Code of Conduct

This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 (RSV)

In mid-August, a friend sent me a book entitled, “The Joshua Code” by O.S. Hawkins. It is one of 40 books Dr. Hawkins has written during his more than 50 years as a Baptist pastor.   

The scripture quoted above, Joshua 1:8, outlined the behavior God expected Joshua to follow (his code of conduct) when he took over leadership after Moses’ death.  Joshua not only had to accomplish the tasks God set forth for him, but he had to follow his code of conduct while doing it.  

Prior to reading “The Joshua Code,” I hadn’t realized how personal and precise God’s messages and expectations of the people of scripture were. Amazingly, Joshua followed God’s code of conduct his whole life. Even near his death, Joshua gave what we now call his farewell address. In it, he said: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 RSV). 

Joshua 24:15 is one of my favorite verses. I memorized it after seeing it engraved on a plaque which hung in my mother-in-law’s kitchen way back in the 1960’s.  

Perhaps one of your favorite people in the Bible was given a specific code of conduct. It might make for interesting research. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise You and humbly seek Your guidance. We need You when life gets hard and we get confused not knowing what to do. We know You gave us a code of conduct. It’s called the Ten Commandments, but we fall short of your expectations, and we need help following Your will. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen

Judy Welch