Your Fathers Dwelt on the Other Side - Joshua 24:2

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God”, and in chapter twenty-four and verse two of the book of Joshua, Joshua said, “your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time”, where we read, 

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

The verse reads, “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and was “the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan” “said unto all the people” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to each, the whole and every one of the human beings of Israel”, “thus says the LORD God of Israel” which means “the following, here and now utters, declares and proclaims Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God, the Supreme Deity, belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” began to speak to the assembled “people” of “Israel” by telling them Jehovah God the Supreme Deity proclaims the following. 

The verse goes on to say, “… your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “your fathers” or “your, the people of Israel’s, male progenitors and ancestors”, “dwelt on the other side of the flood” or “lived, abided and inhabited beyond, across and on the opposite side of the flowing stream or river” “in old time” which means “in antiquity, ancient time and in the past”, “even Terah” or “also and indeed Terah whose name means ‘station’ who was”, “the father of Abraham” which means “the immediate male progenitor belonging to Abraham whose name means ‘father or chief of a multitude’ and was a friend of God and founder of the Hebrew nation by way of God’s elective covenant”, “and the father of Nachor” or “and the immediate male progenitor and ancestor belonging to Nachor whose name means ‘snorting’ and was the son of Serug, the father of Terah and the grandfather of Abraham”: “and they served other gods” which means “and they, Abraham, Terah and Serug” worked, labored and served as subjects to further and additional deities”. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God reminded the people of Israel of how their forefathers “Nachor, Serug, Terah and Abraham” lived before the flowing stream. In other words, Abraham and his family were pagan worshipers in advance to knowing Jehovah God. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God began to share the history of the nation of “Israel”. “Israel” did not always follow Jehovah God, and Abraham who was the beginning of this Hebrew nation actually served other gods before he came to know Jehovah God. God knows everyone will worship something or someone other than Him, and for this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross and raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our personal “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 to give us the ability to leave our past behind to worship and serve Him and Him alone. (See John 3:16: Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8)

Next time Joshua shares how Jehovah God said, “I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood”, 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".