We Are Witnesses

And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

Joshua 24:22 - LEB

But what does serving Yahweh actually mean?

‛âbad

to work, serve

to labour, work, do work

to work for another, serve another by labour

to serve as subjects

to serve (God)

to serve (with Levitical service)

Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions - H5647

It would seem that our “works” would be important in the service of God. He laid out what we ought to do and ought not to do in His Word.

If we choose to serve Yahweh, the holiest of holies, we accept the requirements that come with that. We can’t take His words and cherry-pick which ones we should or should not follow. The only way to be in the presence of the Father is by being wholly pure. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:48 - LEB

So by taking on the responsibility and witnessing against ourselves that we will serve Him, we have entered a contract to be perfect. A contract that we can’t fulfill. We can never live up to the expectations set before us. The requirements to be with the Father. As Paul rightly said in his letter to the Romans:

What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, just as it is written,

There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

Romans 3:9-11 - LEB

So then, if we are witnesses against ourselves, we’re going to have to testify that we have failed in our attempt to serve Yahweh. Our only hope is in Yeshua, Jesus Christ. God among us who paid the penalty for our sin. But does that mean we can stop serving Yahweh? Well Paul himself says in the very same chapter:

Therefore, do we nullify the law through faith? May it never be! But we uphold the law.

Romans 3:31 - LEB

So then, while my salvation does not come from the upholding of the law (which has been done only once through God himself in the flesh), it does not preclude my responsibility for serving Yahweh. Two things can be true at once:

1. Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sins
2. I have no excuse for continuing in my sin as someone who claims to serve God

Then how do we know what sin is so that we can avoid it?

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:4 - LEB

So in conclusion, if I want to serve God and continue to be a witness against myself for that dedication, I should hold fast to the law. Not that it is my salvation (that only comes through Jesus as I am a sinner) but it is my charge. And what good is a servant with closed ears?