Cling to Christ

"Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God (Martin Luther).”  This quote is fitting as we look at Joshua 23.  As he nears the end of his life, Joshua reminds the Israelites that they must choose to cling to “the Lord your God” or to the gods of the nations left among them.  

“Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,  that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them,  but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day (Joshua 23:6-8).”

Joshua is charging the Israelites to cling to the Lord.  The Hebrew word for “cling” is “davaq,” which means “to cleave.” He wants them to cleave - stay close to - be joined together with  - the Lord.  He even supplies them with the way to accomplish this.  Verse 6 says to “keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses.”  God’s word to them was to be their instruction manual. To cling to the Word was to cling to the Lord.  

This is true of our lives.  If we want to grow in our relationship with Christ, we must read His word.  There is no shortcut.  Time must be spent in His very words, written to us.  Studying them, memorizing them, singing them, proclaiming them.  It is our very life.

Joshua continues in verses 11-13, explaining what will happen if they instead cling to the world around them.

“Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.”

Joshua warns that, however enticing the lifestyle of the nations around them is, they will end up being a “snare,” a “trap,” a “whip,” and “thorns” for them.  Worldly influences never advertise that they will bring torture.  When we fill our minds with only influences from the world, it is never harmless.  We begin to long for something easier than obedience.  

Practically speaking, if we wake up, watch the news, turn on secular music on our way to work,  then come home and watch television all night, how can we expect our lives to look any different than the world?  We are to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).  Light doesn’t blend in, it stands out.  

This standing out, looking different from the world around us, happens when we are breathing in and out the word of God each day.  “The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation (D.L. Moody).” God’s word daily transforms us to look more like our Father and less like the world.  As Joshua reminds us, the world may look enticing, but it is only a snare and a trap for our souls.  

I encourage you today to cling to Christ.  Read His word.  Soak it up. Live it out.

Andrea Shustella