Forming Faith Blog

Joshua Serves God (Joshua 24)

Posted on October 6 2026 by Gregory Rawn

After the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, Moses’ successor, Joshua, challenges the Israelites to commit to serving God alone.

A compass with the word Priorities. Joshua challenged the Israelites to commit to God and God's covenant.
About the Story

Last week, we read the story of the Israelites camping at Mount Sinai and receiving from God the Ten Commandments. These commandments provided God’s vision of how these people were to live in relationship with God and one another as a holy nation.

In spite of the fact that God had led them out of enslavement with mighty acts—like the parting of the Red Sea—the people nevertheless failed to trust God. They worshipped a golden calf. They complained that they wanted to go back to Egypt. They doubted that God could deliver them safely into the land that God had promised. They were unable to live as the holy nation that God had intended them to be.

For 40 years, God led the people through the wilderness until the generation of people that had come out of Egypt had died. The Book of Joshua marks the shift from wandering in the wilderness to entering, conquering, and settling the Promised Land. Now, with the next generation, born not in enslavement but in the wilderness, God is renewing the covenant. Joshua, who took over leading the people after Moses’ death, is himself nearing the end of his life. He has just this one last opportunity to speak the word of God to the people. Joshua begins by reminding the people of all of God’s activity through the generations before them. Joshua reminds them of God’s faithfulness. Though their ancestors have not always been faithful, God has been. Remember those promises that God made to Abraham that his family would become a great nation and that they would have a land of their own? Here is the nation. They are standing on the Promised Land. It is time for the new generation to choose: Will they serve God or not? (Adapted from Living the Word: Small Groups)

Context Insights

The following are a few insights found in our background resource Living the Word: Contexts & Connections. Within the Contexts portion of the resource, all factual and interpretive statements are cited in the endnotes, although those citations are not included here.

  • Culture/Religion: The central theme in the passage for today is the renewal of the covenant. A covenant was a formal agreement between two parties, typically involving a promise of protection by the more powerful of the two parties in exchange for loyalty from the other, often sealed by a ritualistic action. The Mosaic Covenant, sometimes referred to as the Sinai Covenant, was made between God and the Israelites after their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 19–24). Once the Israelites entered Canaan and succeeded in driving out the opposing forces, Joshua recounted God’s saving actions before asking the Israelites to renew the covenant by pledging their loyalty to God.
  • Authorial Intention/Occasion: In today’s story, the Israelites live in the land of the Amorites and must choose whether to worship God or the gods of the Amorites. Joshua leads by example, choosing to “serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15), and the Israelites follow his lead. A similar situation arose in Babylon centuries later, where the Israelites living in exile faced the choice between conforming to the worship of Babylonian gods or remaining faithful to their covenant relationship with God.
  • Common Misunderstandings: A common misconception about covenants is that they are conditional. While some covenants are conditional (the covenant is only valid if both parties hold up their end of the agreement), the Sinai Covenant—which is renewed in today’s passage—is generally understood to be unconditional. In other words, even if the Israelites do not follow through, God will not abandon the people. The Israelites may suffer consequences, as Joshua points out, for not following through with the covenant, but God will remain their God no matter what.
Connections and Suggestions

We have Narrative Lectionary resources for 2026-2027 for all age groups. Here are a few activity summaries you can use. The full activity descriptions and much more are available in the product noted. 

  • Kids: Introduce the activity by connecting Joshua’s choice of serving God with our choices for showing our love to God. For this game, choose an open space with two distinct areas or sides. Explain that the leader will give two statements while pointing toward one of the sides. Students move to the side that they think better shows love for God. Depending on the developmental levels of the students, statement pairs can range from obvious (e.g., paying attention in worship vs. taking a nap in the pew) to complex pairs without clear right/wrong answers (e.g., talk to a friend vs. going for a walk). If you choose to use complex pairs of statements, ask students to explain their choices. (From Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (PK-6th))
  • Youth: As an introduction to the lesson, provide a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil to each youth. Have the youth write a few statements of things they have done (that morning, regularly, or strange things). Statements should begin with “I” followed by a verb (e.g., I brushed my teeth). When they are finished, have them fold their papers and hand them to the leader. The leader shuffles the papers and distributes them to different youth. Youth will take turns reading the statements aloud. Challenge the group to guess the writer. End by explaining that the Bible passage will read like a list of things that God has done, though God’s actions are listed to remind the people that God stays with them and keeps promises. (From Living the Word: Youth)
  • Intergenerational worship: Provide balls of play dough in plastic bags to worshippers. Read aloud the Bible passage. Challenge worshippers in pairs or trios to use the play dough to illustrate one of the stories referenced in the passage (e.g., Abraham and Sarah following God to a new land). Optional: Provide a list of the references with citations to the original Bible passages and have worshippers review the stories before creating. (From Living the Word: Cross+Gen Worship)
Daily Bible Readings

Throughout both the Narrative Lectionary year (roughly September through May) and the summer, we have created a daily Bible lectionary that corresponds with the Narrative Lectionary readings. These readings are used throughout our NL products, and you can subscribe to them digitally through our Daily Readings Calendar.

DateDayLectionTitle
10/18/2026SundayJoshua 24:1-15 [16-26]Joshua Serves God
10/19/2026Monday1 Samuel 16:1-13David Is Anointed by Samuel
10/20/2026Tuesday1 Samuel 17:1-11David and Goliath, part 1
10/21/2026Wednesday1 Samuel 17:12-30David and Goliath, part 2
10/22/2026Thursday1 Samuel 17:31-54David and Goliath, part 3
10/23/2026Friday2 Samuel 11:1-13King David Abuses His Power
10/24/2026Saturday2 Samuel 11:14-27David’s Sins Spiral out of Control
10/25/2026Sunday2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9; Psalm 51:1-9Nathan and King David
Previous Posts

This is our blog’s third go-around in the Narrative Lectionary, Year 1. Here are some previous posts on this particular passage if you are interested:

I hope you find this all useful! If you have any questions or feedback on this blog post (or anything else), comment on this post below or on Facebook, or send me a message.

In Christ,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Order Faith Formation Resources

It’s not too late to purchase resources for your 2026-2027 faith formation programming! Order program-year curriculum resources for the Narrative Lectionary (Year 1, 2026-2027), Revised Common Lectionary (Years A & B, 2026-2027), or Key Bible Stories (non-lectionary, PK-2nd, 3rd-6th) and download TODAY.

New RCL faith-at-home resource!

I’m excited to announce a new product series for Spirit & Truth Publishing: Taking Faith Home. Taking Faith Home is a set of weekly devotional resources (often distributed as worship bulletin inserts) that follows the Revised Common Lectionary. We offer it as a Church Year (Dec. 2026 to Nov. 2027) and a Program Year (Sept. 2026 to May 2027). You can also purchase by quarter, such as Summer and Fall. Learn more here and read a review!

VBS, Events, Retreats, and More!

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together can help! This series of affordable, five-lesson units on a variety of topics can be downloaded immediately, uses basic supplies you probably already have, and is so easy to use that you can hand the leader’s guide out that day (though that’s not recommended)!

Like all of our faith formation resources, Learning Together is effective, theologically sound, and inclusive. The current topics are:

+ Paul’s Adventures (NEW!), Celebrations, Created to Care, God’s Gift of Water, Heroes of the Bible, The I AM Statements of Jesus (free!), Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees), Do Justice, Celebrations, Women of the Old Testament, and Bible 101

Building Faith has recommended two of our units as VBS curriculum: Paul’s Adventures (reviewed in 2026) and Celebrations (reviewed in 2025)!

You can also read outside reviews of both our Do Justice and Created to Care units.

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