“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh.” Joshua 24:14 HCSB
Just about everyone has a keepsake box. I have a box that contains items I have kept from my past going back to my childhood. Nothing in the box holds any real value, but each item means something to me because it brings back a memory of some activity or person. For example I have the baseball glove, a ball, and my hat from when I played Little League. We all tend to keep things that have meaning to us.
It is hard to believe that after wandering in the wilderness for forty years and being admonished by Moses to worship the one true God that some people still had graven images and idols of false gods in their possession. Joshua instructed the people to get rid of the gods of their fathers. The old generation had passed away and now the younger generation still had idols that had been brought out of Egypt. Why were they holding on to these worthless idols? Did they think they could “fall back” on the other gods if Yahweh did not come through for them? Were they holding on to the memory of the past? We do not know, but we do know that Yahweh is the one true God and deserves our complete devotion and worship.
Challenge: What bad habits and sins from your past are you holding on to? Are there things in your life that are more important than God? Are these things your false gods that you need to get rid of? Trust God to take care of you and leave your old life behind. Worship the one true God with awe, reverence, and faithfulness which should lead to you servingHim through your daily actions and words.
Read The Bible Through In Two Years: Genesis 2:4-25; Matthew 2:1-23