Joshua 23
November 25, 2007
1 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, 2 summoned all Israel–their elders, leaders, judges and officials–and said to them: “I am old and well advanced in years. 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 Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push 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 every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he 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.”
I see a couple of truths in here. The first is that Joshua is advancing in years and full of wisdom. He possess wisdom from all that God has taught him and showed him through experiences. He brings Israel together and shares this wisdom with them. You should COVET the time that you get to sit at the feet of your parents, grandparents, pastors, and elders and hear the wisdom of their years. It is natural at our ages to think that we know more, and know better, than these people. But I promise that you will come to realize that you missed out on wisdom by tuning these Godly people out.
Second. All of us have giants and enemies in the land (our lives). Joshua says here that as long as the Israelites stay pure, set apart, SANCTIFIED, from these sins, that GOd will be the one to drive them out of their lands (our lives) But if they intermarry, accept and entertain and make part of their lives, these sins and temptations, then God will make them slaves to these sins (enemies) and they will battle them all their lives. THAT IS POWERFUL truth from God’s word.
reading this Joshua stated for them not to be influenced by those left in the land, knowing full well that they should have been killed or removed from the land…Why didnt he tell them to get rid of them, instead of being wise, obeying the Law and not worshipping their Idols.
Final thought, I loved how they had rest in verse 1 from their enemies…Very encouraging for me that when a battle comes, afterwards God will give me rest…WOO HOO LORD I NEED SOME REST.