As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the Lord, and after his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything that the Lord had done for Israel.
Joshua 24:31 GNT
At first glance, one might conclude that the presence of Joshua and those leaders kept the Israelites faithful to the Lord. However, a deeper look reveals a different story. Examining how the people behaved before Joshua’s death, we will realise that the loss of their leaders was not to blame for their wickedness.
The people had disobeyed God and worshipped idols many times since the time of Moses. They had faced God’s punishment and anger repeatedly. In fact, God said this to Moses about the people in Deuteronomy 9:13: “I look at this people and all I see are hard-headed, hard-hearted rebels.” Moses also knew how rebellious and stubborn the people were. So, he said to them: “You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.” (Deuteronomy 9:24 NIV) Also, in Deuteronomy 31:27 (NIV), he repeated: “For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!”
This begs the question: what truly fuels a life pleasing to God? Indeed, the root of the problem was not the lack of leaders but the condition of their hearts. Leaders can guide and inspire, but ultimately, inner transformation – the circumcision of the heart – holds the key. As long as the people remained hard-headed and hard-hearted, they could not please God or obey His commands. Instead, they would only increase their sins and bring God’s wrath and judgment upon themselves. Therefore, God urges:
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
Deuteronomy 10:16 NIV
God’s attention to our motives is evident. Merely asking isn’t enough; the intention behind our prayers holds weight. Selfish desires, devoid of genuine devotion, fail to resonate with God’s purpose. While outward rituals like Abraham’s circumcision served as a sign of belonging, true devotion hinges on a circumcised heart.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
Jeremiah 4:4 NIV
Remember that your relationship with God depends on the state of your heart, not on the presence of human leaders. We need a humble, obedient, and devoted heart to God. We must cut off anything hindering us from loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Only then can we serve the Lord faithfully and experience His blessings. Let us pray that God will give us a new heart and a new spirit, as He promised in Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
