It was fitting that this cradle of the nation should witness their vow, as it witnessed the fulfilment of God's promise. What Plymouth Eock is to one side of the Atlantic, or Hastings Field to the other, Shechem was to Israel. Vows sworn there had a sanctity added by the place. Nor did these remembrances exhaust the appropriateness of the site. The oak, which had waved green above Abram's altar, had looked down on another significant inci- dent in the life of Jacob, when, in preparation for his long journey to Bethel, he had made a clean sweep of the idols of his house- hold, and buried them " under the oak which was by Shechem " (Gen. XXXV. 2-4). His very words are quoted by Joshua in his command, in verse 23, and it is impossible to overlook the inten- tion to parallel the two events. The spot which had seen the earlier act of purification from idolatry was for that very reason chosen for the later. It is possible that the same tree at whose roots the idols from beyond the river, which Leah and Eachel had brought, had been buried, was that under which Joshua had set up his memorial stone ; and it is possible that the very stone had been part of Abram's altar. But, in any case, the place was sacred by these past manifestations of God and devotions of the fathers, so that we need not wonder that Joshua selected it rather than Shiloh, where the ark was, for the scene of the national oath of obedience.
3. Such were the associations which gathered around them as the multitudes in the valley of decision listened to the words of their great leader ; and the charge was a retrospect and a pros- pect, a review of God's unchanging goodness, and an anxious looking forward to the future. Would the people be true to their mission ? God had given them a land for which they did not labour ; He had driven the nations out before them. But for what ? " That they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws," that they might be the repositories of the great truth which was to prepare the world for its regeneration, the truth of monotheism which should prepare for Christianity. Would
JOSHUA XXIV. 15 137
they be true to their vocation ? Had they really apprehended that for which they had been apprehended ? Would they choose that for which God had chosen them ? If not, still they must choose. " If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve." Shall it be the polytheism from which Abraham had been called, or the polytheism of the Amorites among whom they were now dwelling ? They might choose their vocation to be the servants of the One True God, or they might choose among the many idolatries in which they might miss their vocation. But choose they must.
^ It is the' critical position to which the prophet Elijah alco ^ brought the people. " How long halt ye between two opinions ? " How long will you spend your life in inconclusive flirtations ? Settle the matter. Make up your minds. " If the Lord be God, follow him ; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people y answered him not a word " ; and the timid flirtations went on ! ^ And so it is to-day. In spiritual relationships men flirt, but they do not wed ; they pay courteous attention, but they do not choose ; they give a respectful hearing, but they do not risk an issue. Everything is open, nothing concluded. And so this old- world counsel comes into our modern conditions as counsel which is pertinent to much of our inconsequent and inconclusive life.^
Keeping strictly to the words, " Choose you this day whom ye will serve," we find four facts contained in them —
I. All Life is Service. II. We may choose our Master.
III. There are only Two Masters to choose between.
IV. The Choice is Urgent.
I.
All Life is Service.
Joshua does not ask the Israelites whether or not they will serve any god. It is taken as a matter of course, and assumed as a fact, that they must serve some acknowledged superior, because it is a part of man's nature to fear and serve a Superior Being, or y a Superior Power. It is only " the fool " who " hath said in his ^ heart. There is no God " — one who has utterly rebelled against
^ J. H. Jowett.
/^
138 THE CHOICE OF A MASTER
the better side of human Dature, and has crushed out the natural feelings of fear, awe, and reverence. Now this is the statement of an important truth. If men will not serve the Lord, they will nevertheless be the slaves of something — of Satan — of sin — of their own lusts — or of the riches, pleasures, or cares of this ^world. It has been well said: "We have not the liberty to choose whether we will serve or not ; all the liberty we have is to choose our master."
^ One often felt about Dr. Eainy the note of the soldier. I remember a fine phrase of his about life : " We must succeed as soldiers succeed." Soldiers succeed, not by gaining honours and applause, nor, it may be, by gaining even victory. Their success is obedience to the call of duty. Their profession is " the service." Principal Eainy, even as the Church leader, was always the soldier in " the service " of " the good cause." ^