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Articles
“You Are Not Able to Serve the Lord”
After exhorting the Israelites to fear and serve the Lord and them responding that they would (Joshua 24:14-18), Joshua made what may seem like an unusual statement: “You are not able to serve the Lord,...” What? Isn’t that what he wanted them to do? Yes, but they were not able, just as some people today are not able to serve Him either. Why not? Joshua gave four reasons.
“He is a holy God” (:19). The people failed to truly understand God’s holiness and respect it accordingly. Aaron’s sons failed to do this and lost their lives as a result, as God stated after consuming them with fire, “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.” (Lev. 10:3). When Moses struck the rock God told him to speak to and then said, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:8-10), God responded, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (:12). Understanding God’s holiness and treating Him accordingly is a serious matter, and you are not able to fully serve Him until you do.
God’s holiness demands holiness in our lives. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; etc.). It required the removal of Moses’ sandals to be in His presence (Exo. 3:5), and we must remove sin from our lives if we ever expect to be in the presence of God. We cannot serve Him – or see Him – without doing so.
“He is a jealous God” (:19). The Lord repeatedly reminded the Israelites of why they needed to turn away from idols: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exo. 20:5; Deut. 5:9). Because of His jealousy Moses described Him as “a consuming fire” and that because of His jealousy “the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth” (Deut. 4:24; 6:15). God is so jealous that Moses said His “name is Jealous” (Exo. 34:14).
Phinehas understood the jealousy of God and became “jealous with His jealousy” and put to death those who were disobedient to God, turning away God’s wrath from Israel (Num. 25:6-13). Until we understand the severity of the jealousy of God and put to death the sin in our lives, removing any idols that come between us and Him (including other people – Matt. 10:37), we are not able to serve Him.
“He will not forgive you” (:19). “He will not forgive your transgression or your sins” (:19). “The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty,...” (Num. 14:18). Moses said concerning one with a stubborn heart, “The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.” (Deut. 29:20).
What about today? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). And if we don’t confess our sins? “He will not forgive you,” and we are not able to serve Him.
“He will...consume you” (:20). “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” (:20). After Israel worshipped the golden calf, God warned that He would destroy (same Hebrew word translated “consume”) them on the way to the land of Canaan (Exo. 33:3-5). Moses told the next generation who did enter the land, “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today,… The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it.” (Deut. 29:15-22).
“Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), and we are not able to serve Him without realizing this fact and responding accordingly. “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (:28).
You are not able to serve the Lord without understanding what a holy and jealous God He is. You are not able to serve Him while remaining in sin, for He will not forgive you. Not only this, He will also consume you. Stand in awe of His holiness and strive to live accordingly. Never allow anything to come between you and Him to provoke His jealousy. Renounce all sin to receive His forgiveness and keep from being consumed by Him. Only then will you be able to serve the Lord.
