Chapter 23 takes place about 20 years since the war in the promised land ended and the land was given peace. Joshua knows he is getting older...in fact, he knows he is about to die and is concerned about the children of Israel. Throughout the book of Joshua we have seen where he kept them strong in the Lord and obedient to what the Lord was saying and now that Joshua won't be there anymore, he is concerned about Israel's ability to stand firm and stay committed to the Lord.
Joshua begins his big farewell speech by telling them he is old and advanced in years, but goes right into this in verse 3:
Joshua 23:3 You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.
He reminds the children of Israel what they have seen and how the Lord has fought for them. Joshua goes on to say that he has divided the inheritance into lots and the Lord God will continue to expel those that remain in their inheritance so the Children of Israel may possess the land as "The Lord your God promised you." He wanted to remind them that just because Joshua leaves this earth does not mean the Lord is going to leave the people. What do you need to remind yourself of today that is an example of what the Lord God has promised you?
Joshua goes on in the next couple of verses to caution the Children of Israel. He says:
Joshua 23:6-8 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, (7) and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, (8) but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
Stay faithful. Don't wander. Don't turn aside from the all that is written in the Book of Moses. Be courageous! Don't back down in fear. Most importantly, do not even speak the names of the gods the people of the land worship that will remain with you. Do not serve them, do not bow down to them, do not swear by them. Hold on tight to the Lord your God, as you have done already.
I am reminded here of some verses in Psalm 37:
Psalms 37:3-6 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. (4) Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (5) Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. (6) He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Isn't that what Joshua was telling the Children of Israel? Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Commit your way to the Lord, trust Him, and He shall bring to pass the good things He has promised. Do you think Joshua was concerned about an "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" attitude developing among the Children of Israel? I think so. He had apprenticed under Moses. He had walked the same path they all did. He had seen the same things all of Israel had seen. Yet, they had stepped away and complained, and dishonored and been disobedient to the Lord on any number of occasions from the moment they were delivered from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
Joshua also cautions the Children of Israel about entering into marriages with the people of the land that are left dwelling among them. In fact, he says don't do it.
Joshua 23:11-13 Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. (12) Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, (13) know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
This is a pretty stern warning, is it not? Love the Lord God...or else. That is the tone is it not? My husband and I have said over and over to our children this one simple thing:
Every decision has a consequence - good or bad - based on the decision you make. So, be prepared to receive the consequences - good or bad - based on the decisions you make.
We all must be ready for the consequences we receive for the decisions we make. God did not remove free will when He led the Children of Israel out of bondage. What He did do is show them the consequences of following Him in obedience, and they saw first hand what would happen if they did not do so. We are to commit ourselves to Him and stay faithful to Him. What happens when we do?
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.
Joshua begins his big farewell speech by telling them he is old and advanced in years, but goes right into this in verse 3:
Joshua 23:3 You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.
He reminds the children of Israel what they have seen and how the Lord has fought for them. Joshua goes on to say that he has divided the inheritance into lots and the Lord God will continue to expel those that remain in their inheritance so the Children of Israel may possess the land as "The Lord your God promised you." He wanted to remind them that just because Joshua leaves this earth does not mean the Lord is going to leave the people. What do you need to remind yourself of today that is an example of what the Lord God has promised you?
Joshua goes on in the next couple of verses to caution the Children of Israel. He says:
Joshua 23:6-8 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, (7) and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, (8) but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
Stay faithful. Don't wander. Don't turn aside from the all that is written in the Book of Moses. Be courageous! Don't back down in fear. Most importantly, do not even speak the names of the gods the people of the land worship that will remain with you. Do not serve them, do not bow down to them, do not swear by them. Hold on tight to the Lord your God, as you have done already.
I am reminded here of some verses in Psalm 37:
Psalms 37:3-6 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. (4) Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (5) Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. (6) He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Isn't that what Joshua was telling the Children of Israel? Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Commit your way to the Lord, trust Him, and He shall bring to pass the good things He has promised. Do you think Joshua was concerned about an "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" attitude developing among the Children of Israel? I think so. He had apprenticed under Moses. He had walked the same path they all did. He had seen the same things all of Israel had seen. Yet, they had stepped away and complained, and dishonored and been disobedient to the Lord on any number of occasions from the moment they were delivered from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
Joshua also cautions the Children of Israel about entering into marriages with the people of the land that are left dwelling among them. In fact, he says don't do it.
Joshua 23:11-13 Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. (12) Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, (13) know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
This is a pretty stern warning, is it not? Love the Lord God...or else. That is the tone is it not? My husband and I have said over and over to our children this one simple thing:
Every decision has a consequence - good or bad - based on the decision you make. So, be prepared to receive the consequences - good or bad - based on the decisions you make.
We all must be ready for the consequences we receive for the decisions we make. God did not remove free will when He led the Children of Israel out of bondage. What He did do is show them the consequences of following Him in obedience, and they saw first hand what would happen if they did not do so. We are to commit ourselves to Him and stay faithful to Him. What happens when we do?
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Aren't these scriptures in Proverbs awesome? I think so. When the ways we walk please God, even our enemies are at peace with us. We have the ability to make our own decisions because of freewill. We have the ability to remain faithful to our God. Joshua was telling the Children of Israel the same thing. Joshua doesn't have a lot of faith in the CHildren of Israel and their ability maintain their obedience to the Lord. This is evidenced by the final verse in 23:
Joshua 23:16 When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you."
Joshua said "WHEN" not "if" and not "in case you do"....He told Israel they would break the covenant they had made with the Lord. He told them they would serve other gods, bow down to other gods, and cause the anger of the Lord to be against them. I think Joshua made this statement based on past behavior of the Children of Israel. Without breaking a pattern, we are doomed to remain in the pattern we have grown comfortable with. However, we have something that Joshua and the Children of Israel did not have. We have One who broke the pattern...we have One who lives within us giving strength where we might otherwise fail.
Romans 8:1-11 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (3) For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (5) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. (8) So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Don't allow condemnation and sin to rule your mind. Don't allow the enemy to plant that lie and do not water it (or give thought to it)! We have been set free from the law. Set your minds on the things of the Spirit, of the life we have in Christ Jesus. Do not continue to walk in the flesh that is so easily swayed by the "next thing" but instead, stand strong in the spirit because the very Spirit of God dwells with in you!!
Follow the discussion on Facebook.
