This I my thirty-fourth Easter celebration. Admittedly, I do not recall the first few. And several more are clouded by a rabbit-shaped haze of chocolate. For some of you, this is your eighty-fourth Easter. It is possible that Easter has become review for you. A man raising himself from the dead should never become mere review. But if we’re being honest, for some, it has.
But let’s go back a few years before the very first Easter. After Joshua (the Old Testament guy with the book named after him) gives his famous ‘Choose For Yourselves’ speech (you can check that out in Joshua 24) he goes into review mode.
Josh reminds the Israelites of everything God had done for them since the great Egypt escape. It’s kind of like recalling crazy youth trips with old friends. Remember when Pharaoh got really mad and drowned in the Red Sea and then bread fell on our heads for the next 40 years? Yeah, good times.
After story-time, the Israelites all affirm their love and devotion to God. Then Joshua gives an interesting command. “Now then, throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23).
Excuse me, did I miss something somewhere? What foreign gods would the Israelites still have among them? After all, this is after God sustained them in the desert for 40 years. This is after bread from heaven and water from a rock. This is after Jericho’s walls falling to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers. This is after the conquering of many kingdoms (sometimes with longer than 24-hour days). This is after settling in the land from north to south and on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This is after settling in the Promised Land, long dreamed about since the days of Abraham. What foreign gods would the Israelites still have among them?
Even after the detailed review from Joshua, the people still held on to other gods.
This begs the question; what else are we still holding on to besides the God who raised Himself from the dead on that first Easter morning? I’m not a hater on colored eggs and some chocolate, but what do we worship?
Perhaps we better celebrate another Easter and remember the details a bit more clearly. “Jesus…has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
But let’s go back a few years before the very first Easter. After Joshua (the Old Testament guy with the book named after him) gives his famous ‘Choose For Yourselves’ speech (you can check that out in Joshua 24) he goes into review mode.
Josh reminds the Israelites of everything God had done for them since the great Egypt escape. It’s kind of like recalling crazy youth trips with old friends. Remember when Pharaoh got really mad and drowned in the Red Sea and then bread fell on our heads for the next 40 years? Yeah, good times.
After story-time, the Israelites all affirm their love and devotion to God. Then Joshua gives an interesting command. “Now then, throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23).
Excuse me, did I miss something somewhere? What foreign gods would the Israelites still have among them? After all, this is after God sustained them in the desert for 40 years. This is after bread from heaven and water from a rock. This is after Jericho’s walls falling to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers. This is after the conquering of many kingdoms (sometimes with longer than 24-hour days). This is after settling in the land from north to south and on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This is after settling in the Promised Land, long dreamed about since the days of Abraham. What foreign gods would the Israelites still have among them?
Even after the detailed review from Joshua, the people still held on to other gods.
This begs the question; what else are we still holding on to besides the God who raised Himself from the dead on that first Easter morning? I’m not a hater on colored eggs and some chocolate, but what do we worship?
Perhaps we better celebrate another Easter and remember the details a bit more clearly. “Jesus…has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
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