Joshua 24:14
¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear Yehova and worship Him in sincerity and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your fathers had worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and worship Yehova. ¹⁵ If it seems bad to you to worship Yehova, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers worshipped that were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!”

Lot’s of people know about the quote at the end of verse 15 in Joshua 24. Go to any “Christian retailer” and you’ll probably find wall plaques for sell, quoting “As for me and my house…”
But how many are familiar with the preceding verse 14?

What can we learn about this from Joshua?
He makes it very plain and simple for us.
—Fear Yehova
—Worship Him in sincerity and truth

What does it mean to fear Yehova?
Is it healthy to be afraid of our Creator?
Why should we ever fear a loving God?
We are given this bit of advice in Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

If we look at the Hebrew for fear, we find this:
H3372  Transliteration  yare’ 
Strong’s Definition:
יָרֵא yârêʼ, yaw-ray’; a primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten:—affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end), × see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

We can combine both meanings of this word to describe our response to Yehova:
fear in reverence, or reverent-fear
He is the Creator of all things.  He gives us each heartbeat and each breath.  And His final judgment will not determine the fate of our physical bodies, but the fate of our soul. We should have much respect and reverent fear of Yehova.  Everything that we are or will be [or will not be] is decided by Elohim.

How do we go about this?
First, let’s take a look at the Hebrew for truth:
H571 Transliteration  ’emeth
Strong’s Definition:
אֶמֶת ʼemeth, eh’-meth; contracted from H539; stability; (figuratively) certainty, truth, trustworthiness:—assured(-ly), establishment, faithful, right, sure, true (-ly, -th), verity.

And here is sincerity:
H8549 Transliteration   tamiym
Strong’s Definition:
תָּמִים tâmîym, taw-meem’; from H8552; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth:—without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), whole.

We know from the English words truth and sincerity that Joshua’s statement is serious in nature, and these two words bring forth a certain understanding. Looking at the Hebrew and the definitions of both words, we add to the idea of worshipping Yehova the following concepts: integrity, certainty, trust, perfect, undefiled, faithful, and more…  Are these the type of words you would use to describe your walk of faith, your behavior, your worship of the Living Elohim?

Let’s take a look at some scriptural advice concerning truth:

Psalm 25:9-10
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All Yehova’s ways are loving kindness
and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
Psalm 85:10-11
¹⁰ Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
¹¹ Loving kindness and truth meet together.
Righteousness and shalom [peace] kiss each other.
Psalm 86:11-12
¹¹ Teach me Your way, Yehova,
    that I may walk in Your truth.
Give me an undivided heart to fear Your Name.
¹² I praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and glorify Your Name forever.
Psalm 111:7-8, 11
⁷ The works of His hands are truth and justice.
All His precepts are trustworthy—
⁸ they are upheld forever and ever,
made in truth and uprightness.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.

Proverbs 3:3
Let kindness and truth never leave you— bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 8:7
For my mouth speaks truth, and my lips detest wickedness.
Proverbs 12:19
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue for only a moment.
Proverbs 14:22
Indeed those who plot evil go astray but grace and truth come to those who plan good.
Proverbs 14:25
A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is treacherous.
Proverbs 16:6
By mercy and truth is iniquity atoned, and by the fear of Yehova one avoids evil.
Proverbs 23:23
Acquire truth and do not sell it, acquire wisdom, instruction and understanding.

Psalm 117:2 and Psalm 119:142-144 go together well:
² For great is His loving kindness toward us, and Adonai’s truth endures forever. Halleluyah!
¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is truth.
¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,
Yet Your commandments are my delights.
¹⁴⁴ The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting;
Give me understanding, and I shall live.

In these quotes from Psalm and Proverbs, we see that Yehova considers His Torah, His commands, His law to be truth, and He considers it to be truth forever.
How is your walk with Yehova?
Do you consider His instructions to be forever, or do you consider them to be obsolete?

Joshua says “…But as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!”
Whom do you serve?
The New Testament helps us to figure it out.
1John 2:3-6
The Test of Knowing Him
³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[a]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

 2John 2:6
⁶ This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.