Joshua: Famous Last Words
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· 1 viewJust as God is absolutely faithful to us, so must we be to Him if we want to continue to enjoy his blessings
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We can learn much from someones last words. Sometimes a person’s last words review their life, or reminiscence about their experiences, or repair relationships, or give the next generation wisdom as to how to live. Last words can either affirm the person’s faith or reveal the lack of faith.
It is incumbent on us to pay attention to those who have learned much from their experience and from their relationship with God over their lifetime. As with other last words (e. g. Jacob, Moses), these last words of Joshua demand our attention. Joshua’s life begins with encouraging words Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
And they ends with very encouraging words Joshua 24:15
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
As an old man now, Joshua’s memory is full of the experiences and lessons that he had learned over the course of his lifetime and, specifically, during his period of leadership.
Now, in the final two chapters of Joshua, we see his true character and who he is in the Lord. He leaves behind two very important messages:
A reminder (chapter 23). Joshua reminds the Israelites of God’s covenant faithfulness to them in the past and counsels them about the future.
An exhortation (chapter 24). Here, Joshua reviews God’s faithfulness to his people and calls them to a renewed commitment to their covenant relationship with Him.
In these two chapters, Joshua ultimately is teaching one main lesson; Just as God is faithful to us, so must we be faithful to Him.
Remember God’s Covenant Faithfulness (Josh. 23:3-16)
Remember God’s Covenant Faithfulness (Josh. 23:3-16)
And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
A Look Back: All their success is due to God alone
A Look Back: All their success is due to God alone
Just as everything they had experienced, achieved, and now possessed was due to God’s gracious gift to them in fulfillment of his promise to Abraham, so for us everything that we have and are is from God.
James 1:17 says James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
We need to acknowledge this on a regular basis and govern ourselves accordingly. Joshua also takes
A Look Forward: God will continue to help you
A Look Forward: God will continue to help you
The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
They will accomplish their God-given purpose through the Lord’s power and according to his promises.
Sometimes, I think, we forget this when we make plans for our own future. We can only secure success in achieving certain goals as long as those goals are from the Lord and we conduct ourselves in submission to him, recognizing his sovereignty over every aspect of our lives. We need to remember that a person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps (Prov. 16:9).
We may make plans for the future (and that is right and proper), but those plans must always be subject to the Lord’s determination of each step we take.
These two reminders of God’s faithfulness in the past and the future are followed by a warning…
RETURN TO THE TEXT IN JOSHUA 23:6-8
RETURN TO THE TEXT IN JOSHUA 23:6-8
Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day.
Joshua tells the people if they want to remain faithful they must do two things:
Obey God’s Word (vv. 6-7)
Be Loyal to God (vv. 7-8)
Paul tells NT believers something similar in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
And again in Ephesians 5:11-13
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,
Separation from the world is evidence of our love for God, our obedience to God, and our loyalty to God.
Joshua says, CLING to the Lord your God
Today, most people do not think in terms of loyalty – neither to their employer, to their wife and family, to the church, nor to God. Loyalty is an undervalued characteristic. For the people of God, loyalty to God is of paramount importance. This means being steadfast in our allegiance to God, holding on to Him, being joined inseparably to Him. Our God brooks no divided affections from his people.
RETURN TO THE TEXT IN JOSHUA 23:9-10
RETURN TO THE TEXT IN JOSHUA 23:9-10
For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.
Joshua returns to reminding them of their successes int he Lord. And again we are reminded:
We can only defeat the enemy if we depend upon the Lord. He alone can drive away wicked opponents who are far more powerful than we ourselves.
Notice, Joshua what Joshua references to remind them of God’s power. It wasn’t simply that they won certain battles. It was that no opposing army, no matter how big or strong, was able to stand up against them. Indeed, God’s power was made so great and so evident that “one of you routed a thousand because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he promised” (23:10). With God on their side, each person was able to accomplish far more than they could otherwise achieve. Thus, Joshua is really encouraging them that, as in the past so in the future, God would be with them, enabling them to finish the task of driving out their enemies.
As Christians, we also have the assurance from God’s word that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). He is fighting for us on our side such that no enemy can defeat us, for he has given us spiritual armor for our protection and power in withstanding the schemes and fiery arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:10-20). Indeed, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom. 8:37).
RETURN TO THE TEXT JOSHUA 23:11-16
RETURN TO THE TEXT JOSHUA 23:11-16
Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.
“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
Finally, Joshua provides a warning. Here is a much-needed warning, for the Israelites (and for us) about faithfulness to the Lord. To preserve their relationship with the Lord, they must pay attention to their spiritual lives.
Don’t become comfortable based on your past successes. Don’t think that past successes are a guarantee of future successes. No, we need to constantly pay attention to ourselves in the sense of examining and being aware of our relationship with God (our spirituality), our desires, our thoughts, our diligence in the work of the Lord. Don’t become distracted by secular activities. Follow the Lord and beware of His judgement.
With this, he turns to his exhortation to renew their covenant with the Lord.
Renew your Covenant with the Lord: Joshua 24:1-28
Renew your Covenant with the Lord: Joshua 24:1-28
In the first 13 verses, Joshua reviews Israel’s covenant history:
In the first 13 verses, Joshua reviews Israel’s covenant history:
The call of Abraham (vv. 2-3)
The sending of Moses & Aaron (vv. 4-10)
The conquest of Canaan (vv. 11-13)
Then Joshua calls Israel to Renew it’s covenant with God
Then Joshua calls Israel to Renew it’s covenant with God
In verses 14-18, Joshua calls the Israelites to worship God alone
In verses 14-18, Joshua calls the Israelites to worship God alone
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
The alternative to worshipping and serving the Lord is to worship the pagan gods of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. Every human being worships someone or something. Which will it be? Evidently, the worship of pagan gods had been a protracted practice among the Israelites from the time of Abraham up to the present. Otherwise, Joshua would not have needed to call them to fidelity to the one true God. They needed once and for all to rid themselves of false worship and commit themselves to the God of Israel exclusively. The choice for Joshua and his household was clear and unequivocal, as he had demonstrated throughout his lifetime: “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (24:15b).
How appropriate and relevant is this for us today? In similar fashion, in the light of God’s goodness to us the apostle Paul calls us, just as Joshua called the Israelites, to an exclusive, life-transforming commitment to God in Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Notice their response. They vowed to follow the Lord. To worship Him alone (vv. 16-18).
In verses 19-21, Joshua warns the Israelites
In verses 19-21, Joshua warns the Israelites
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”
It seems that Joshua wants to shock them into realizing the seriousness of their commitment by reminding them of God’s holiness and his exclusive, jealous claims on them. This kind of commitment to God cannot be made lightly. It is all or nothing. Devotion to God demands separation from any defilement, whether in behavior, thought, or association. Their choice, therefore, is very serious. They cannot presume on God’s grace, even though they (and we) know from experience that God is a forgiving God. I think Joshua is trying to tell them that there is no room for nominal religion, just as there is no room today for “nominal Christianity” (i.e. profession without reality).
In this case, the people affirmed their pledge of allegiance to the Lord: “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord” (24:21).
Finally, in verses 22-28, Joshua finalizes the renewed covenant
Finally, in verses 22-28, Joshua finalizes the renewed covenant
Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
The people witness against themselves. They would be responsible for their decision. They could never claim that Joshua talked them into it. Nor could they ever claim that they didn’t know the consequences. Thus, the renewed covenant was ratified by the people.
But words are not enough. Their commitment requires appropriate action that confirms a change of heart. “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel” (24:23). Evidently, even as they made this commitment, there were still “foreign gods”among them that needed to be destroyed. So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lordour God and obey him” (24:24). The two go together – worship and obedience. There can be no true worship without obedience.
Thus, the covenant was finalized and Joshua made a binding covenant for the people to worship, serve, and obey the Lord, drawing up its terms in a statue and ordinance (vv 25-28).
Conclusion: Faithful Last Words
Conclusion: Faithful Last Words
Joshua’s last words are famous, but more than that they are faithful. Can the same be said for us?
Joshua provides a reminder that God has been loyal to His people in providing deliverance over and over. He then challenges them to renew their covenant commitment to the Lord by choosing this day to serve the Lord and Him alone.
Today, God has done so much for us. Nothing we have done in our lives have we done without Almighty God. Let us show our thankfulness by being obedient, loyal, and loving Him. Committing ourselves fully to His Word and vowing always to serve Him and Him alone.