Joshua 23, 24
We finished off with Joshua 11 last time now chapters 12-22
tell of the kings that were defeated and which tribe gets which land.
As I mentioned before when Israel left Egypt I believe Joshua
was at least 30 years old because someone under thirty would never have been
given the second in command next to Moses it would have been culturally
unacceptable. Then they wander around in the desert for 40 years. So, he is 70
before the get to the Jordan River. Then they spend years battling and Joshua
got old. All scriptures will be from the
REV unless otherwise noted, bearing that in mind let’s
go to:
Joshua
23
Joshua’s
Farewell to the Leaders (REV)
1 It
came to pass after many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their
enemies all around and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2 that Joshua
called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads and for their
judges and for their officers and said to them, “I am old and well advanced in
years. 3 You have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations
because of you; for it is Yahweh your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I
have allotted to you these nations that remain to be an inheritance for your
tribes, from the Jordan with all the nations that I have cut off even to the
Great Sea toward the going down of the sun. 5 Yahweh your God will thrust them
out from before you and drive them from out of your sight. You can possess
their land as Yahweh your God spoke to you.
So, Joshua has gotten old. He wants to address Israel once
more.
Also, in verse 4 there is a figure of speech As'-ter-is'-mos;
or, Indicating
(Psalm 133:1). Employing some word which directs special
attention to some particular point or subject.
God and Joshua are telling then Pay Attention.
6
“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book
of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to
the left, 7 that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you;
neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them,
neither serve them nor bow down yourselves to them; 8 but hold fast to Yahweh
your God as you have done to this day.
A great exhortation which Israel didn’t heed very much. In
fact, in the next book Judges Israel is in a state of confusion as to what to
do next. Some of the Judges wives were worshipping idols read the account not
story these are accounts they happened of Samson and Gideon. Israel kept
whoring after other gods and they paid the price for it. Every Tom, Dick and
Harry who came along ran rough shod over Israel. Much like our own country for
the 50 years or so they forgot their God and pushed him to the corner. Then
when the whole country was going down the tubes they cried out to God for help.
9 “For
Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you,
no man has stood before you to this day. 10 One man of you will chase 1,000,
for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you, as he spoke to you. 11 Take good
heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God. 12 But if you do
at all go back and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who
remain among you, and make marriages with them and go in to them, and they to
you, 13 know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these
nations from out of your sight; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, a
scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes until you perish from off this
good land that Yahweh your God has given you.
Well that is exactly what happened. Israel did not remain
faithful and they suffered the consequence for what they had done. So many
people are like this they start out great but then they change and want something new or different like living a more
abundant life gets boring! Don’t let yourself fall prey to this. It’s up to you
to keep the Word alive in your life.
14 “Behold,
today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in
all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things that Yahweh
your God spoke concerning you. All have happened to you. Not one thing has
failed of it. 15 As all the good things have come on you of which Yahweh your
God spoke to you, so Yahweh will bring on you all the evil things until he has
destroyed you from off this good land that Yahweh your God has given you,
16when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God that he commanded you, and
go and serve other gods and bow down yourselves to them. Then the anger of
Yahweh will be kindled against you, and you will perish quickly from off the
good land that he has given to you.”
God cannot overstep your freedom of will. If you choose to go
and do your own thing God won’t like it but he also won’t stop you either it’s
your choice you make the decision. God never stops us from doing wrong you have
to follow the instruction given in Romans 12:1,2
I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God
You are the one who has to renew your mind, you are the one
who has to change and become an imitator of God, you are the ones who will get
rewarded in the end by God for what you have done.
Joshua 24
1 Joshua
gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of
Israel, for their heads, for their judges and for their officers; and they
presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what
Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the
River, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they
served other gods. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led
him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it.
Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Here Joshua is just summarizing all that had taken place
before their fathers got to Egypt.
5 “‘I
sent Moses and Aaron and I plagued Egypt by what I did among them, and
afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you
came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and
with horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness
between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea on them and covered them, and
your eyes saw what I did in Egypt; and you lived in the wilderness many days.
8 “‘I
brought you into the land of the Amorites that lived beyond the Jordan, and
they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land,
and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of
Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of
Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore, he blessed
you still. So, I delivered you out of his hand.
11 “‘You
went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against
you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite,
the Hivite and the Jebusite, and I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the
hornet before you that drove them out from before you, even the two kings of
the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. 13 I gave you a land on
which you had not labored and cities that you didn’t build, and you live in
them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.’
Sounds like God was doing everything he could for Israel
14 “Now
therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away
the gods that your fathers served beyond the River in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.
15 If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods that your fathers served that were beyond the River or
the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house,
we will serve Yahweh.”
Wow what a challenge. We face this same challenge every
day. May we always choose as Joshua did as
for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.
16 The
people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve
other gods, 17 for it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our fathers up out
of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs
in our sight and preserved us in all the ways in which we went and among all
the peoples through the midst of whom we passed. 18
Yahweh
drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the
land. Therefore, we also will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”
How quickly they forgot. Within a few years they were back to serving
other Gods. That becomes the pattern for most of the rest of the Hebrew
scriptures. The followed evil kings and worshipped idols. Something happens way
to often today people are like those in Acts 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection
of the dead, some mocked: and others said, we will hear thee again of this
matter.
There were some who followed Paul as well but they were a
minority. They will most likely always be the minority but we and God make a
majority.
19 Joshua
said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a
jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins. 20 If you
forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil and
consume you after he has done you good.”
This seems to contradict many things that is why it is
important for you to understand things were different in the Hebrew writings
there is an idiom involved the idiom of permission which you can read about at:
http://www.picturesofsilver.com/appendix/idiomperm.php
God does not do evil things but God took the wrap for this
because these were natural men he was dealing with they had no understanding of
spiritual things. Still God dose not want us worshipping anything but him.
21 The
people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”
22
Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have
chosen Yahweh yourselves, to serve him.”
No fifth amendment rights here they were committed to follow
and worship God.
They
said, “We are witnesses.”
23
“Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your
heart to Yahweh the God of Israel.”
24 The
people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God and we will listen to his
voice.”
25 So
Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and
an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of
God, and he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was by
the sanctuary of Yahweh. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone
will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he
spoke to us. It will be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your
God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
29 It
came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of
Yahweh, died, being 110 years old. 30 They buried him in the territory of his
inheritance in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount
Gaash 31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the
elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work of Yahweh that he had
worked for Israel.
32
They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of
Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground that Jacob bought of the sons of
Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of money. They became the
inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33
Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son,
which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
So, there you have the book of Joshua with people of great
faith believing what God told them and we should do the same:
“Be strong and very
courageous.”
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