"Ye Cannot Serve The Lord,
For..."
Joshua 24:19
Don Fortner
The nature of God is
such that it is utterly impossible for him to be served by fallen, depraved
men. This is exactly what Joshua declares: "Ye cannot serve the Lord,
for...". Then he gives us three reasons why men cannot serve the Lord.
l.
"He is
an holy God." A holy God demands perfectly holy obedience. He cannot and
will not accept anything less than absolute perfection. The men of Bethshemesh
found out that sincerity, fear, costly-sacrifice and earnestness could never be
accepted of "an holy God", after 50,000 were
slain for their attempted service to him (I Sam.
2. "He is a jealous
God." God is jealous of his honor, his glory and his worship. That simply
means, God will not tolerate any rival to himself. All
graven images (visible and imaginary), like Dagon, will be broken to pieces
before him. He will not tolerate any idol to be worshipped in his place or
along with him. And he will not tolerate the idol of man's righteousness,
service and works to be set up in place of or alongside the righteousness,
service and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who would serve God must
denounce both the false gods of their fathers (Josh. 24:23) and their own
righteousness (
3. "He will not
forgive your transgressions, nor your sins." The
just and holy God cannot be served by sinful creatures such as we are. The only
thing God can do with sin is punish it. And punish it he will. "The soul
that sinneth, it shall die!" The only way a fallen sinner can serve God is
if he can both suffer the full penalty of the law and fulfill all the demands
of the law. And, blessed be God, he has made it possible, by the substitutionary
obedience and sacrifice of Christ in the place of sinners (Rom.