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Word Study: "As for Me and My Household..."

By Stanley M. Horton

How many times have you heard a pastor or evangelist use Joshua 24:15 in a call for sinners to make Christ their Lord and Savior? "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."*

The Hebrew word bachar, "to choose," is often used of God’s sovereign, purposeful, deliberate choices, such as His choice of Israel, of the land, of Zion (Jerusalem), of Judah, of David, and of Solomon. When used of people’s choices, it also speaks of a deliberate intentional choice, a choice that has been the result of thought, plan, or desire.

Before calling for this decision, Joshua gave good grounds for making the choice to serve (Hebrew, `avad, which includes the ideas of worship, follow, and do the will of) the Lord. He did the same thing Moses did in his farewell addresses in the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses began by reminding the people that unbelief brought defeat; but when they turned to the Lord in obedience and faith, they received victories from God’s good hand. Again and again Moses set before them lessons of history along with warnings and promises for the future. He did this to let them see they had to make a choice. Deuteronomy 11:26–28 is an example: "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known [that is, in the personal way and in their experience of His mighty power]." (See also Deuteronomy 6:21–25; 28:1,2,15.)

In Joshua’s farewell address, Israel is reminded of the lessons of history and the warnings of the Lord (Joshua 23 and 24). He knew he was about to die, so he said, "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed…. But just as every good promise…has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil [Hebrew, hara`, the judgment] he has threatened" (23:14,15).

Next, Joshua drew attention to God’s dealings in Israel’s history; from Abraham to Moses to the victories in Canaan. "So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (24:13). Surely God’s goodness and provision gave reason enough for them to throw away all their idols and serve the Lord.

Though Joshua could set the example, he could not make the choice for them—the people had to choose for themselves. This may sound like a contradiction to Joshua’s statement, "but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." But Joshua was simply proclaiming that he and his family had already chosen to serve the Lord. Each member had to make his or her own choice. Joshua, however, was "a man in whom is the spirit [that is, the Holy Spirit]" (Numbers 27:18). We can be sure he had a powerful influence on the choices his household (including his family and servants) made. We can also be sure that if Joshua had not first made his choice to serve the Lord, his call would have had little effect.

The call or opportunity to choose (sometimes using forms of the Hebrew word bachar) is found again and again in the Bible. It was all too easy for God’s people to slip back. Too often the people chose their own ways, doing evil in God’s sight, choosing what displeased Him (Isaiah 66:3,4). "They hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord" (Proverbs 1:29). Too few were like the Psalmist who said, "I have chosen the way of truth [Hebrew, emunah, which also means ‘faithfulness’]" (Psalm 119:30). Or like the sons of Korah who said, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be (Hebrew, bacharti, ‘I have chosen to be’) a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10). Wisdom’s call was, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her" (Proverbs 8:10,11; cf. 16:16).

The call to choose for yourselves this day (Hebrew, hayyom, "today") comes to us every day. We do have to make an initial choice and commitment to serve the Lord. But every day brings new challenges, temptations, and efforts of Satan and his demons to trip us up. Besides, old, sinful desires keep cropping up, and we have to keep choosing (by the help of the Holy Spirit) to "put to death the misdeeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). Every day we must choose to count ourselves "dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). As Paul states, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness" (verses 12,13).

The choices God asked Israel to make all revolved around their relationship to Him. He desired their good always and made every provision for them. He loved them and wanted them to respond to His goodness with their love. He made it possible for them to do so by His own merciful enabling (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Today our choices revolve around our relationship to the Lord Jesus. God still speaks, and His message to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration is for us today, "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9:7). We can afford to listen to Him, for He said, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:16,17). Thus, we have a constant choice before us involving our desire to do God’s will and obey the teachings of Jesus.

He has lovingly made full provision to enable us. He has fulfilled His promise to ask the Father to give us another Counselor (Gk. paraklêtos, "Helper") to be with us forever (John 14:16). Israel had difficulty keeping the covenant they made to serve the Lord. We have the Holy Spirit’s help to make the right choices that will be in line with God’s Word, honor Jesus, and bring glory to God.

*Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.