Joshua 23 (TNIV)
Posted by anakainosis on January 10, 2008
Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders
1 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you. 6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.
9 “The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
jlimgarfield said
Last words in life…
1) “Remember”
- reminds me of a quote from a pastor, “a backsliding heart begins from a heart that first forgets to be thankful for God and His faithfulness, because that leads to complacency”. when we forget God, we forget who we are and where we came from, and why we are here.
2) “Obey”
- God knows what is best for us, and we will never understand ALL of what He commands. it is too easy to start to question a command or two here or there, and then start to rationalize through our own human “wisdom” why we don’t really have to “obey” as much as other commands. when we start to think that we know better than God, that is when everything unravels… and leads us back to Original Sin
3) “Do not associate with these nations… hold fast to the Lord”
“idols” or “idolatry” is the main term used throughout the O.T. which symbolized the wayward heart turning away from the pursuit of God. in the N.T., the equivalent term is “carnal”, not just specifically referring to illicit sexual desires, but more generally referring to man’s innate wayward heart motives which pull him away from God (e.g. sins of commission, sins of omission, complacency/lukewarmness, divided heart, etc)
Sin (or “idols” or “carnality”) is VERY contagious and subversive and easily affects everyone in the vicinity, whether they realize it or not. It can be very overt and obvious, or very subtle and hidden. It can be a blatant contradiction or a Truth, or a “minor” deviation of it which strays from it.
God is very stern in His warning towards the Israelites about being vigilant against idolatry/carnality/sin. Yes, God is greater than sin and has conquered sin and He still perfectly loves His people, but He warns the Israelites that sin is still very powerful and influential in itself. He even warns that “the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you”, and that “he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you” (v.13, v.15)
Lord, help me to meditate on these “last words” of Joshua and plant them in my heart for me to treasure and follow…
anakainosis said
what’s interesting is that Joshua’s last words echo God’s first words in this book to him. do not stray to the left or right, be very strong, be very careful.
how they got there is how they stay there: faith in God’s goodness (the one who provided the land and drove out their enemies), his commandments (confidence in God’s way instead of their own ways), and His presence (not mentioned here but in Joshua 1, “be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”).