him.

And when Abraham was 70 and 5 years old, he departed out of Haran.

And look at 6, and Abraham passed through the land of the place of Sycam, into the plain of Moriah, and Canaanite was there in the land, in 7.

And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed I will give this land.

And there builded he, and also unto the Lord who appeared to him.

The newer translations of the Bible say in verse 6 it's sycam and shechem both of them come to from the Hebrew word which is The shoulder on one's back so if you were to look down from Mount in Jezreel or evil you would actually see the valley look like a big shoulder on someone's back and It's here that 400 years prior to Joshua's speech that Abraham had first built a temple to the Lord.

This is where, entering into the promised land, he first pitches his tent.

And this is where, After putting away the idolatry of his past, Abraham receives a covenant from God.

Now the Lord said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, and into a land I will show thee.

You see, prior to receiving this covenant, he had to step away from the idolatry of his past.

And God had called Abraham to be the father of a peculiar people.

So let's look at chapter 11 of Patriarchs and Prophets.

In order that God might qualify him for this great work as a keeper of the sacred oracles, Abraham must be separated from the associations of his early life.

The influence of kindred and friends would interfere with the training which the Lord purposed to give his servant.

Now that Abraham was in a special sense connected with heaven, he must dwell among strangers.

His character must be peculiar, differing from all the world.

He could not even explain the course of action as to be understood by his friends.

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned." And watch this part, "...and his motives and actions were not comprehended by his idolatrous kindred.

So in the time of Abraham, we see that Shechem represented leaving his past, the city of Ur, where idolatry was, even in the household of Haram, his father, and going in to the land that God has given to him.

In Hebrews 11 verses 8 through 10, we see the fate that Abraham had in God.

Now, we don't need to turn there, but I'm going to point out a couple points.

In verse 8, it says that Abraham, not knowing whither he went, he sojourned into a land of promise.

And verse 10, for he looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker was God.

So it's clear from the accounts, both accounts, the patriarchs and prophets in Hebrews 11, that this was a pivotal decision in the life of this great patriarch.

Now he could have stayed at home, he could have stayed at Ur and followed a life of pleasure and the gods of his family, but instead he chose to search for a city whose builder is God.

So Abraham shows faith that he had in choosing to serve the God, the 1 true God, over the gods of this world.

He's come into a place that his grandfather had come with a hundred years ago.

However, the Bible gives an opposite account of his experience at Shechem.

See, Jacob's family had already been serving the 1 true God, but it's at Shechem where they get to associate with idolatry, and they bring in the idols into their family.

So let's look at Patriarchs and Prophets again, page 204.

The tearing of Jacob and his sons at Shechem ended in violence and bloodshed.

The 1 daughter of the household had been brought to shame and sorrow.

2 brothers were involved in the guilt of murder, and a whole city had been given to ruin and slaughter, in retaliation for the lawless deed of 1 rash youth.

The beginning that led to the results that was so terrible was the act of Jacob's daughter, who went out to see the daughters of the land, thus venturing into association with the ungodly.

He who seeks pleasure among those that fear not God is placing himself in Satan's ground and inviting his temptations.

See, 1 seemingly small act, we have disaster for thousands of people.

Abraham, excuse me, Jacob, at the end of his life, when he's given the blessings to his family, this account affected him so much that He brought up the sins of Simeon and Judah.

And so there's a lesson that Jacob learns at Shechem, and he learns it very well.

If you look at chapter 35, verse 2 to 4, see, God calls him to leave Bethel, right?

And notice what God says to him, verse 2.

Jacob said to his household, to all that were with him, put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.

And verse 4, And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods that were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears.

And Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

Jacob understands the importance of separating oneself from idolatry before coming to serve before God.

He's going to come and restore this covenant that Abraham had made with God, and it's going to be given to Jacob.

But he realizes that Shechem, where idolatry had influenced his family, this was a turning point.

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Whom Will You Serve?

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