“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
Joshua was an old man when he spoke these words. He had led Israel into the Promised Land, and before he died he gathered the whole nation at Shechem and asked them a question we still have to answer: who will you serve?
The gods of your fathers
Notice the first option Joshua puts on the table: “the gods which your fathers served.” Earlier in the chapter he reminds them that Abraham’s father, Terah, served other gods beyond the river (Joshua 24:2). Abraham did not stay there. God called him out.
Many people today serve their gods for the same reason: our fathers did. “This is our family’s religion.” “This is our culture.” “This is what we have always done.” Tradition is powerful, and leaving it can cost you relationships and comfort. But age and family loyalty do not make something true. Abraham’s family tradition was idolatry, and God still called him to leave it.
The choice Joshua gave
Joshua opens with a plain statement: “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served.” (Joshua 24:14) He wasn’t asking for a blend. He was asking for a choice.
Joshua also does not hide the cost. When the people eagerly promised to serve the Lord, he warned them: “Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God.” (Joshua 24:19) He wanted a commitment that would last, not a quick emotional response. And he told them: “Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)
You cannot keep the idols in the house and also serve the Lord. Elijah put it the same way on Mount Carmel: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)
Why idols cannot be served alongside the living God
Hinduism, as most people know it, honors many gods, and many Hindus will say that all of them lead to the same truth. The Bible answers directly.
God is one. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” (Isaiah 45:5) If this is true, then millions of gods are not a richer picture of God but a substitute for Him.
Idols are made by people. “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not… They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.” (Psalm 115:4-8) The craftsman makes the image, and then bows down to it. A god that needs to be made, carried and cleaned cannot carry, clean or save you.
The honor belongs to God alone. “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isaiah 42:8)
Where the Hindu teaching differs from the gospel
I say this with respect for Hindu friends and family. I was raised among them and I know how kind and sincere many of them are. But sincerity cannot decide what is true, so here is the honest contrast.
- Many gods or one God. Hinduism teaches a vast number of deities. The Bible teaches one Creator who made everything and everyone.
- Karma or grace. In the doctrine of karma, you pay for your past lives through endless rebirth, and there is no one to forgive you. The Bible says “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) The debt is paid by Christ.
- Caste or equality. The caste system ranks people by birth, and its defenders trace it to Hindu scripture. The Bible says God “hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26) and that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free” (Galatians 3:28).
- Self-effort or a finished work. Many paths in Hinduism, including meditation, yoga and rituals, ask you to climb toward God by your own discipline. Jesus came down to us, and on the cross He said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
Why it matters
Joshua’s question wasn’t about being polite. It was about who deserves our lives. Paul described what happens when people give worship to created things:
“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25)
Idol worship is not just a harmless difference of style. It places something small where the great God should be, and it leaves people without the one thing they need, which is forgiveness from the God who made them.
The good news
This is where the post turns from the problem to the answer, because the gospel is good news.
Every one of us, Hindu, Christian or anyone else, has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and sin has a price: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). No idol, ritual, pilgrimage or good deed can pay it.
But God did not leave us there.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, died on the cross in our place. He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. Forgiveness is not something we earn, it is something we receive:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“And the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Your Shechem moment
Joshua asked Israel to decide that day. The question is just as real for you now. Maybe you were raised in a home with idols, or maybe you’ve been wondering about a God who is different from the ones you know. You don’t need a temple, a priest or a ritual to come to Him. You only need to come honestly.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
If you want to respond, you can pray something like this from your heart:
“Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned and that I can’t save myself. I believe You died for my sins and rose again. I turn away from every false god and from my own way. Forgive me, come into my life, and be my Lord and Savior. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, tell someone. Find a Bible-believing church, read the Gospel of John, and ask God to help you walk with Him. You do not walk alone.
Joshua said it for himself and his household, and I say it for mine:
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Glory to Jesus Christ, the one true and living God.