Joshua's Last Message – Part 1
#16 in Series: "Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future: A Study in the Book of Joshua"
Joshua 23:1-16
It's hard for me to believe, but we are coming near to the end of our study of the book of Joshua… This study has challenged us to learn from the past – to learn from history – from the experiences of others – and to glean from them lessons that apply to our lives, and especially help us to prepare for the future.
The book of Joshua covers the better part of 30 years of Israel's history! When you think about the overall history of the nation, that was a rather short chapter – but when you think about the span of one's lifetime, it was significant, and transformational!
We are coming to the section that contains Joshua's last message… I know Joshua was a "Baptist preacher", because it is at least a "two-part message" … The first part of his message is given to the elders, judges, and officials that are charged to lead the nation – that is what we will look at today. Part 2 addresses these same leaders, and "all the people" of the nation (Josh. 24:1-2a). Lord-willing, we will look at that next week.
Before we get into it, we should acknowledge that what Joshua says is important! It is vitally important!… We know this, simply because he is conveying God's message, and that would be enough for understanding its importance. But, it is also important, because these are among his last words, his last message he would ever preach!… It is interesting research to discover some of the last words people have uttered before they died… The point is, whatever message one gives last – thinking, or knowing it is their last – it is going to be a vitally important message to hear, because it contains what is truly on that messenger's heart!
These next two chapters in the book of Joshua contain Joshua's deepest, and most valued words of encouragement that he could offer the people he was blessed to lead for the past few decades!
You have just heard the text read in its entirety. Let's begin to think through this first part of Joshua's last message… It begins with the appeal for his hearers to –
1. Stay Vertically Focused
Always be looking up, not out, around, or even behind – when it comes to your focus in life… Follow with me, and see if you see his point.
Joshua begins with the admonition to –
● Acknowledge God's Providence
Let's re-read the first three verses –
Joshua 23:1-3
1 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, "I am old, advanced in years. 3 And 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 been fighting for you.
There are two people saying something in these verses… There is the scribe, the one recording the narrative. And there is Joshua himself… They both acknowledge something that we may have the tendency of missing… Do you see how many times in these few words, that the Lord is acknowledged as being the One Who is behind all of this?
Verse :1 – "the Lord had given rest…"
Verse :3 – "you have seen all that the Lord your God has done … for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you"
The Lord is the One Who has orchestrated all of these events! He promised this land to Abraham's descendants. He got them there – fought the battles – and has delivered on that promise!
I came across a quote from Jerry Bridges, that succinctly defines providence –
Jerry Bridges – "God's providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people."
In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem writes –
Wayne Grudem – "[God's] providential actions are the outworking of the eternal decrees that He made long ago."
Is that not what we are seeing in this passage?… In fact – it is a major theme of the entire book! God is the One Who is sovereignly working out His plan, in and through His people … for His glory, and their good!
The providence of God is deep water – but it is living water! And if we can learn to see life through the lens of God's providence, it will sustain you, especially when life seems to be coming at you at a pace, and from directions … in which you have no control.
Get a vertical focus. It begins with an understanding of God's providence.
Joshua continues in the text, and brings out another vital appeal –
● Acknowledge God's Provision
Joshua 23:4
See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.
Joshua simply points out the details of God's provision!
There seems to be a question we should address in our text… Who is the "I" in this statement? Is Joshua saying that he was the one to apportion the inheritance – or is Joshua speaking like a Prophet, in giving a "Thus says the Lord" here?
The answer is yes!
God did it – that is the "providence" in the text – and He used Joshua in bringing about His provision for His people!
Again, that is a deeper point … a deeper perspective for life that will help us today to see life as we should see it!
Write down this reference –
James 1:17
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
We too … do well to acknowledge God's provision.
Next, Joshua calls them to –
● Acknowledge God's Promise
Joshua 23:5
The Lord your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
Notice that Joshua invokes this point again in verse :10… Start in verse :9 –
Joshua 23:9-10
9 For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. 10 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.
The Israelites were to live their lives in the realization that they are the recipients of God's great grace! All that they have, all that they are – is the result of God being faithful to His promises!…
For almost 650 years, the Israelites lived life in anticipation of God's promise – a promise that has now been fulfilled!…
Every generation of God's children are to live in … gratitude that God keeps His Word!… He did so to the Israelites, He does so now to all those who are in Christ!
There is the principle to live by! We live in the assurance that God is God! We, like the Israelites of old, are to live our lives with a vertical focus!
What comes next in Joshua's admonition to these leaders, is the appeal to not only be vertically focused, but –
2. Stay Biblically Grounded
Here, we will see a direct relationship between God's people and His Word! God wants His people to not only know His Word, but to live according to it!
There are a couple of very practical results that occur in the lives of God's people when they are … biblically grounded. First, it –
● Settles Convictions
Think carefully with me on verse :6 –
Joshua 23:6
Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
Let's not miss the weight in his words: "be very firm"… "keep and do"! This is an imperative – a command! God's people are to live life in the … settled conviction that His Word is to shape and mold them – direct and guide them – equip and protect them!
When a child of God gets right in their attitude and attention to the Word of God – it brings about … settled convictions that will keep you from –
Joshua 23:6c
so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left
… drifting either to the right or to the left!
Listen, as the old timers used to say; Satan doesn't care which side of the horse you fall off of, he just wants you to fall!
I realize that Joshua probably didn't have political nomenclature in mind when he uses this terminology – but the same conclusion applies! Drifting toward the political left ends up in the miry pit of self-destruction!… The secular political right ends up in a miry pit of self-delusion! They think themselves to be the ultimate authority over life… In fact, you have narcissists in both ditches!
Pride leads to the pit on either side! Humility keeps you on the road … the road that leads to life eternal!… The child of God learns to live life within the safety rails of the "narrow way" – the very pathway given, and directed by God!
Write this reference down –
Hebrews 2:1
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
Living according to God's Word … settles conviction that can withstand all the attacks of the evil one!
This truth continues into verse :7, where we see that the benefit of being biblically grounded results, not only in settled convictions but it also –
● Avoids Compromise
Let's read the end of verse :6 and :7 together –
Joshua 23:6c-7
6c… so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left 7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
There is simply no room for compromise with the world – the world's values, or lack of values! The child of God is to be separate! They are separate in their worldview – separate in their convictions – their values – and affections!
If you live life according to God's Word, you won't think like the world thinks! You won't live like the world lives – act like the world acts!
Write these references down –
Colossians 1:9-12
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.
Listen, Christians … seek to avoid compromise, just as the Lord has always required of His people!
Joshua is speaking to the leaders of Israel, and admonishes them to be vertically focused, and biblically grounded… Now, there may be a better way of saying this, but what follows in Joshua's admonition to –
3. Stay Relationally Committed
Joshua is talking about their relationship with the Lord Himself! Now stay with me on this point… You see, it's one thing to have knowledge about the Lord. In our first point, Joshua was admonishing the elders, heads, judges, and officers – to remember, and acknowledge God's faithfulness in their lives!… Here, Joshua presses the point about their faithfulness to Him!… You see, it is not merely a matter of remembering facts – a child of God is called to exercise … faith – and faith is a relational matter! What we see here, is more than a vertical focus – it is an internal focus, a relational focus, a matter of … faith!
Let's get into this… First, to be relationally committed –
● Requires Commitment
Pick up with verse :8 –
Joshua 23:8
But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
Perhaps clinging is a better word than commitment… We have the tendency to think of "commitment" as being something you can do on a … temporary basis… You are committed to something, until you are not…
People cancel every commitment from contracts to marriages, and many have no sense of hesitancy when they do…
Clinging, on the other hand, is a determination! In fact, clinging is a … desperation!…
Does that describe your relationship with Christ? Do you … cling to your Savior?
Staying relationally committed, not only requires clinging, it also –
● Produces Clarity
Again, stay with me here… There are at least three "clarifications" that take place!… First, it clarifies –
● Your Perspective on the Past!
You don't merely think of history as … things that happened! You think of history as … His story!… Again, we are brought back to God's providence! Look at verse :9 –
Joshua 23:9
For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
It clarifies –
● Your Confidence in the Present!
Again, the end of verse :9 –
Joshua 23:9b
… and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
That is a present-tense statement… Look at verse :10 –
Joshua 23:10
One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.
Israel can go forward into their future with confidence that it is the Lord God Himself Who will bring about the ongoing victories they will win… "just as He promised you"…
Third, it clarifies –
● Your Devotion into the Future!
Your … ongoing devotion into the future!… Your devotion has already been settled in the past – it carries you in the present – and will sustain you in the future!
Look at Joshua's exhortation in verse :11 –
Joshua 23:11
So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God.
This is a repeat of what Joshua said to the soldiers from the 2 ½ tribes, upon their discharge from service –
Joshua 22:5
Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
Listen, our faithfulness is motivated by devotion, not mere duty! We love the Lord – that is why we follow Him! We walk in His ways, because we want to walk with Him!… And as the Apostle John would later write –
1 John 4:19
We love, because He first loved us.
The Apostle Paul explains this in –
Romans 5:5
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
So, we love God … we love others, because of the transformative love of God that we have in Christ!
What follows are … sobering words … warning words… Joshua admonishes these leaders to –
4. Stay Spiritually Vigilant
Again, as we stated last week, faithfulness is not a one-and-done decision! It is an ongoing, daily decision to follow the Lord!
Joshua gives these leaders at least three things, that can help them to remain spiritually vigilant. First –
● Be Informed by God's Warnings
Let's pick up with verse :12 –
Joshua 23:12-13
12 For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
These are strong words of warning!… In short, compromise brings consequences. To fail to follow the Lord, by walking away from His statutes, and adopting the worldly culture around them, will lead to grave consequences!…
The warning was clear. Unfaithfulness to God would lead to having His hand of protection … removed! They would face the consequence of losing the land the Lord has given them…
Well, how did they do?… We have the benefit of hindsight. We know that in generations to come, there was much … compromise, resulting in much consequence… More about that in a moment…
Next –
● Be Assured of God's Faithfulness
Joshua 23:14
"Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.
Does the language of verse :14 sound familiar?… We've heard these words before, with a slight difference –
Joshua 21:45
Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
God's children – then, and now – can in fact remain faithful unto the Lord, and be spiritually vigilant, because God Himself IS … has ALWAYS been … and will FOREVER BE faithful!
This is motivation enough! It is the best of motivations, because the heart of the believer rests in the assurances of God's Word, and that God keeps His Word!
But… at this point, Joshua offers one more motivator for faithful spiritual vigilance – and that is –
● Be Motivated by God's Discipline
Look at verses :15-16 –
Joshua 23:15-16
15 It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When 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 burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you."
These are, again, strong words of warning aren't they?… Israel would have no excuses as to what God thinks of their … willful defiance of His expectations for His people… More than once, Israel would be hauled off into captivity, to be taught some difficult lessons about the seriousness of not taking God seriously!
… How about you, dear Christian? Do you take your walk with Christ serious? Are you exercising self-discipline, so that the Lord doesn't need to exercise direct discipline?…
Don't be deceived into thinking He won't! The Scriptures are full of warning, and examples, of the consequences of … spiritual laziness, carnal compromise, and unguarded drifting on the part of God's people!… Learn from their error, so you know how important it is for your vigilance, to be faithful…
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
- Why do you think Joshua's final message would have carried special weight with the leaders of Israel?
- What examples of God's providence and provision does Joshua remind the leaders about?
- What was said about "Biblically Grounded", do you find most compelling?
- What does it mean not to turn "to the right or to the left"?
- What are some common ways Christians can drift from God's Word today?
- How does Scripture help establish strong convictions? What's the difference between biblical conviction and personal preference?
- Where do we see pressure in our culture to compromise biblical values? How can believers engage with the world without adopting its values?
- In what ways can compromise seem attractive but ultimately become a "snare and a trap"?
- What do you think it means to "cling to the Lord"?
- How does remembering God's love for us motivate obedience?
- Why do you think spiritual drift often happens gradually rather than suddenly? What are some warning signs that a believer may be drifting spiritually?
- How might God discipline a Christian today?
- If Joshua were speaking directly to the church today – our church, what part of his message do you think we most need to hear?
