Joshua 1–8; 23–24: Lesson 63

Joshua 23–24

“Choose You This Day”

At the end of his life, Joshua reminded the Israelites who the Lord is and what He had done for them. Joshua invited them to choose to serve the Lord instead of false gods. This lesson can help students choose to serve the Lord over other influences.

Student preparation: Invite students to bring a small rock to class. They will use it as a reminder of the plan they will make in the lesson.

Possible Learning Activities

The influence of distractions

Consider inviting students to create a list of the top five things that can distract youth from choosing to serve the Lord. Students could work individually or as a group. Ask students to share their lists.

• What about these distractions might make them seem more appealing or more important than serving the Lord?

  You might explain that, if we are not careful, these distractions can become a modern version of worshipping and serving gods other than the Lord.

• What might be the long-term effect of continually choosing these influences over the Lord?

  Invite students to ponder the following questions or record their answers in their study journals.

• How might you be serving the Lord or serving something or someone else through your daily choices?

• What might be the long-term effect if you continue to make these choices?

Invite students to seek the help of the Spirit to recognize what choices they can make to serve the Lord.

The Lord our God

A student could read the following paragraph to summarize Joshua 5–24.

After leading the Israelites over the Jordan River on dry ground (see Joshua 3–4), the Lord blessed the Israelites in their many battles with the Canaanites. The Israelites took possession of the land that God had promised them (see Joshua 5–12). The land was divided among the twelve tribes (see Joshua 13–22). Toward the end of his life, Joshua gave one final message to the Israelites (see Joshua 23–24).

For the following activity, you could invite half of the class to read Joshua 23:3–11, and the other half to read Joshua 24:3–11. Students could mark what they find in their scriptures.

Read Joshua 23:3–11; 24:3–11, looking for what the Lord had done and would do for Israel.

Invite students to share. You might do this by either writing their answers on the board as they share or asking students to come to the board to write what they found.

Then, to help students reflect on how they have seen the Lord work in their lives, ask the following question. You could invite them to think about examples from Church history, general conference, their own lives, or the life of someone in their ward or family.

• What are some examples of how the Lord has blessed us today?

Joshua 24:15 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider inviting students to mark doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so they can locate them easily.

To help students understand Joshua 24:14–15, you could invite them to rewrite what Joshua taught in their own words. They could rewrite the verses in partnerships or small groups.

Read Joshua 24:14–15. Rewrite what Joshua taught as if he were teaching the same thing today.

Invite students to share how they rewrote Joshua’s counsel. Students might share something like “Stop following all these other influences around you and choose to follow the Lord! You can choose what you want, but I’m going to serve the Lord.”

To help students identify a clear statement of truth, you could ask a question like the following.

• How would you summarize Joshua’s teachings in verse 15?

  Students might summarize verse 15 using words like we can use our agency to choose to serve the Lord.

  As you ask the following question, consider referring students to the answers they listed in the chart.

• What are ways that we can serve the Lord today?

• How can what you know about the Lord help you choose to serve Him?

Choosing to serve the Lord

Read Joshua 24:24–25, looking for what the Israelites chose to do.

To help students connect what they have learned to their own choices, consider asking them to write answers to the following questions.

In your study journal, respond to one of the following sets of questions:

• What do you want to remember about the Lord that can help you serve Him when it might be difficult? How do you think remembering the Lord in those moments could help you?

• What will you start doing or stop doing to choose to serve the Lord? What blessings might you experience from doing that?

You might want to ask willing students to share what they wrote down. Remind them not to share anything too personal. You could also share your testimony of the Lord and explain why you choose to love and serve Him instead of other things.

Read Joshua 24:26–27, looking for what Joshua did to remind the Israelites of their choice to serve the Lord.

If students brought a rock to class, they could take it out now. Or they could draw a picture of a rock. Discuss where Joshua laid the stone (under the oak tree) and why he put it there (to remind the children of Israel of the covenant they made to serve the Lord). Ask students where they can put their rock to remind themselves of their plan to serve the Lord. Invite them to put their rock in a prominent place they will see regularly. They could also write something on the rock that reminds them of the Lord or their plan to serve Him, like “I will serve the Lord.”

You might want to share the following statement with students. Testify of the long-term effect of choosing to serve the Lord.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about the long-term effect of choosing to serve the Lord:

We need to choose whom we will serve. The magnitude of our eternal happiness depends on choosing the living God and joining Him in His work. …

Choosing to follow the Father’s plan is the only way we can become inheritors in His kingdom. (“Choose You This Day,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 106)

Memorize

You might want to help students memorize the doctrinal mastery reference and key scripture phrase during this lesson and review them in future lessons. The key scripture phrase for Joshua 24:15 is “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” Ideas for memorization activities are in the appendix materials under “Doctrinal Mastery Review Activities.”

Additional Resources

Why were the Canaanites destroyed?

In Deuteronomy 7:1–2, the Lord commanded the Israelites to “utterly destroy” the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (who are often all referred to as Canaanites because they lived in Canaan, the promised land). The scriptures indicate a few reasons for this commandment. Deuteronomy 9:4–5 teaches that the Lord drove the Canaanites out of the land because of their wickedness (see also Deuteronomy 20:16–18). In the Book of Mormon, Nephi taught his brothers that these people “had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them” (1 Nephi 17:35).

The evil acts of the Canaanites were so contagious and destructive that allowing them to remain in the land would have spiritually destroyed Israel. The history of Israel proves this to be true. Because they failed to obey the Lord’s commandment to “utterly destroy” the Canaanites (see Judges 1:21–36), Israel over time adopted their false beliefs and evil practices, which eventually led to Israel’s spiritual ruin and physical destruction. (See Old Testament Student Manual Genesis–2 Samuel, 3rd. ed. [2003], 219.)

If I haven’t been choosing the Lord, is it too late to choose Him now?

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

When we discover that we are off the path, we can stay off, or because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can choose to reverse our steps and get back on. …

No matter how long we have been off the path or how far away we have wandered, the moment we decide to change, God helps us return. From God’s perspective, through sincere repentance and pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ, once back on the path, it will be as if we were never off. (“Choose You This Day,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 106)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Video option

For a modern example of choosing to serve the Lord, you could show the video “The Soul’s Sincere Desire” (3:28). You could start class with the video and discuss the choices we make daily. Or you could show it when asking students what are ways a youth can serve the Lord.

Jesus Christ is the Rock

When discussing Joshua 24:24–27, you might invite students to cross-reference or link to Psalm 18:2 and Helaman 5:12. Ask them to share why a rock might be a good symbol for Jesus Christ or how He has been a rock for them.

Joshua 6. Blessings of obedience

To learn about the blessings of obeying the Lord, students could study the account of the battle of Jericho. Consider asking students to think about what would happen if someone didn’t follow protocol—for example, a surgeon not cleaning their instruments properly, a farmer not plowing their field properly, and so on. Invite students to think about why it is important to follow instructions we receive with exactness.

Then you might invite students to read Joshua 6:1–5, 10. Ask them to mark the instructions the Lord gave Israel for their battle with Jericho. Note that the word compass means to “go around.” Ask students what they would have thought if they were an Israelite receiving these instructions.

Invite students to read Joshua 6:12–16, 20, looking for how the Israelites responded. Invite students to share what impresses them about the battle and what truths they identify from this account. Students might identify a truth like the following: As we faithfully obey the Lord with exactness, He will bless us. You could invite students to share how they have seen the Lord bless them or others for obedience.

Joshua 7. Consequences of disobedience

To discuss the negative consequences of disobeying the Lord, you could help students study the account of Achan. Explain that the Lord commanded the Israelites not to keep anything for themselves after they defeated the city of Jericho (see Joshua 6:18–19). Unfortunately, an Israelite man named Achan took some clothing, gold, and silver from the city for himself (see Joshua 7:1, 21).

Invite students to read Joshua 7:1–7, 10–13, looking for how Achan’s disobedience affected the people of Israel. Then help students identify a truth like the following: When we choose to disobey the Lord’s commandments, we bring negative consequences upon ourselves and others. Ask students to think about how small acts of disobedience can affect us or the people around us over time.