Once again Moses calls Israel to a decision in Deuteronomy 29. Verse 10 says, “you are standing today all of you before the Lord your God…” Verse 14 picks up and says, “It is not with you alone that I am making this worn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and whoever is not here with us today.” There are several opinions about what that last phrase means, but I prefer to see it as referring to me and you. We were not literally standing there with Israel about to enter the Promised Land, but we are indeed “with them” in spirit and have the same decision.
We too must make the decision. It’s the decision. Joshua says, “Choose you this day. As for me and my house, we’ll serve the Lord.” This verse from Joshua is so well known that it’s often seen as Joshua’s finest hour. It was at that point of decision that Joshua established his destiny. It’s often at the point of decision that a destiny is secured or lost. Maxwell explains this well in his commentary. He says, “An example of this occurred during World War II. Following the fall of France in 1940, the German Third Reich claimed victory in Europe. Hitler appealed to Great Britain: “I am the victor; I can see no reason why this war need go on.” Lord Halifax officially responded that no peace which gave Germany control of non-German territory would be acceptable to Britain. However, the decision leading to this reply had been made a few weeks earlier, as the fall of France was anticipated. Addressing the nation, Churchill noted, “The battle of France is over;
I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization …. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say ‘This was their finest hour.’ ”
The decision to choose to serve God rather than the world will indeed be our finest hour.