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The Beginning of the End
will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good
land which He has given you.”
In all His dealings with His creatures, God has held up the prin-
ciples of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character—by
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showing that its sure result is misery and death. Unconditional par-
don for sin has never been offered, and it never will be. Such pardon
would fill the unfallen universe with dismay. God has faithfully
pointed out the results of sin, and if these warnings were not true,
how could we be sure that His promises would be fulfilled?
Before the death of Joshua the leaders and representatives of the
tribes gathered together at Shechem again. No spot in all the land
possessed so many sacred connections. Here were the mountains
Ebal and Gerizim, the silent witnesses of those vows that they had
now gathered together to renew in the presence of their dying leader.
God had given them a land for which they did not work, cities that
they had not built, and vineyards and oliveyards that they had not
planted. Joshua reviewed the history of Israel once more, reminding
them of the wonderful works of God so that everyone might have a
sense of His love and mercy and might serve Him “in sincerity and
in truth.”
By Joshua’s order the ark had been brought from Shiloh. This
symbol of God’s presence would deepen the impression he wished to
make upon the people. After presenting the goodness of God toward
Israel, he called for them to choose whom they would serve. To some
extent they were still worshiping idols secretly, and Joshua tried now
to bring them to a decision to banish this sin from Israel. “If it seems
evil to you to serve the Lord,” he said, “choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve.” Joshua wanted to lead them to serve God
not by force, but willingly. To serve Him only for the hope of reward
or fear of punishment was unacceptable. Hypocrisy and mere formal
worship were as offensive to God as was open apostasy.
The Importance of Right Choice
The aged leader urged the people to think about what he had
explained to them. If it seemed evil to serve the Lord, the source of
power, the fountain of blessing, let them that day choose whom they
would serve—“the gods which your fathers served,” from whom