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Joshua is very near journey's end. For 110 years he has been a guest of existence. He has lived a remarkable life. He has been an outstanding leader in Israel. Successor to Moses, he has honored his job and himself. But now an eventful life is at the edge of death. He gives his farewell address at Shechem. He has fulfilled his God-given assignment, and now this veteran soldier, statesman, and strategist lifts up the issue of loyalty.

Interesting it is that he addresses the people in terms of their ultimate allegiance. Why should one have to talk to religious people about their faith? How is it that he challenges them concerning the residency of their primary devotion? Well, Joshua knows this crowd. He knows their shaky and wobbly temperament. They are impulsive, unstable, wishy-
washy. This, you remember, is that "calf crowd." And they are subject to be moved in any direction by the slightest whim. They are impatient, insensitive, and unappreciative. Apparently some degree of assimilation has already set in. He talks about the presence of "strange gods" which are among you. They are now inside the camp. They are already internalized.

Joshua knew something. He knew that even people pulled by the Eternal tend to bring along excess baggage. I have discovered that when people unite with the church, oftentimes they desire to bring to the new experience things that have no merit, no place, and no purpose in the fellowship. A significant aspect of the sanctification process has to do with informing people that the "stuff" that worked in their previous experience doesn't necessarily work in the Church. In the Church, the ethic is different. In the Church, the guidelines are different. In the Church, there is a different tune and a different drumbeat. Joshua has led this great host to a new land, pregnant with new possibilities. But they need, they warrant a certain word of warning. And with death in view, he gives this word: "Put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. Put them away! Put these strange gods away."

This crowd, this "calf crowd," was not only stiff-necked and rebellious. They were also given to all kinds of assimilation. Every culture that they brushed up against seemed to have an effect upon them -- Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Gergasites, Amorites, Jebusites
-- all of these people touched and affected in wrongful ways the people of God. And Joshua tells them in effect, "This stuff won't work. You have been exposed to the real thing. You have had the full treatment in ethical monotheism -- one God, altogether holy and righteous and just. Anything else is a farce. Why flirt with the synthetic and the unreal when you are acquainted with the one true God? Put them away, these strange gods. Make sure your allegiance is clear and correct."

Life's preeminent question centers on the issue of allegiance. Let me ask you a question: "Where is your primary loyalty? To whom do you ultimately belong?" Now the answer you give, not with your lips alone, but with your heart, with the inner you and with your outward action -- that answer is revelatory. For it reveals your ideals, your values, your ethical system. It tells more about you than anything else. And there is a simple method by which you can test your ultimate allegiance. It's a very elementary test. Just steal away to an attitude of creative aloneness and ask yourself this question: "If I had to give up everything in terms of associations, everything but one thing, what is the one thing I would want to keep?" You might be surprised at your answer.

These strange gods have a way of muddling our affections and gaining heart space within us. Although the Divine dictum reads, "No other gods," we let them invade our philosophies, our theologies, our thoughts, and our emotions. The fact that they are demonic means that they know how to gain access. Demons exist in plenitude. And because of their spirituality, they are particularly adept at entering precincts of the sacred. Religious people are especially vulnerable. Why, even witches are spiritual.

Satan is a spirit. He commands and directs all of these strange gods. Satan is an expert in the area of imitation. He is the chief imitator. Remember that he is a fallen angel, and he once dwelt in the presence of God Himself. As Lucifer, he sang in the heavenly choir. With the Cherubim he chanted praises to God; with the Seraphim he serenaded the Eternal. But one day he got beside himself and declared, "I will be as the most high God." He wanted to be at least coequal with God, and God had to expel him from glory. He was cast down from heaven. He fell, but he didn't crash. He plummeted, but his fall ended somewhere in midair, somewhere between God's throne and His footstool, high enough for him to assume the title "Prince of the Power of the Air." At that lofty elevation, he set up shop and began to deputize emissaries of his own nefarious will and purpose. And Satan, by the way, delights in possessing preachers and churches. I am convinced that Satan has a preacher recruitment program. I am further convinced that he controls some churches.

There is an interesting phenomenon in the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation. Talk is made concerning the "synagogue of Satan." Are there some churches under Satan's command? I raise this question because I have discovered that people who are overly religious are peculiarly vulnerable. They are prime candidates for the "strange god" syndrome. I am afraid of people who have all the religion. I feel more secure in the presence of a rank sinner.

These strange gods present themselves in so many forms -- in persons, in places, in principalities, in powers, in financial schemes, in religious racketeering, in greed and arrogance parading in the name of the Lord, and in ignorance. Says Joshua, "Put them away. Get rid of them. Make sure your allegiance is proper. For there is but one God, and Him only shall thou serve. Anything and anybody else is transitory, fleeting, and ephemeral. What you need, Israel, is a rock in a weary land, shelter in the time of storm, somebody who will hear your call, and answer your prayers. Put these strange gods away, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel." The people heard Joshua's admonition and they answered, "The Lord our God will we serve and His voice will we obey."

Long centuries later, a preacher stood one day before an earthbound tribunal, and declared in defense of his Lord and his faith, "We must obey God, rather than men." That is my posture. I hope it is yours. For I serve and represent Him who is the one true God, the Alpha and the Omega. His name is so sweeping that it embraces many titles. He is Adonai, Lord! He is Elohim, God! He is Yahweh, I Am What I Am, and I Will Be What I Will Be! He is Elyon, the most high God! He is Jehovah Sabbaoth, the Lord of Hosts! He is El Olam, the Everlasting God! He is El Shaddai, God Almighty! He is Jehovah Shammah, which tells me that when I don't see Him He is still there. He is Jehovah Rapah, the Lord that healeth! He is Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner! And thank heaven he is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. He is the great I Am, but beyond all else, He is Emmanuel, God with us. In Jesus, He came to see about us, to walk our walk, and talk our talk. In Jesus, He is bread when you get hungry, and water when you get thirsty. In Jesus, we have all that we need. So, put away all of the strange gods, and serve Him who is authentic. Every step of the journey, all the way from earth to glory, serve Him and Him alone.