As the book of Joshua nears its end, several years pass by and Joshua 23 places Joshua near his death. Knowing that he would soon be gone, Joshua called the leaders and elders of Israel to his side to give them a final charge. He was passing off the leadership of Israel to them. Now that Israel had the land, they did not need that one major leader (such as a king) ruling over them. They had their regional rulers and the Law of Moses. As long as they followed the Law, as Joshua had instructed them, then they would continue to prosper in the land. They had seen God provide for them for years, and Joshua reminded them that He would continue to be with them no matter what happened in their life. Their responsibility was to remain obedient to His commands.
Joshua warned them about turning away from the Law. If they began to mix with the other nations or serve the other gods, then God promised to remove His hand of protection. Joshua warned them of the possibility of the nations striking back, but this would only happen if Israel left God. Israel understood that God kept His promises, but up to this point, they had only seen the blessings. Because of their faithful obedience, they had not yet endured the curses of God. Joshua feared that they would become complacent and begin to think that God would never punish them. Se he continued to remind them of the importance of their obedience knowing that God would also keep His promises of curses if Israel fell away.
After addressing the elders, Joshua finally addressed the nation of Israel. In Joshua 24, Israel gathered together again. Joshua told them what God had done for them from the time that Abraham was called through the conquest. He reminded them of the victories that they had won as well as the hard times they had faced. Through it all, God had been with them. But Joshua did not want them to think that they had gotten them this far. God was the one who gave them the victories. God was the one who prepared the land for them. God was the one who gave the land to them freely. God was the one who deserved all the glory.
So Joshua gave them one final command: decide who you are going to serve today. He warned them against serving the gods that their fathers had served (like the Golden Calf). Their fathers had suffered the consequences for those actions. He also encouraged them to serve God, the one who had been with them through all their struggles, through all their trials, and through all their victories. As Israel did through much of the book of Joshua, they listened to Joshua and showed great hope for the future of their nation. They declared that they would serve God asking how they could not after all that they had seen Him do for them.
Whereas the generation from Numbers that disobeyed God illustrated the dangers of disobedience, the generation from Joshua illustrated how to follow God. There were still those that messed up and turned from God, but in general this was an obedient generation. Under Joshua’s leadership, they chose to follow what was written in the book of Law. They chose to remain obedient to God, to trust God, and to allow God to work in their lives. They faced many tough times and probably wondered how they would win some of the battles they encountered, but through it all God stood by them and gave them everything that He had promised them. The closing verses of Joshua say that they continued to obey God in the years that followed Joshua’s death. They upheld the promise that they made to Joshua and most importantly to God and give us a great picture of what obedience looks like. We should consider the question that Joshua gave Israel in Joshua 24. Who will we serve? I am sure that we have all seen God work in mighty ways in our lives as well. Are we going to just forget about those moments and forsake God or are we going to serve Him? It is a decision that each of us has to make, and I encourage you to love and serve God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Matt
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