The Carrot or the Stick

After coming into possession of the Promised Land, Joshua presented the people of Israel with the call for them to choose which god they would serve: Yahweh, who had delivered them from Egypt, or some other god from the nations around them. Joshua's response to their expressed choice is rather puzzling, but when we look more deeply, we can see why it was written that way. And this, then, makes us have to think about our own motivation for choosing to follow Jesus.