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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles
to Joshua chapter 23. Joshua chapter 23. As we come
close to the end of this particular book, the Lord willing, we'll
finish next Wednesday night with chapter 24, and then we'll take
up the book of Judges. Remember the outline, the broad
outline in the book of Joshua. It is tasked with specific things. Verses or chapters 1 to 4, the
people of Israel enter into the land of Canaan. Chapters 5 to
12, they conquer the land of Canaan. Chapters 13 to 21 indicates
how they possess the land or they divide up the allotments
for each of the particular tribes. And then chapters 22 to 24, these
last three chapters, deal with retaining or keeping the land. So I'll just pick up reading
in chapter 23 at verse 1. Now it came to pass, a long time
after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies
round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. And Joshua
called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for
their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced
in age. 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. See, I have divided
to you by lot these nations that remain to be an inheritance for
your tribes from the Jordan with all the nations that I have cut
off as far as the great sea westward. and the Lord your God will expel
them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you
shall possess their land as the Lord your God promised you. 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, 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. But you shall hold
fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. For
the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations. But as for you, no one has been
able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall
chase a thousand for the Lord your God is he who fights for
you as he promised you. Therefore, take careful heed
to yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 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 into
them, and they to you, 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. Behold, this day
I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your
hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed
of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning
you. All have come to pass for you.
Not one word of them has failed. Therefore it shall come to pass
that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord
your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all
harmful things until he has destroyed you from this good land which
the Lord your God has given you. 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. Amen. So we're in
that last section of retaining or keeping the land. Chapter
22, as we saw last week, the primary focus in that chapter
was on pure worship or purity in worship. The Western tribes
were suspicious of the Eastern tribes because they put up an
altar. Well, it turned out that they
did not put up the altar for sacrifice, but rather simply
as a witness. And in this, the Western tribes
were happy. Everybody was happy. The peace
and the unity of Israel was evident. And again, the emphasis there
on purity and worship and on unity within the nation of Israel.
Here in chapter 23, it is Joshua's farewell address, and the emphasis
here is on obedience. In order to retain the land,
when we go into the land, purity of worship, unity among Israel,
and then obedience. And in chapter 24, the overarching
theme is covenant. So those are the means by which
Israel would retain or would keep the land. Unity and peace,
purity and worship, obedience to the law of God, and faithfulness
to the covenant that the Lord had imposed upon them. So that's
how they will keep the land if in fact they can comply with
these things that God speaks here. Now, as I said, chapter
23 is a farewell address. Oftentimes we see these sorts
of things in the Bible. Moses, we see it with Jacob,
we see it, you know, in our earthly settings when a man is going
to die, he calls for his family, he calls for his friends, and
he instructs them or he passes on to them some parting words. The Apostle Paul does this in
2 Timothy chapter 4. He says, preach the word, be
ready in season and out of season. The last formal command that
Paul gives to Timothy in terms of church life is on preaching
the word. So it's a pattern that we see
throughout scripture and Joshua certainly complies with that
pattern. There's three elements to his address here in chapter
23. The first is a reminder of God's
presence and power. A reminder of God's presence
and power with the nation of Israel. This is very foundational
and very important. for us to look back and see what
God has done, and to see how He has shown Himself faithful,
that steadies us in the present, and it gives us the oomph, as
it were, to move on into the future, knowing that our God
is faithful to the things that He has promised. So the reminder
of God's presence and power, verses 1 to 5. Secondly, the
necessity of careful obedience in verses 6 to 13. And then thirdly,
the warning concerning God's judgment in verses 14 to 16.
So that's the three fold outline for this summary statement, or
for this farewell address from Joshua in chapter 23. I mentioned,
I think, to Roger last week, or recently, that we're coming
to the end, and whenever we come to the end of a biblical book,
you sort of feel like you're losing a friend. Now, I realize
that Joshua's not actually alive and here with us, but in a very
real sense, it's been like we've gone on the conquest with them.
We've gone in and, not actually, but we have at least metaphorically
and spiritually helped them kill people and break things and dispossess
the land and divide the land and do all those sorts of things.
So it's always good to see how a man ends in a particular calling
that the Lord has given him. And Joshua through and through
has been a faithful man. He is called again in this passage
or in this section, a servant of the Lord. He was faithful,
the Lord God used Moses, and then Moses passed the baton by
the command of God to this man Joshua and he truly is a faithful
servant of the Lord. So first notice the reminder
of God's presence and power. Verse 1, it came to pass a long
time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their
enemies round about that Joshua was old advanced in age, and
Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads,
for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, I
am old, advanced in age. Now, the land was not completely
conquered at this point. In fact, in Joshua chapter 13
in verse 1, it tells us there that Joshua was advanced in age. Joshua was an old man. After making that statement in
13.1, it then indicates that there was land yet to be possessed. And that's essentially what we
have here in verse 4. There are still those places,
there are still those parcels where the children of Israel
need to fully dispossess the Canaanites from the land. I think
there's a lesson here, particularly for us, that though the leader
himself, though Joshua is advanced in age and he's going to die,
this does not relieve Israel from the task and the calling
that God has given to her. In other words, leadership is
there to assist, to serve, and to help the people of God. But
once the leadership dies, or the leadership changes, or the
leadership transfers, that does not change the mission of Israel. Israel needs to be faithful whether
Joshua is there or not. Thankfully, he's been a faithful
leader and a good model and an excellent commander of the armies
of Israel. But in his absence, Israel must
take seriously the particular task that the Lord has given
to them. Hess says in both chapters 13 and 23, a description of land not yet occupied by Israel, follows
this introductory note. Joshua's death does not end Israel's
responsibilities to occupy the land. And so Joshua is showing
again faithful leadership. He's concerned about how the
people function once he's gone. That's a selfish man who says,
I really don't care what happens after I'm gone. It's a selfish
father, a bad father, a bad civil leader who does not care what
society looks like when his term is ended. That would be horrific. If a father says, well, as long
as I'm alive, I want you to toe the line. Once I'm dead, I really
don't care what you do. That's not the heart of a faithful
man. And Calvin makes this comment
concerning Joshua in this farewell address. He says, the pious solicitude
of Joshua is here also set for the imitation of all who are
in authority. In other words, what Joshua evidences
here ought to be imitated by those in leadership. Certainly,
as fathers, we bear a responsibility, and mothers as well, to take
seriously this admonition to prepare our children, not simply
for when, you know, they leave our particular home, but for
life. And not just as long as we live and we breathe, but even
long after we're dead, we would hopefully train them up in the
way they should go so that when they are old, they will not depart.
Calvin goes on to say, for as the father of a family will not
be considered sufficiently provident if he thinks only of his children
until the end of his own life and does not extend his care
farther, studying as much as in him lies to do them good even
when he is dead. So good magistrates and rulers
ought carefully to provide that the well-arranged condition of
affairs as they leave them be confirmed and prolonged to a
distant period. In other words, what Joshua is
doing here is a great model for those of us who have people that
we need to teach or lead. Davis says, while passing on
the testimony of God's deeds cannot guarantee the fidelity
of the next generation. In other words, just because
Joshua is doing this does not guarantee their faithfulness.
just because you as a father or mother teach your children
the fear of the Lord doesn't necessarily mean they're going
to comply. But look at what he goes on to
say. He says, while passing on the testimony of Yahweh's deeds
cannot guarantee the fidelity of the next generation, the failure
to pass it on will guarantee their unfaithfulness. In other
words, if we don't pass on, if we do not teach these things,
if we do not instruct our children, if men in leadership do not faithfully
proclaim the truth of God, they are setting their people up for
a fall. And this is wrong, and it ought
not to be the case. Psalm 78 is just one in the Psalter
that deals with this whole idea of educating and teaching the
next generation. We need to be future-oriented.
It may not be the case that we are going to see revival in our
particular time, but we preach the truth, we pray the truth,
we sing the truth, we do all of that to inculcate in the next
generation a fidelity to the truth so that they will go and
press on and maybe, God willing, He will pour out great blessing
upon them. So Joshua is doing what a godly
man should do in instructing these brethren in their particular
responsibilities. Notice specifically his address
in verses 3 to 5. He notes first the demonstration
of God's power and presence. Verse 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. It's literally, it is He who
is fighting for you. It's not a past tense fought,
it's a present participle fighting. It's not just that Yahweh fought
for them when they entered in and conquered the land, but he
continues to fight for them as they are his covenant people.
Whether they are conquering, whether they are dealing with
other nations, whatever the particular threat or enemy is, God the Lord
has maintained His faithfulness in fighting for them. You can
see how this functions for the people in this context. You've
seen it. Do not forget this. This is why
we participate in the Lord's Supper. We remind ourselves of
the great acts of our great God so that it fires us up to walk
by faith, to do those things that he has called us to do.
They had seen the presence and power of God conspicuously displayed
in the conquest. Remember when they marched around
Jericho? Did they engage in military warfare? Did they have the biggest bombs?
Did they drive up in Bradley tanks and soar over in F-15s
and F-16s? Absolutely not! What was their
strategy at Jericho? It was to obey God. They circled
the city, and it was the Lord who brought that particular city
down. They had seen the display and
the power of the arm of God most high. They saw God bring victory
at Ai in chapter 8. According to chapter 10, we see
God's power displayed in the southern campaign. It's conspicuous. He tells us he fought for them,
he won for them. In the next chapters we see his
activity, powerful in the northern campaign. Chapter 13 in the remaining
land. And then chapter 21, verses 43
to 45. We can review that. It's the
theological summary of the entire book. 2143, so the Lord gave
to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their
fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord
gave them rest all around according to all that He had sworn to their
fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them.
The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not
a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to
the house of Israel. All came to pass. So you see,
Joshua's strategy is to remind them about their God. In other
words, he begins with theology proper. He begins with God, and
he begins with who God is and what he does. This is always
the great foundation stone. from whence we build. We need
to understand and know who our God is, and it's based on that
reality that we deal with the enemies that we have to deal
with. It's a battle against sin. It's a battle against a difficult
situation at work. It's a battle. Know who God is. Understand that He's infinite,
He's eternal, He's unchangeable. In His being, wisdom, power,
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Understand what He's
done, not just in your life, but in redemptive history as
a whole. Think of the apostles' words
in Romans 8. If God did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him up, how shall He not also with Him? freely
give us all things. In other words, if he's done
the greatest and brought the sword of justice to bear upon
his son, certainly he's going to help you on Thursday. Certainly
he's going to be there for you in the midst of trial and difficulty.
He's not going to abandon you. He doesn't crush the son of his
love so that you can have pardon of iniquity and the imputation
of righteousness so that you can flounder and suffer and die. Now, ultimately you might die,
but you're going to be with the presence of the Lord. It's interesting
here, where does Joshua begin? He begins with God. This is where
we always ought to begin, is with God. Notice He speaks of
the possession of the land in verse 4. See, I have divided
to you by lot these nations that remain to be an inheritance for
your tribes from the Jordan with all the nations that I have cut
off as far as the great sea westward. And then He assures them in verse
5 of the Lord's presence. And the Lord your God will expel
them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you
shall possess their land as the Lord, your God, promised you."
You see, it's a done deal. The Father has promised to give
it to you. He's already given you the vast
majority of it. All that remains is basically
some mop-up missions in Canaan. Now, it's unfortunate when we
get to Judges, all these good words that Joshua spoke in terms
of the farewell address and this covenant ratification ceremony
in 24, and the people swear their fidelity to Yahweh. As soon as
we get to Judges, we see the human condition. You need to
understand that God understands that, God knows that, and God
is teaching something to Israel. He is teaching them that they
have a need for the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not, they will
not, and they cannot obey God perfectly when they get into
the land. There's always this hope, there's always this longing,
there's always this anticipation built in the old covenant scriptures
waiting for the one that would come and would ultimately obey
all that the Father had given him. So understand that macrocosmically. But microcosmically, we need
to see what they were supposed to be doing. They were supposed
to trust God. They were supposed to believe
God. And they were supposed to operate in light of those particular
realities. Now, that brings us secondly
to the necessity of careful obedience, verses 6 to 13. Here he sounds
very much like we saw repeatedly in the book of Deuteronomy. It's
not just obey, you know, just give it your best shot. Be careful. Do not depart from the left or
the right. Notice in verse 6, the first
element he highlights is courage. He says, therefore, be very courageous
to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law
of Moses. Go back to Joshua chapter 1 for
a moment. Joshua chapter 1. Remember that when they went
into the land of Canaan, they weren't there to shoot pool with
the Canaanites. I sometimes drive, I think it's
Edwards Street, just close to here. That's where the lawn bowling
is there. They have a place where old people,
elderly people, I shouldn't say old people, I'm gonna be there
in a few years, I don't mind. If you call me an old person,
I don't care actually, so I don't know why they would. Lawn bowling
is where they just throw the balls. When I was a kid, my uncle
was Italian. He called it bocce balls. It
was bocce balls. That's not what they were doing
in Kenya. It doesn't take a lot of courage to go over there with
some old folks and roll a ball on the grass. But when you need
to go in and dispossess a land from a people that have lived
there for a long time, that have built houses, that have hewn
out wells, that have grown vineyards, and they quite like their stuff,
and they quite like the life that they have built for themselves.
When you need to go in there and dispossess that land, it
takes courage. God the Lord has promised, God
the Lord has given this gift, God the Lord says that he is
fighting for you, but nevertheless God the Lord is using the means
of Israel and her strategy. And so when Israelites go into
this land they need to be strong and they need to be of good courage.
They cannot cower They cannot be wimps. They cannot be afraid. They cannot be paralyzed and
immobilized. The conquest and the division
of the land requires courage. The courage is founded ultimately
not upon one's strength and one's ability, but upon one's God. And this has been a constant
refrain in this book of Joshua. It's certainly book-ending, this
particular book. Notice in Joshua 1 at verse 6,
be strong. This is Joshua's commission given
by God. Be strong and of good courage,
for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the
land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong
and very courageous that you may observe to do according to
all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from
it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever
you go. This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and
night, that you may observe 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. Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Do you
know what we're seeing in essence? Joshua in chapter 23 is able
to say, God told me to do this. By his grace, I've done it. And I want you now to go and
do it. OK? Joshua doesn't have a brand
new message for the children of Israel in 23. Joshua has what
God gave him in his calling, in his commission. In essence,
Joshua 23 is this servant of the Lord saying, I have tried
God and I have proven Him. I have tested him and I have
shown him faithful." He doesn't say it in those brazen terms,
but that in essence is what we see. He has been given this charge,
he has been given this commission, and he has lived in light of
it. This is what he then commends
to others. Joshua, what have you learned
in this however many year career? Well, he dies at the age of 110.
What have you learned in those years? Well, I've learned I need
to be strong and of good courage, and I need to obey God. You see,
the message never changes, does it? He wasn't innovative in chapter
23. He hadn't learned a bunch of
new tricks along the way. Let me just share with you. No.
Here's what God told me. Here's what, by God's grace,
I've done. And here's what brought us to
this particular place. Here's what I'm going to tell
you. Go do the same thing. Don't stop doing it. Keep doing
it. Is that ever bad counsel for
the people of God to be strong and have good courage? to be
careful about his law, to not depart left or right, but to
be faithful and to be persevering and to be plotting on. Joshua
is a specimen of godly plotting, faithfully persevering, just
like we saw with Caleb. Caleb says, through war and through
wilderness, the Lord God has sustained me. Joshua could say
the very same thing through war, through wilderness, through trial,
through difficulty, through leadership nightmares. I mean, imagine leading
the children of Israel. There's instances when we get
something about Moses along the way in the wilderness. This was
not an easy task. Joshua had a very difficult situation. And yet what God told him was
sufficient. You see, I fear at times someone
reads Joshua 1, 1 to 8 or 1 to 9. Could you imagine a military
strategist reading this? Well, isn't the Lord going to
give him special weaponry? Isn't the Lord going to equip
him with all these, you know, bullets and all these sorts of
things? That's what the Lord's going to do. He's going to tell
him, be strong, be of good courage and obey my law. How will that
ever work? That's exactly what, if I can
use the word, works. It's obedience to the living
and true God. And this is what the Lord commends. And this is what Joshua tells
the people of Israel to be faithful in doing. The Eastern tribes
commend the same thing to Joshua. In chapter 1 verse 16, all that
you command us we will do. wherever you send us, we will
go, just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you.
Only the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever
rebels against your command and does not heed your words and
all that you command him shall be put to death. Only be strong. and of good courage. There's
a precedent in the book for what Joshua lays on these people here
in chapter 23. It is the way, it is the means,
it is that which God has decreed for success. And I say success
in light of chapter 1. You will be successful and your
way will be prosperous. Not you're gonna get great big
houses and big cars and a wife with big hair and a lot of thick
makeup. That's not success, but God's blessing is certainly success,
and the means by which the believer appropriates that is through
faithfulness to his God. Notice he goes on to speak of
the need for obedience. Verse 6b. 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, 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. But you shall hold
fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. Notice
the necessity of obedience to keep and to do all that is written. Again, right out of Deuteronomy.
We could go to 6, we could go to 7, we could go to 10. Very
specific, very particular injunction there, command to the people
to be faithful to the word of God. And that is something we
need to observe here. Notice in verse 6. To do all that is written in
the book of the law of Moses. The Book of the Law of Moses,
that's the standard. That's the guide. That's their
marching orders. It's not the whim of Joshua. It's not what the priests think
up. It's not what the other elders
or the other leaders think might be a good idea for Israel. It
must be to the law and the testimony. It is the written word of God
that is our standard. It is the written word of God
that is our guide. And it is the written word of
God that ultimately is our safety and our surety. Now there's times...
when well-meaning believers like to add things to the Word of
God or like to take things from the Word of God. Our lives, our
souls, our happiness, our perseverance does not ultimately rely upon
well-meaning believers. It is to the law. It is to the
testimony. It is to the scriptures of both
the Old and the New Testaments. In this context, the Book of
the Law of Moses, probably a specific reference to the Book of the
Covenant, Exodus 19 to 24, or the entirety of the Book of Deuteronomy
would have served that particular function very well. But it's
important to see this. It's the law. It's God's work.
God alone is Lord of the conscience. God alone has the right to command
people what to do and what not to do. Believers, as much as
we may want to, if we have a preference that is outside of the Word of
God, we can encourage people, we can try and help people, but
we can't mandate to people what they should and shouldn't do.
The Bible says, read the Bible. Now someone might be predisposed
to read the Bible at 6.10 a.m. every morning. If that person
makes that a command for every other believer, They've overstepped
their boundaries. In other words, a pastor could
never stand in a pulpit and say, brethren, you need to read your
Bibles at 610 AM. I want to wake up at 6 and know
that everybody in the flock is reading their Bibles at 610.
That's hot wash. You say, that's an outlandish
example. Well, there's probably some that
are a lot closer to home that we need to guard against. It
was the law of Moses that was the standard in Israel. It is
the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments that is the
standard for the New Covenant believer. As Chesterton said,
if men will not be governed by the 10 commandments, they will
be governed by the 10,000 commandments. God's law protects his people. It's a blessing. If you doubt
that, if you want to debate that, you can talk to Pastor Cam afterwards. No. Sometimes people hear this,
they hear law and they hear commandments and they think bondage and they
think straitjacket. No, it's liberty, it's joy, it's
blessing, it's freedom, it's what God intended for his redeemed
people. Law and restraint imposed by
a gracious and a good God upon his prone to wander, prone to
leave the God they love people is a blessing. By Ernest Kevin's
book on the law, a study of the Puritan view of the law, it's
called The Grace of Law. It's a great idea. It's a great
concept there. And we need to understand that.
That was the standard. for Israel in the Old Covenant. The standard for Israel in the
New Covenant is the entirety of God's Holy Word. Notice, the
manner of obedience, verses 6 to 8, they were to resist idolatry. Notice, Verse 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, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God,
as you have done to this day. So their manner of obedience
must look like this. You must resist idolatry. Idolatry
is bad. Everybody with me on that? Idolatry
is bad. First two commandments tell you
idolatry is bad. The children of Israel are cautioned
against idolatry. In fact, go back to chapter 7
in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses
1 to 5. Sometimes people hear about the
Old Testament and they say, oh, that was barbaric that the children
of Israel went in and killed all those nice Canaanites that
were just chilling in their land. All those nice Canaanites were
not nice Canaanites. They were sinful. They were rebellious. They engaged in wicked and abominable
practices. So the Lord God sent Israel in
as a scourge and a judgment upon the Canaanites and as a blessing
for his people. Now when Israel becomes Canaanite-ish,
God does the same to them. In fact, just peeking ahead a
little bit to the book of Judges, I picked up a commentary by Block
is his last name. I think it's Daniel Block. And
I love the way he outlines the book in three broad categories.
The canonization of Israel. Isn't that what Judges is all
about? The canonization of Israel. They become like Canaan. They
don't stay faithful. They don't do what God tells
them on the plains of Moab. They don't do what Joshua swears
them to in the covenant renewal ceremony in 24. As soon as they
get into the book of Judges, we see this canonization process
take place. It ends in just an abysmal situation. As history continues, what happens? In the 8th century BC, Assyria
comes and shuts down the northern kingdom. Right? And then in the
6th century BC, Babylon comes and shuts down the southern kingdom.
So when Israel goes into the land and takes on the characteristics
of the Canaanites, God deals with them too. It's not like
God's just this mean, capricious deity that doesn't happen to
like Canaanites. No, they were wicked. and evil,
and they deserved judgment." So God sends Israel. When He
sends Israel, this is what He commands them. Notice Deuteronomy
7 verse 1. When the Lord your God brings
you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out
many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites,
and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you.
And when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer
them and utterly destroy them. Now, there are some well-meaning
and well-intentioned people that look at the New Covenant situation
and see a parallel with Joshua and the conquest of the Promised
Land. There's a parallel insofar as
we as New Covenant believers are told to go and make disciples
of all the nations. But there is a fundamental disconnect
in the way that we carry that out. In the Old Covenant, they
were a theocracy. It was a manifestation of the
Kingdom of God on Earth. And they were a physical people
that were told to take the physical sword and cut physical heads
off of physical Canaanites so they could take their physical
vineyards and their physical houses and their physical land
and they could dwell there temporally. We are not supposed to do that
in the New Covenant. Right? We do not take the physical
sword and cut people's heads off. We preach the word of God. We pray. The weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but they are mighty for the pulling down of
strongholds. The sword of the spirit is the
offensive weapon that the Christian church wields today. not the
battering ram, not the Bradley, not the F-15. So there is a discontinuity
that exists between the Old and the New Covenants. You have to
appreciate that. The Holy War mandate is no longer
binding upon the Israel of God. It terminated, it ended Once
the Holy Wars were fought, the land was seized, and ultimately,
the theocracy was shut down because of their disobedience. I want
to make sure we know that. I'm all for covenantal continuity,
but I'm also for covenantal discontinuity, where it needs to be highlighted.
So when we read this, don't say, hey, honey, or hey, hubby, whatever
I got. Here's what we need to do tomorrow.
We need to go kill people in Abbotsford and take their city
for Jesus. Please don't do that, okay? If
you do that, I will testify against you at your trial, because there
most certainly will be a trial. Anyways, verse 2. And when the
Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them
and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with
them, nor show mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages
with them. You shall not give your daughter
to their son, nor take their daughter for your son, for they
will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. So the anger of the Lord will
be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall
deal with them. You shall destroy their altars
and break down their sacred pillars and cut down their wooden images
and burn their carved images with fire." They were to be a
distinct people. They were not to make political
treaties. They were not to engage in social
intercourse. And they were certainly not to
have any truck with them religiously. So politically, different. Socially,
different. Religiously, different. Why? because man is sinful. And if the Israelites allow the
Canaanites to worship Baal next door, it won't be long until
the Israelite is bowing down to Baal right alongside their
Canaanite neighbor. That is precisely what happens
as they dwell in the land. So back to Joshua 23. They were
to resist idolatry. They were to love the Lord their
God. Verse 8. You shall hold fast
to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. This focuses
upon, or this rehearses, or this calls to mind the Shema of Deuteronomy
6.4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is one. The response to that is, you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your strength. You respond to this
one God with love, with fidelity, with worship, with adoration.
If you continue in Deuteronomy chapter 6, it tells them, or
God through Moses, tells them certain potential problems that
they would face in the land. The first problem would be that
they'd forget God because of affluence. In other words, when
they enjoyed the bounty of the land, the tendency or the temptation
would be to forget God, right? Because when you're drinking
whatever they drank and when you're eating whatever they ate,
why do we need God? We've just come to Costco. I
mean, you know, on a corporate level. The second problem was
idolatry. Idolatry. The third was doubting
God during times of difficulty or problems. So you see, this
is recurring. God knows the human condition,
and he speaks very specifically to it. So they needed to resist
idolatry. They needed to love the Lord
their God. Notice the motivation for obedience in verses 9 to
13. The grace of God and the fear
of God. This is why you ought to obey
the standard. You ought to obey the law of
Moses because he displayed his power in the defeat of all your
enemies. Verse 9. Why wouldn't you want
to obey this God? Why wouldn't you want to honor
this God? Why wouldn't you want to love
this God, right? Isn't this Paul's argument so
that men will resist sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians chapter 6? He
says, you have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God
in your body. If Christ has secured you body
and soul, then do not join your body and soul to a harlot. This is unconscionable and unthinkable. If God has done this great work
of stopping your enemies, then the inevitable response is that
you want to love Him and worship Him and adore Him. as well his
kindness toward Israel as he who fights for you as he promised
you in verse 10. You see, this is a motive for
obedience to the law of God, the grace of God. Isn't this
Paul's emphasis in Romans chapter 12 beginning in verse 1? Therefore, beloved, I beseech
you by the mercies of God, What does he say? He tells them to
present themselves or to not be conformed to this world, but
rather to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Based
on the reality of gospel blessing in chapters 1 to 11, this then
is how you ought to live. The grace of God is a great argument
for obedience to God. We don't obey in order to get
grace. We obey because we've been given grace. You see, that's
the biblical norm. when it comes to our lives. We
do not obey God so that He'll be predisposed to give us grace.
We obey God because He has lavished grace upon us abundantly in and
through His dear Son. This is the progression in Ephesians
2, 8-10. You've been saved by grace through faith, not of works,
lest anyone should boast." And then he says, we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should do. We believe by the grace of God.
We're justified freely by his grace in order to do those good
things. This is the same ethic that they
had. in this covenant. He tells them, because God has
done this, therefore obey Him. But then notice the fear of God,
verses 11 to 13. Therefore take careful heed to
yourselves that you love the Lord your God, 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, 2 Deuteronomy
7, they were prohibited from. The man goes into Canaan. He
takes a Canaanite wife. It won't be long before he's
worshiping her Canaanite god. This is a stepping stone to this
calamity. This is a stepping stone to idolatry. This is why the New Covenant
Scriptures mandate that we marry in the Lord. This is absolutely
crucial. Young people, you need to think
in terms of these texts. You need to consider the implications
of texts like these, that you don't run unsent or end up in
a situation that dishonors the Lord God Almighty. Or else, if
indeed you do go back, verse 12, and cling to the remnant
of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages
with them, and go into them, and they to you, 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." Sounds prophetic now, doesn't it? Sounds prophetic. If you've read the rest of the
Old Testament, you'll know that is prophetic. That is precisely
what ultimately happens to these people. Now finally, notice the
necessity, I'm sorry, the warning concerning God's judgment. Look
at verse 14. Behold, this day I am going the
way of all the earth. Joshua says, I'm gonna die. People
are probably going, no, don't go. I mean, let's not forget
the human element. I'm sure these people love this
man. We love him, studied about him this many years after the
fact. Imagine having followed him into battle. Imagine seeing
a man who exemplifies this kind of covenant fidelity. A man who
in Chapter 1 is charged to do what he's now charging others
to do in Chapter 23. A man whose life evidenced, not
perfection, I mean that instance with the Gibeonites, evidences
and imperfections. imperfection there in Joshua
chapter 9 did not consult with the Lord you know he was a man
just like we are men in terms of remaining corruption and all
that but a faithful brother a servant of the Lord certainly when he
says to the people here I am going the way of all the earth
the people were probably a bit distressed at this reality and
then notice and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls,
that not one thing has failed of all the good things which
the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for
you, not one word of them has failed." That is a tremendous
statement concerning God's faithfulness, isn't it? Wouldn't that be a
great place to end? Wouldn't that be a wonderful
place to end? If Joshua was a church growth preacher in the 21st century,
this is where he'd end. He wouldn't go on. You wouldn't
have a verses 15 and 16. 15 and 16 are kind of negative. We don't like negativity. You've
got to end on a positive note. We've got to have the crescendo,
God's faithfulness. His words have not fallen. His
words have been faithful and consistent. That's what you want
to leave people with. Don't be a negative Nelly and
bring 15 and 16 to bear on these people. They don't need that.
It's precisely what they need. Davis makes this comment. After
verse 14, we are ready to stand and sing in our finest devotional
mood, great is thy faithfulness. But before we can strike the
chord, Joshua preaches to us that Yahweh's faithfulness is
a two-edged sword, that he is faithful both in grace and in
judgment. Yahweh's fidelity is not displayed
just in covenant blessing, but in covenant judgment as well. You see, Leviticus ends with
26. Actually, it doesn't end there. That's not the last chapter,
but it's one of the closing chapters. One of the closing chapters in
Deuteronomy is chapter 28. You'll know what those chapters
represent if you've read those sections of scripture. Those
are the curses for disobedience. Remember in Deuteronomy, if you
go into the land, this will be your portion, and you're obedient,
you're faithful, this will be your portion, this will be your
lot, these will be the good things that you get. Deuteronomy 28,
if you go into the land and you disobey the Lord, then it's going
to be like entering into a house of horrors. It's going to be
terrible. There's going to be judgment.
The Lord your God is an angry God, and He will bring to bear
upon you those things that people don't like to think about, but
what we must consider. Notice in verse 15, It shall come to pass that as
all the good things have come upon you, which the Lord your
God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful
things, until He has destroyed you from this good land, which
the Lord your God has given you. 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." So the precedent,
Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, the offense, disobeying the Lord
God Almighty, the warning is pronounced, his anger will rest
upon you, and instead of dwelling in the land and enjoying all
the good fruits of it, you'll be expelled from the land, the
land will vomit you out, and you will be like the Canaanites. So you see, God's judgment, or
God's faithful word rather, is not only there to bless, but
it's also there to curse. It's not only there as a benediction
upon the faithful, it is there as a malediction upon the faithless. And that is precisely what Joshua
brings to bear upon these people in Chapter 23. Now, as I said,
next week, 24 is a covenant ceremony, a covenant renewal ceremony,
and the people affirm their fidelity to this particular arrangement.
So, God willing, we'll pick that up next week. Why don't I close
in prayer and then we'll open up for discussion. Father, we
thank you for your word and we thank you for this book of Joshua
and the great things it teaches us concerning you, concerning
theology, concerning your faithfulness and your goodness. And we just
pray that you'd help us to see these things, help our hearts
to be encouraged and and warmed, and as well, God, help us to
be warmed against disobedience. We know that things are a bit
different in terms of the covenantal arrangement, but you call us
to faithful obedience as new covenant saints. And I pray that
you would help us, that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit,
and give us a love for your truth. And we pray these things through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
