I gave you land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build. Joshua 24:13
Joshua 24 takes us on a journey through the Old Testament, specifically from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Joshua. In this chapter, God reminds the Israelites of his faithfulness and provision throughout their history. Beginning with Abraham, God recounts how he delivered the Israelites from each obstacle they faced. From their escape from Pharaoh’s oppression to their victory over Balaam’s curses, God was with them and helped them overcome every challenge. He also reminds them of their conquest of Jericho and their defeat of the two Amorite kings.
He emphasizes that they received the land they now inhabit as a gift from him, without having to toil or plant any crops. Instructing them to discard their idols, he asked them to decide on the subject of their worship.
Let’s relate the context above to our daily lives. How many times has God been merciful to us and saved us from various life situations? He has been present during every challenge we’ve faced, and has bestowed numerous blessings upon us without any effort or action on our part. Do we deserve such blessings?
Why has God given us these blessings? Perhaps we were once very good to him, or he promised our ancestors to bless their descendants, or because our God is so merciful towards us. We may not know why we deserve such blessings, but one thing we do know is that he is a God who blesses us when we look up to him. He blesses us from his abundant riches in heaven and is also gracious towards us.
All he needs from us is for us to give our souls to him and become closer to him. Once we do that, worldly blessings will naturally follow. Just as the Israelites did not have to toil for anything in their promised land, our blessings and provisions will be taken care of by God. He needs only one thing: that we get closer to him, worship no other gods, and never turn to idols.
What are idols? Idols are anything we love more than God. It is challenging to remove them entirely from our lives in this generation, but we can limit the time we spend on them. Matthew 6:33 says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. When we give God a priority, he helps us remove the idols in our lives.
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