God’s Good Promises Come to Pass

Transcript

GRS 2-46
10/29/2006
God’s Good Promises Come To Pass
Joshua 18-24
Gil Rugh

Joshua in the 18th Chapter, very significant book for Israel’s history because in Joshua the promises that God had given some 500 years earlier to Abraham come to fruition, not all that is promised to Abraham obviously has been fulfilled but many of the promises regarding giving the land to Israel. Our experience in the book of Joshua and it becomes a very important reminder of God’s faithfulness that God does what he promises and 500 years are nothing to God. His word stands true, nothing can fail of being accomplished, and of course that is our great comfort and encouragement because we have staked all of our hope for all eternity on the fact that God has promised certain things to those who believe in His son. And I find it a great encouragement to come to word of God and see how graciously He keeps His word and fulfills His promises.

Israel’s in the land, the land has been subdued, the pockets of resistance throughout that the individual tribes will be responsible to subdue and conquer. But the major opposition, the united opposition of the land of Canaan has been crushed and now Joshua is in the process with the high priest and the leaders of dividing the land among the 12 tribes. We’ve seen part of the division of the land; we haven’t work through the details, in Chapters 18 and 19 give the final seven tribes their portion of the land. And again we are not going to walk through these because you need just to take a map, Bible Atlas, a map back of your Bible and look in it, will lay out for you the location of the land allotted to each of the tribes. You can see the significance and importance in the plan of God, just the amount of space that’s given to it in the word of God unfolding what the boundaries are for each tribe and so on.

In Chapter 18, verse 1, the whole congregation of the sons of Israelites assembled themselves at Shiloh, very familiar name to us. For the next 300 years of Israel’s history, Shiloh will be the political and religious center of the nation and that will remain then until the time of David and the conquering of Jerusalem which will become then the permanent center and capital of the nation. So here when the whole congregation moves to Shiloh and Shiloh is to the north and a little bit to the east of Jerusalem and it as a central location in the land may be why it is selected as the focal point.

Then Chapters 18 and 19 talk about the division, the rest of the divisions of land, the remaining seven tribes received their portion, we are going to jump over to Chapter 20 which talk about The Cities of Refuge. There are going to be six cities designated, three on each side of the Jordan, remember two and half tribes have their portion of the inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River. There will be six cities of refuge as they are noted.

Chapter 20 begins, the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, speak to the sons of Israel saying designate the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses that the man slayer who kills any person unintentionally without premeditation may flee there and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. These cities, all six of them will be Levitical cities. Now, there are more than six Levitical cities, there will be 48 of those; we will see them in Chapter 21. But each of these six refuge cities will be Levitical cities, cities that are given to the Levites and become their habitation and that draws attention to the fact that this is a divine protection provided by God and there are really places where a person can go if they are guilty of manslaughter, not murder, but manslaughter. So if they accidentally kill someone they can flee to one of these cities and when they get into one of these cities then they are safe. If they accidentally kill someone and they don’t seek refuge in one of these cities then the near relative of the person they have killed has the right to kill them.

Now why would you kill them if it was accidental? Well, God has made provision if you don’t take advantage of the provision He has made then you bear the consequence, hence #. There are consequences for manslaughter. They are not the same consequences that are meted out for murder that even manslaughter depending on the cases involved in the manslaughter the consequences can be rather severe.

Now the details of this have already been laid out. This was talked by Moses and you might just turn back to Numbers 35. Numbers 35 is perhaps the most extensive discussion; you will have in Numbers 35 starts out by talking about the cities for the Levites to live in. The Levite, the tribe of Levi will not get a particular portion of land remember like the other tribes do, but they will get 48 cities as we will see in Chapter 21 spread throughout Israel so that the priestly ministry permeates the nation. It’s not located in one geographical area but there are cities spread throughout Israel.

Then you come to verse 6 of Chapter 35 of Numbers. The cities which you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, I mean, they are cities, I mentioned there will be 48 totally, six of those are marked out as cities of refuge which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to, in addition you give them 42 cities, so that’s the 48. Note down talking about the cities of the possession of the Levites and then verse 11, you shall select for yourself cities to be your cities of refuge that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. The city shall be your refuge from the avenger so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.

In other words you flee and you are in this city. Now just because you get to the city doesn’t mean you are not guilty. Then you will stand trial, if you are found guilty of murder you will be executed but if it is found you are only guilty of manslaughter then you will be allowed to remain in that city and will be safe as long as you stay in that city. And then you have going on here talking about some of the specific situations like verse 16.

If he struck him down with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. If he put a stone in his hand and hit him, well, that’s murder. If he had another object to use as a murder weapon, a wooden object then he is to be put to death, so the near relative has the right to execute him and further discussion on murder. But verse 22 if he pushed him suddenly without enmity or threw something at him without laying in wait and there were no premeditation here or he hit him with something accidentally, here Deuteronomy, Chapter 19 verse 1 to 13, talk about it, if he is swinging an axe and it flies off the axe accidentally and hit somebody else in the head and kills him that was an accident and if he attack him with the axe then that was murder. These are cities for somebody guilty of manslaughter, to flee to; you can come back to Joshua.

The basis for this is the value of human life; remember in Genesis 9, verses 5 and 6, God instituted capital punishment. The reason for capital punishment, the foundational reason is not that it is a deterrent to further crime. Remember the foundational principle for capital punishment is you have struck at the image of God because man was created in the image of God. When you kill other person, you have struck at the image of God that is a capital offense. You need to careful, I think the Bible does indicate that there is deterrent in punishment, but the prime reason given for capital punishment is a theological reason. Man was created in the image of God. You do not have the right to take a life, life of one created in God’s image, you struck at the image of God, the life He has given in that person, for that you must die. So that’s the foundation for capital punishment.

Now even the punishment for manslaughter values human life because if you kill another person even accidentally that is a serious matter. Even though it was accidental, you have taken a life. The life of one created in the image of God and in that sense you have struck the image of God. It marks man off from the animals. I mean, there are instructions on slaughtering animals as you are aware, in the Old Testament the law has filled with them and no punishment for that because an animal is not in the image of God. So killing of animals is not an offense in the Old Testament and in the law.

But even manslaughter is a serious matter and must be punished. Down in verse 6 of Chapter 20, the man who has been guilty of manslaughter if he is found not to be guilty of murder when he flees to that city, then they evaluate the evidence and if he is found, yes, it wasn’t murder, then he can stand that city. He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregational judgment, until the death of the one who is the high priest. So the two qualifications here, he has to be judged to be sure that it was manslaughter, not murder. And if he is found not guilty of murder but just manslaughter, then he has to stay in that city until the death of the high priest. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city; into his own house to the city in which he fled.

What we have here is a form of confinement. So here is a man, he lives in a different city and he accidentally killed someone. He doesn’t even have time to go home and pick up anything because the near relative of the person he has accidentally killed has the right to kill him from that moment on. So he has to immediately flee to a city of refuge and then if he is found that he is only guilty of manslaughter he cannot leave that city until the high priest dies. So if the high priest lives another 20 years he is confined to that city. And if he leaves that city and the near relative of the person that he killed unintentionally finds him he has the right to kill him, so you see what you have here is confinement. So now this man has to remain confined in a city that’s probably wasn’t his home city and cut off from whatever activity, the farming of his land and everything because he can’t go outside the confines of the city.

So I guess you hope that the high priest was an old man, if this would happen to you because if he only lives for six months you could go home after six months. But if he lives 20 years you are confined for 20 years. So that’s the point of The Cities of Refuge. Very important to remember, Israel is both a nation with civil and political activity as well as a religious entity and they are blended together of course in the nation.

Chapter 21 talks about the 48 Levitical cities. Since the Levites as a tribe or the priestly tribe they do not get as I mentioned a particular portion of land. Rather they are given 48 cities and these cities are spread throughout Israel. So that the influence of the priest as the religious leaders of the nation, the teachers of the law that is spread throughout the land. The priest do not get a lot of portions of land for say because they live off the gifts of the people. I should add you stay in Numbers, but go back to Numbers 18. Numbers 18, verse 8, the Lord spoke to Aaron, behold, I myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, I have given them to you as a portion to your sons as a perpetual allotment. This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire, every offering if theirs, every grain offering, sin offering, guilt offering. And on down verse 10, the most holy gifts you shall eat, every male shall eat it, it shall be holy to you. This is also yours, the offering of their gifts, their wave offerings; I have given them to you, your sons, and your daughters.

Verse 12, all the best of the fresh oil, the best of the fresh wine, the grain, the fresh fruits. So as the people brought their offerings to the Lord and presented their gifts to the priest, the priests were allowed and depending on the instructions to keep a portion for themselves and that’s how they are sustained. They don’t have to carry on the laboring of farming and so on that would characterize the nation as a whole and those instructions go on in that Chapter.

Come back to Numbers. This is used by Paul, if you remember in our study of First Corinthians, Chapter 9 that those who minister the gospel are to be supported by those who benefit from their ministry. And he draws that from the instructions regarding the Levites in the Old Testament. Those who were responsible for the ministry of God’s word were to be supported by those who benefited from that ministry. And in First Corinthians, 9, Paul says, that principle continues on right to today.

Okay, so in Chapter 21, you have the 48 cities of refuge laid out and again we won’t go through those because unless you had a map and we are following, but you can get a Bible Atlas and certain Bible Atlases will identify these cities and you can get an idea of how they are located throughout the land of Israel. Come back to verse 41 of Chapter 21, the division the land is not complete, the portion of the Levites is now been identified for them, so we are reminded of God’s grace. So the Lord gave, verse 43, Lord gave Israel all the land which he had sworn to give to their fathers; they possessed it and lived in it. Lord gave them rest on every side according to all that he had sworn to their fathers and no one of all their enemy stood before them, the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed, all came to pass.

I mean that emphasis on the faithfulness of God. Everything God said He would do, God did, agree. I don’t say milestone if you would in Israel’s history. And now in Chapter 22, remember two and half tribes have their portion on the east side of the Jordan River. But that was given with the understanding that they would send soldiers if you will to join Israel in conquering Canaan. Now in Chapter 21, the soldiers from the two and half tribes on the east side of the Jordan are given permission to return home. Again, an indication that the major warfare of the nation as a nation in conquering the land is done.

Now dealing with the individual pockets of resistance becomes a responsibility of each tribe. So that each tribe now has been allotted a portion and it’s their reasonability to clean out the remaining enemy from that portion, but there is no united resistance in the land that has been dealt with. So Joshua, Chapter 22, verse 1, summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, two and half tribes that have their allotment on the east side of the Jordan. And he tells him, they have been faithful, they did everything that Moses commanded them. You’ve listened to me Joshua says at the end of verse 2, in all that I commanded you. You have not forsaken your brothers these many days and now the Lord, God has given rest to your brothers, verse 4 and given them possession of the land.

So now you can go back and return to the portion given to you and finish up what remains there and begin to enjoy your possession. And with this he gives them some specific instruction, verse 5, only be careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you. To love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commandments, and hold fast to him and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Now 6 infinitives, we have those in English usually beginning with to, to observe the commandment and the law, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, to serve him. Remember your responsibilities to God and be faithful to him. Now something happens that two and half soldiers from the two and half tribes start back. When they get to the Jordan, down in verse 10, they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan so before they cross the Jordan they do something. They build an altar, a large altar, the end of verse 10 tells us.

And this creates a crisis because they build this altar, they crossed the Jordan. Now, what do we have here? Well, there is immediate response on Israel’s part, the other tribes. Verse 11, the sons of Israel heard it, it said behold the sons of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of Jordan, the side belonging to the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel heard it, the whole congregational, the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war, is a remarkable action. This is one of the highlights for Israel here, of their commitment of faithfulness to God.

Two and half of their tribes, they’ve just work together and fought and gone through all, this is conquering the land together and now two and half tribe return home and they built an altar before they cross the Jordan. The other tribes immediately upon hearing this unite; gather together at Shiloh to go to war with those two and half tribes. Why? If they built an altar, they assume that it’s for worship. And they have established another center of worship that is rebellion against the Lord; we will have to destroy them.

You see even in the family relationship of these 12 tribes which are the sentence of 12 family members, there is this willingness if they have built an altar for another center of worship; we will go to war against them. Francis Schaeffer made a comment on this that I will read to you, Joshua 22:12 is one of the most touching verses we will ever find. If we do not just read it as words but see the human content in it. That he calls it just terrific, we have to play the bagpipes. These men had just parted as companions in war but now they thought that the holiness of God was being threatened. So these men who were sick of war said the holiness of God demands no compromise. I would to God that the church of the 20th century would learn this lesson, the holiness of the God who exist demands that there be no compromise in the area of truth. Tears, I am sure they were tears but they had to be in battle if there was rebellion against God. In other words there can’t be any compromise here. There is something more important than family relationships; there is something more important than friendships and that is the character of God.

His holiness, his truth, any opposition to that, that’s what Jesus trying to say, if you love father, mother more than me, brother and sister more than me, you cannot be my disciple. There is something more important than those human relationships and that is your commitment to me. So what happens in verses 13 to 20, a delegation under Phinehas who is the son of Eleazar, the priest goes to meet with the two and half tribes because this is a spiritual issue or religious issue in the nation. The tribes have assembled their army if you will at Shiloh; soldiers have come out from all the tribes. Now Phinehas’s goal is to search out what has happened and they are confronted directly, sternly about the seriousness of their sin.

He has a delegation with him in verse 14, represent from each of the tribes in Canaan; they come to the sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh in verse 15. He said to them, verse 16, thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, what is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day by building yourselves an altar to rebel against the Lord this day, is not the iniquity of enough for us, remember under Balaam, Numbers 25 in his council. Israel was turned aside to worship Baal from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord. I mean, God punished them with a plague but the guilt of that we still bear consequences of that.

That you must turn away this day, verse 18 from following the Lord. If you rebel against the Lord today, He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. In other words, if the nation doesn’t do something here the whole nation will come under judgment. You bring guilt on the nation and you see an act of graciousness here in verse 19, serious matter. Verse 19, if the problem is you are not happy with the portion of land that you initially wanted in Gilead on the east side of Jordan, tell us. We will give you a portion from within the land that we have divided among ourselves, verse 19. How if ever the land of your possession is unclean and cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, take possession among us, only do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves beside the altar of the Lord our God. There cannot be two centers of worship.

God has spoken on this matter and we will go to war over this and then he uses the example of Achan and the sin of that one man and his family brought judgment on the whole nation. And that reminder as we have talked about that you cannot avoid dealing with sin and not be held guilty, accountable before God. So if the nation is where now I can say, well that’s with those two, and half tribes did that’s not our business. It is their business because there is a nation, one nation and it has the function as a unity. There is an explanation and that’s going to come. One writer concerning this action and the unwillingness we have today to deal with sin in the church of Jesus Christ.

Today we are often so reluctant to alienate anyone or give anyone offense that we turn down our concerns, suggest that they might not really be so important after all or forget them entirely. It becomes hard for the church to deal with sin but as we talked about in our previous studies just as Israel was viewed as an entity so the churches and that’s why we have church discipline specified in the New Testament. For the church to fail to exercise the discipline God has specified doesn’t mean while that person alone is guilty, the whole body becomes guilty for the failure to act. Just as in Israel where you had the nation. For the nation not to act brought the whole nation into the guilt that had been incur.

There has been a misunderstanding; these two and half tribes did not built this altar as a center of sacrifice. They built it simply as a reminder to all the tribes that these two and half tribes are part of the nation and are to come and be accepted in the worship of the nation at the prescribed place and at the tabernacle there. Verse 21, two and half tribes are response, verse 22, the mighty one, God, the Lord, the mighty one, God, the Lord, he knows and Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord, do not save us this day. I mean, call God to their witness and acknowledge that they should not to be spared if they have built an altar as an alternative center of worship or a place of sacrifice.

If we had built an altar, verse 23, to turn away from following the Lord or to offer, burn offerings or grain offerings, so on, other offerings, may the Lord required it. The verse 24, truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason saying in time to come your sons may say to our sons what do we have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel. In other words they begin to think that may be the Jordan River becomes a barrier and subsequent generations will say, look, they are not part of us.

So they won’t view us as part of the nation and then want us come and offering sacrifices. So verse 25, the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you. So we said in verse 26, let us built an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, rather it shall be a witness between us, between us and you and between our generations after us that we are to perform the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices and so on. So your sons in time to come we will not say you have no portion in the Lord. Therefore we said, you shall come about if they say to us our generations to come we shall say see the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burn, offering your sacrifice rather it is a witness, far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day by building an altar for sacrifice besides the altar of the Lord which is before his tabernacle.

So in other words this is to be a reminder that no worship will take place at this altar. This altar is simply a testimony that we along with the other tribes are to bring our sacrifices to the appointed place. And it’s a reminder to you that we across the Jordan which forms a barrier and a boarder are part of you and part of the worship of the nation and cannot be excluded. So when Phinehas and the other leaders hear this they are pleased with that response and there is a satisfactory conclusion, verses 30 in following. And so verse 33, the word pleased the sons of Israel, the sons of Israel blessed God, they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. So there is a happy ending, but you appreciate at this point the commitment to be faithful that is found in Israel, that the tribes are willing to go to war against their brothers if it takes to that because unfaithfulness will not be tolerated. And you appreciate the recognition of the two and half tribes that they don’t want anything to happen that they might be excluded from Israel and the worship of the nation. So it ends up being positive events.

The last two Chapters are Joshua’s farewell. He is an old man and so he has some final words near the end of his life, probably Chapter 23 is addressed to the leaders and Chapter 24 to the nation as the nation that seems to be the indication and what Joshua is going to do is remind them of God’s faithfulness and he is going to challenge them to be faithful by being obedient. He is well aware of the danger of complacency, the tragedy of disobedience, so he address is built around that theme.

Verse 1 says of Chapter 23, 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 and advanced in years; he called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, their officers. It seems to be in verse 2, that’s the focus, here gathering all the leaders in the nation. In Chapter 24, it will begin with him gathering all the tribes together at Shechem for a final word.

And he tells them he is advanced in years, he reminds them, verse 3, 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. Remind that all this has come about because of God fighting on your behalf. We didn’t win these battles, Joshua the great military commander and leader, but we didn’t this because of our great military skills, the Lord our God fought for us. So you have been given these nations and their land for your inheritance.

Verse 5, the Lord is your God, He will thrust them out before you, now they need to realize they have got to finish the clean up process and finish with God who has told them to do. Verse 6; be very firm then to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses so that you may not turn aside from it, from the right hand or to the left. And that will involve, verse 7, so that you will not associate with these nations which remain among you, mention the name of their gods, serve them, bow down to them, you have to remain faithful to the Lord.

The responsibility of God’s people remains, I wouldn’t say boringly the same, but I say that to stress the fact it doesn’t change. Here we are thousands of years after Joshua speaks and our responsibility is the same, to do what God says. To be obedient to his word and we struggle with it just like they did. We find reasons to become complacent, become comfortable, Joshua’s concern is now they have got the land, now they will settle down, they will lose that edge, I mean that what happens to churches and all kinds of evangelical institutions. We had a speaker here who spoke here several times, he is now with the Lord, but he made a comment, in time he says, every church, every school goes liberal is relentless high, I think he is right. We look at denominations and we see what happened? I mean, we sing the songs of John and Charles Wesley, what has happened to the Methodist church, being a former Methodists I used them as an example.

I mean, are they holding to the saying, what happens, how we get comfortable, we get to enjoy things, we don’t want the battles, we don’t want that, go to war, we don’t want to be soldiers. Paul had to tell Timothy before he passes off the scene, Timothy, start up the gas, fan the flame; it’s not a time to settle back. So here he reminds them be firm, do everything that is written verse 6, in the book of law. Maintain your separation, don’t become like the people around you, don’t adopt their ways, don’t get incorporated into their lives.

Verse 8, you are to clean to the Lord, your God as you have done to this day. What a statement and there is a whole list of places, Deuteronomy that same instructions have been given clean to the Lord, hold on to him. I mean, there is no great hidden secret, hold fast to the Lord and obey His word. Whatever it means, whatever it cost, if it divides you from family, if it divides you from friends, it doesn’t matter. Don’t clouds your thinking by trying to condition the word of God with circumstances. I have to clean to the Lord; I have got to be faithful to His word. Well, if you do that you don’t have any friends. Well, I guess I won’t have any friends.

Didn’t tell me to clean to my friends, didn’t even tell me to clean to my family, he told me to clean to the Lord. That doesn’t mean I may not have friends and I want to cause problems with my friends, but I have to put things in proper perspective. You know, He has to be first, He has to be everything, same point Jesus made. If you love father, mother more you can’t be my disciple. That’s just laid out the way it is. I don’t compete for your affection; I don’t compete for your attention. I required it all and it can be my father or any other conditions.

Well, the Lord has done great things, he has driven out their enemies, verse 11, take heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. And this love is not a feeling; I have such strong feelings for the Lord. I am not playing down our emotion but really what he does is put this in the context of their actions, what you do. Take heed, verse 11, to yourselves to love the Lord your God. Verse 12, for if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations which remain among you, intermarry with them, associate with them, and they with you, certainly the Lord will drive you out. I mean, the Lord we are talking about is the love of action. Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my word, keep my commandments.

I mean, it’s not trying to build a feeling, it is clinging to the Lord, doing what he says. So verse 11, take heed yourselves, to love the Lord your God. What would it mean not to love the Lord, your God? Well, it means if you don’t do what he said. If you go back and cling to these nations, if you intermarry with them, God told you not to. So you wouldn’t be loving the Lord your God if you didn’t obey him. If you love me, you keep my commandments. Some things don’t change and they are assured of the discipline of the Lord if they don’t.

Verse 13, know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you, there will be a snare, a trap to you, a whip on your side, thorns in your eyes until you perish of this good land which the Lord your God has given you. Israel is under the judgment of God today; passed for almost the last 2000 years and more than that if you count the captivities and so on that they adored even before we come to the New Testament. The worst is yet to come. Does God love the nation Israel? Yes, He does, but His judgment is on them and will be on them until they are brought to their knees and turn in obedience to Him.

So remarkable portion of the word of God, talking about the faithfulness of God yet in effect promising judgment of God for unfaithfulness and disobedience. Down to verses 14 to16, Joshua says, now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, you know in all your hearts and 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. It shall come about the just as all the good words which the Lord spoke to you have come up on you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats until He has destroyed you off the good land which the Lord your God has given you. When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you, go serve other gods is a serious matter with the Lord. It cannot be taken lightly. This is not a game; this is serious business for God’s people.

Chapter 24, Joshua’s last words, last meeting with the people and it takes place at Shechem. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and you have to go back to Genesis 12, we are just going to highlight what Joshua says. If you go back to Genesis 12, we were at the beginning in Genesis 12 because Genesis 12 begins, now the Lord said to Abraham, “Go forth from your country, from your relatives, from your father’s house to the land which I will show you, I will make you a great nation and so on with the covenant that God promises to Abraham”. Look down in verse 6, Abraham comes to the land, into the land, he goes as far as the site of Shechem to the oak of Moreh, the Canaanite was then in the land. And it’s there in Shechem that the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, “To your dissidents I will give this land” and Abraham built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

Now 500 years later, Joshua 24:1, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and what has God done. He has given the land of Canaan to the Israelites. It’s been divided among the 12 tribes, God’s word holds true and here at the very place that God appeared to Abraham and gave that promise. Now Joshua gives his last words, the promise having been fulfilled and Israel now being in possession of the land.

Verses 2 to 13, what Joshua does has highlight some of the important events in Israel’s history and the emphasis is on God bringing Israel to this point and reminding them of what he does. Verse 2, Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, from ancient times you father lived beyond the river, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and father of Nahor, they served other gods. I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and here God divinely intervened in this family of idol worshippers, called Abraham, Abraham as we know him to himself, why? Why would he reach down at that place to this man?

I mean, I don’t know when the councils of God he had determined to build a mighty nation that he would love. And then you highlight some of the events, we won’t take the time to look at those down through verse 13 just hitting some of the major things to remind Israel. Verse 11 brings into the Jordan and Jericho and the taking of the land. In verses 2 to 13, the pronoun “I” is used 18 times as God speaks. I did this, I did this, I did this, I did this. The verse 2 begins, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,” and then verse 3, I took your father Abraham beyond the land, verse 4, I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir, I sent Moses, I plagued Egypt, I brought your fathers out of Egypt, 18 times, I did this, I did this, I did this, because we are prone, like the song, prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love pro the wonder and we all are.

And sadly, the great blessings the Lord brings upon us become our trap because we turn our eyes from the Lord and begin to relax in the blessings, don’t forget. Now for us, the blessings are yet future in their ultimate sense. We are here being good soldiers, not entangled with the affairs of this life. And soon we have lost our first love and then as we saw the next generation and the next generation and soon those who know not the Lord.

But here Joshua is just reminding them. Then he says in verse 14, these are well known words, now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth, put away the gods which your father served beyond the River and in Egypt, serves the Lord. If it’s disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served when they were beyond the River, the gods in the Amorites and his land your living, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. You have to make your decision.

I have made mine. We are serving the Lord. The people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for the Lord our God is he who brought us and our fathers out in the land of Egypt, from the land upon and did these great things, Lord drove out the people, drove the Amorites from the land, we, the end of verse 18, we will serve the Lord for he is our God.

Joshua knows those great words, easy to get all work out; this is what I am going to do. But the follow through that’s where we get caught up, I just don’t have time. I want to serve the Lord but I have other things I want to do. I want to serve the Lord and be passion for Him and give my life without reserving but you know, so Joshua says to the people, you will not be able to serve the Lord for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. Now if you put that in context, obviously there is forgiveness, the nation Israel will yet experienced forgiveness. But in this context it means he won’t pass over it, judgment will come. I mean, that just a matter you will be able to sin and walk away from it without consequences, without punishment.

So that’s the point when he says he won’t forgive your transgression. If you forsake the Lord, you serve foreign gods, then he will turn, verse 20, do you harm and consume you after He has done you good. The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord”. Joshua said you are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen yourselves the Lord, to serve Him. We are witnesses, now they know what it means. That means we have committed ourselves that the judgment will be just if we are not faithful.

You commit to the Lord on his terms. So I have laid it out for you that doesn’t mean if you sin, you won’t escape the punishment. No, we will serve the Lord. All right, you witness against yourselves. So Joshua made a covenant with the people, a statue and ordinances at Shechem, verse 26, he wrote these words in the book of the law of God; he set up a stone as a memorial and a monument and Joshua now tells the people return to your inheritance. It came about verse 29, after these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. They buried him in the portion of his inheritance, verse 31, Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, all the days of the elders who serve Joshua and had known all the deeds of the Lord which he had done for Israel.

That tells us there is going to be a breakdown. It doesn’t go on and after that they did this because that will lead us into the book of Judges. Hard to pass on these things to the next generation, hard for us to live with the same fire and passion to the end of our life and not cool off ourselves. I find that for myself that I have the same passion that I had in the early years of the ministry. And it doesn’t matter what the consequences are, it doesn’t matter what it cost, it doesn’t matter what it happens, doesn’t matter. I have to serve the Lord, whatever comes will come, that’s the fire of youth, but at least we all want to enjoy.

Well, somewhere along the line Israel is not able to pass it on to the next generation. There is the general pattern of faithfulness during the days of Joshua and the leaders who had served with Joshua, those who had known and experienced somewhat firsthand the work of the Lord after that things will change. They buried the bones of Joseph; remember they brought him out of Egypt as he had asked them to do. And then verse 33, Eleazar, the son of Aaron died, they buried him and now we are ready for the Judges. That generation is gone and now we have the trouble and the difficulties and the cycle of the Judges that we will go in.

One thing we are confronted with in the book of Joshua is we have a faithful God; He will carry out all His promises. I have staked my hope for eternity on that old ministry we had as a local church is based upon the fact that God’s word is good, it’s true. It will come about exactly as God has promised. The other side of that is what God requires of me is faithfulness, obedience, cling to Him, love Him, be obedient to His words, simple. What a simple responsibility. Love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind. Be obedient to His truth. The Lord said it, I will do it, but well, you know what are people going to think? What kind of problems will this cost? How many people will leave the church if we do this? How many friends will I do? What is my family going – wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, have I lost my focus. I cling to the Lord, I love Him, I do what He has said.

He has control of the future, I don’t. I must be sure on painful, if that brings difficulty, it brings difficulty. If it brings trial, it brings trial. Ultimately, it will bring commendation, well done, good and faithful servant and that’s what we labor for, right? So we learn from Israel’s example and the lessons, we learn we have a faithful God, we will always honor His promises. And we have a God who requires of us complete, absolute, total obedience. We must love Him, we must obey Him, and what else would we want to do, what greater honor and privilege. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord for the accounts that we have in the book of Joshua. You are a faithful God, a holy God, a righteous God, a God who had love and mercy has entered into covenant relationship with your people, your people Israel is the nation you have chosen for yourself. And those promises yet had to experience their fulfillment. You have given us promises as your people, the church today. Lord, we know that your promises are good, not one can fail. Lord, may we learn from the experience of your people in the Old Testament the importance of faithfulness, we will cling to you, that we would love you, that we would be obedient in every area of our life. May we not grow weary in well doing, may we not grow tire of being soldiers in the warfare in which you have placed us. We draw upon the strength that your spirit provides. May we walk faithfully, individually and as a church until Christ comes to bring about the completion of what you have promised to all those who love you. We pray in Christ name, amen.