Scripture Explained

Joshua speaks these words near the end of his life, after Israel has taken possession of much of the land God promised and is settling into a new normal. The people are no longer wandering; they live in cities, farms, and homes they did not build, surrounded by nations with their own idols, altars, and ways of life. At Shechem, a place loaded with covenant history going back to Abraham and Jacob, Joshua gathers the tribes and retells the story of God’s faithfulness so they cannot pretend God has been distant or vague.

Into that setting, Joshua puts the issue on the table with brutal clarity. He reminds them of the gods their ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and the gods of the Amorites in the land where they now live, making it obvious that they are not free from pressure or influence. Then he looks that reality in the eye and says that if serving the Lord seems undesirable, they still must choose, because doing nothing is itself a choice. Finally, he steps forward as a man and leader and says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord,” staking his own life and the direction of his home on the God who has carried them this far.

Think About This

A man stands in his living room on a Sunday afternoon, remote in his hand, kids in the next room, his wife scrolling on the couch. Church is over, the preaching is already fading in his mind, and the easy move is to slide straight into the usual rhythm: game on, snacks out, conversation shallow. His phone lights up with another notification from a feed that keeps pulling his heart and attention in a hundred directions that have nothing to do with the Lord. He feels the quiet tug to just let the day drift, telling himself that “at least we believe in God” while the house runs on autopilot.

He could keep going that way, week after week, hoping that somehow his family will catch a faith he never really leads. Or he could do something small but decisive that marks the room in a different way. He clicks the TV off, sets the remote on the table, and sits down where everyone can see he is choosing something else. He says, “Before this week gets away from us, I want us to ask God to lead this house,” then leads a simple, honest prayer. It’s not polished, it’s not long, but it is a line in the sand that his wife and kids will remember more than another game.

What Should I Do

Start by asking God to show you what actually rules your household right now: schedules, work, screens, money, comfort, people’s opinions, or the Lord himself. As he puts his finger on specific “gods”, like career success at any cost, porn, constant entertainment, image, control, repent of treating them as non‑negotiables and ask him to reorder your priorities around serving him instead. Don’t just feel convicted; name those things, write them down if you have to, and bring them under Jesus’ authority in prayer.

Then make one clear, practical decision that signals a new direction. You might set a time each day or week to open Scripture together as a family, commit to praying with your wife out loud, remove a source of temptation from your home, or reshape your budget to reflect generosity and obedience instead of constant upgrade. As you do this, expect some resistance from your own habits and maybe from others, but hold Joshua’s words in front of you: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Let that sentence become a filter for choices about rhythms, media, relationships, and money, so over time the culture of your home lines up with the commitment you’ve made.

Learn More

Joshua 24 is a full covenant‑renewal moment, and this line about serving the Lord sits at the peak of Joshua’s final challenge to the people. As you move through the chapter, pay attention to how carefully God’s past faithfulness is recounted before this decision is demanded, and let that pattern shape how you look at your own story. Let this verse push you beyond vague intentions into concrete steps so that, over time, anyone who walks into your home can tell that it belongs to the Lord and is being led in his direction.