In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua said to the people of Israel, “You cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins”, and in chapter twenty-four and verse twenty of the book of Joshua, Joshua said, “If you forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt” where we read,
If you forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt,
and consume you, after that he has done you good.
The verse reads, “If you forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “if you forsake the LORD” which means “whether and in case you, the people of Israel, leave, depart from, abandon and neglect Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”, “and serve strange gods” or “and worship, labor and work foreign, alien and heathen deities”, “then he will turn and do you hurt” which means “at that time he, Jehovah God, shall retreat and withdraw from you, the people of Israel and perform bad, displeasure, injury and vexation upon you, the people of Israel”. Joshua told the people of Israel whether and in case they abandoned Jehovah God to work and labor for alien and foreign deities, Jehovah God would retreat from them and cause displeasure and vexation to come upon them.
The verse goes on to say, “and consume you, after that he has done you good.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and consume you” which means “and waste away, exhaust and destroy you, the people of Israel”, “after he has done you good” or “following the time he, Jehovah God, has performed and produced joy, pleasure and that which is beautiful and cheerful upon you, the people of Israel”. Joshua told the people of Israel if they abandoned Jehovah God that He would devour and destroy them following the time that He produced joyful and cheerful acts upon them.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Joshua” continued to warn the people of Israel concerning their activities in the future. The consequences for abandoning Jehovah God and “serving” foreign deities would be that Jehovah God would retreat from them and cause them to suffer harm to the point of devouring them even though He previously performed beautiful and pleasurable acts upon them. God wants people to follow Him, obey Him and stay close to Him, and when we turn away from Him, we suffer for it. God loves us, and He proved His love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and help us to live in a close, never abandoning relationship with Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8: Revelation 4:11)
Next time Joshua shares how the people of Israel say to Joshua, “No; but we will serve the LORD”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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