Joshua is old. Very old. He’s been around a long time. He’s been helping to lead God’s people for 70 years. Been there, done that. A LOT of that. He’s seen the Lord do A LOT of things. And in these last two chapters he wants to give the people he’s led, these blessed sheep, some last reminders, pass on some wisdom to God’s people. Last words. We want to pay attention.
Ch23 (first he gathers the LEADERS)
-This is for all of us, we all lead someone: church, family, children, self. Leadership sees beyond the present, beyond the tyranny of the [clamorous now]. Leaders see the future, where we want to go [It's called vision]. W/o vision the people do what? [Prov. 29:18b Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained][like a dog off leash and out of its yard]. [3] You HAVE seen. God has done things. I.e. leaders also see the past - mistakes to learn from; encouragement to lean on; unchangeable truth to hold on to. Leaders don’t forget the past - they learn from it; they remember what God did. Remember what you’ve seen, and know where you’re going. Especially, remember that…
-[3] The LORD has been fighting for you. BECAUSE of you, he says. FOR you. God is FOR you. AND, He’s got this. The battle is the Lord’s. [10] One of you puts to flight [a thousand]. Such a great promise. When one of you puts to flight a thousand, there is no earthly way to explain it. No “scientific” explanation. That’s what our faith can/should look like. Inexplicable. Jesus said, “Greater works than these will you do” - there will be no human explanation for the fruit in your life, in your ministry, Jesus says. Because I will do it. I will be at work IN you, and THRU you. Great works of inexplicable love. Great works of supernatural long-suffering. Great works of inconceivable forgiveness. Great works of miraculous healing. Great works of indescribable salvation. He who abides in Me will bear how much fruit? [Jn 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.]. How well do you and I, how well do our lives fit into this promise of [much fruit]? Now - at the same time…
-[4] Nations remain… There is still work to be done. Much work. Nations remain. He who began a good work (in you) will continue it towards completion until the day of Christ. And until then, there’s a mission. There is much good work still to do. If you’re not dead, you’re not done. He leaves us all here for a reason. What does the Lord have for you to do? [Eph. 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.] Every part has a part. AND
-[5] The LORD will thrust them out. Again, He’s got this. Whatever this is. This is not too difficult for the Lord. Whatever THIS is. Whatever work remains to be done, He’s got this. Therefore…
-[8] Cling to the LORD and to His Word [6]. [Clinging/holding on] is a native [reflex]. The trick is learning what to hold onto, and what to let go. Paul puts it like this: 1Th. 5:21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. So, first and foremost, the Lord - Who is breathtakingly, incomparably good. And often times we settle. For the not-so-bad. Nothing wrong with it. Really? What if clinging to the not-so-bad keeps us from living in God’s land of promise? So…
-[11] Put Him first in our heart and life. Abide in Him. Joshua knew that Israel’s challenges would not be military. Our greatest challenges are not [military, or political]. They are [spiritual]. Personally. Culturally. Who is first in my heart? Do I want what Jesus wants more than I want what I want? Put Him first, cling to Him.
-[7] NOT to the nations or their gods. This is about values, priorities, and about CLOSE associations. Obviously in order to bless the nations and love our neighbors and our enemies we need to associate with them, but we don’t embrace the same priorities. [12] Specifically, Joshua says, do not intermarry. Do not give your sons and daughters in marriage to any of the nations who do not know the Lord. Who we choose for our close associates, and especially who we choose to marry plays a CRITICAL role in how we cling to the Lord. In how the battle goes for us. In how large we are able to live into and enjoy the land of His promises.
About marriage: the person who we choose to marry is the 2nd most important decision in our life. Second only to saying “I do” to Jesus. Such that, we should not even consider marrying someone who hasn’t said “I do” to Jesus. Wise leadership says, I’m not going to let myself (or my kids or my people) go there. That’s a distraction. Tommy Nelson always used to say, you focus on [running hard] after Jesus, and then look to see the person He brings along beside you, one who is ALSO running hard after Jesus. That’s a person you want to spend your life with. But better by far to go thru life single than to enter into a relationship with someone who will pull you away from devotion to the Lord. [2Cor. 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.] We must make it our goal to cling to (closely associate with) people who help us cling to the Lord and His Word. Because, he adds,
-[13] these others will be snare/trap and a whip (on your sides) and thorns (in your eyes). This is how sin works (putting something else in God’s place). First, it catches you, and it enslaves you. It reels you in, gets harder and harder to resist. Then it turns you in a different direction (one you didn’t even mean to go at first. How’d I get over here?) Finally it blinds you. You lose sight of where you’re going. You lose your objectivity. You come up with excuses. This is what will happen when we cling to someone who is not clinging to the Lord. When we cling to anything other than the Lord. Remember the God Who promises…
My highest devotion - that which belongs exclusively to the Lord, that He alone deserves - must not be directed to any other. And what is it that warrants and secures such extreme devotion? Such faithfulness? The [mercies of God]. I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your whole selves to God as a living sacrifice. “If Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him” (CT Studd). But on top of this…
-[14] Not one of God’s good words has failed. Not ever. Our devotion, our faithfulness finds its fuel, its inspiration, from the faithfulness of God and His Word. Not one of God’s Promises ever fails. Never. Unfailing. Not the smallest letter or stroke will pass from the Law until until ALL is accomplished [Mt 5.18]. God’s Word always succeeds in fulfilling God’s purposes.
These are Joshua’s final words to his leaders, but again they’re for all of us. To what, or to whom are you and I clinging? In place of the Lord? Nobody else died on the Cross for us. Nobody else ever rose from the dead to give us eternal life. These facts are incontrovertible. Witnessed by hundreds of people. And ALL this other stuff we cling to, put in God’s place - our feelings, our goals, stuff, people, worldly values and ideas. It’s not that these things are entirely bad. They’re just flawed. Temporal. They’re the stuff of shifting sand. You can’t cling to it - it just slips thru your fingers and leaves you empty. Remember what God has done and said, and cling to Him. To His Word. To His unfailing promises. Eternal. Unchanging. Firm foundation for all of life.
