Following God's will is not always easy. We are often tempted to do things that seem more immediately rewarding. The people meeting with Joshua that day had a history of voicing allegiance then backsliding.
Scholars think now that this portion of the book of Joshua was written after exile to help Israel to understand why they had lost their nation.
We are troubled by verse 19. Can it be that God will not forgive us? One reading is that Joshua's words are to remind us that sin does have consequences. We should consider these consequences before we act.
But, as we read more and more of the Bible, we are reassured that God continues to reach out to us, and, yes, forgive us more times than we deserve.
Joshua asks them to make a commitment. A commitment is more than a single promise at a single point in time. A commitment is a change in the rest of our lives.
Lectio Divina: Joshua 24:23-24
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