Joshua's Farewell Address

Amen, Robby. Would you pray for us this evening?

Amen. If you would take your Bible turn with me to Joshua chapter 23. Joshua chapter number 23, we're finishing up our studies about this historical book. The Book of Joshua. begin reading the

First 8 verses. Joshua Joshua, chapter 23.

So now it came to pass a long time. After the Lord had given rest Israel from all their enemies round about that. Joshua was old advanced in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, for the elders and for their heads, and for their judges, and for the officers and said to them, I am old advanced in age you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you or the Lord, your God Is He Who has fought for you. See, I have divided into you by lot these nations that remain to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the great sea Westward and as the Lord, your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land as a lord, your God promised you. Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses. Last, you turn aside from from it to the right hand or to the left. Unless you go among these nations, these remain among you, you shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them. You should not serve them nor bow down to them but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God. As you have done this day. Well we see that verse 1 in our tax. Really tells the story that Israel at this point has acquired the land that God has promised them. And it also tells us that their faithful leader. Joshua is preparing to die tells us are verse one that he is old. He is advanced in age and also tells us in verse 14. Joshua says, behold this day. I am going the way of all the Earth. He is getting ready to leave this world. Joshua must like the song we just saying is, he's feels like traveling on and he knows that travel to Eternity is not very far off. But before he leaves them, he has something to tell them about serving the war. And to do this, she has a series of meetings. He has to meeting the first one we just read about in chapter 23, where he meets with the elders. He meets with the leaders of the nation and then in chapter 4, he he meets with the entire children of Israel. And as Joshua, the faithful soldier of the Lord prepares to, to leave this world. He wants to encourage Israel. He wants to encourage the nation to stay the course for God. He knows that the Old Guard is, is about to die off those who knew Moses, those who knew Joshua, that generation was getting ready to die and they were aging much like Joshua here. Is that generation? That knew of the miracles of god, they were able. They were able to see the mighty Supernatural works of God. That's in a relation. They knew Joshua, new was getting ready to depart. And so before he dies, he wants to remind them of the god that they serve and in doing so he does what he says to. The nation is really a help to us today I noticed, first of all, Joshua's concern Joshua's concern as Joshua near the time of his departure. You see some things that beginning to happen in the lives of the people of Israel. He sees things that honestly he does not lie, he does not sit well with him. My first of all, notice in versus 6, he fears complacency, he fears complacency. Therefore, he says be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses lest you, turn, aside from it, to the right hand or to the left. So, Joshua was afraid that the people of Israel might begin to take the law of the Lord, for granted. He fears that they might become complacent in their walk with the Lord and begin to let things slide in their lives. Will sadly as you know the scripture, you know, the Old Testament he was exactly right. The following book, The Book of Judges tells us exactly what happened. The Bible tells us that day you did which was right, according to their own eyes, not. According to what God's word tells us. What are some ways that we can grow complacent today?

How can we grow complacent? I think there's a lot of different ways that we can mention, maybe even we could spend a lot of time tonight, mentioning and talking about different examples, how we can grow complacent, maybe in church, attendance, and Bible reading prayer, those things and probably growing complacent is probably the most prone sin that we as Christians can fall into. We think about the Book of Revelation chapter 3 were. Jesus wrote a letter to the church at laodicea him. He tells them a, you're neither cold nor hot your lukewarm. You've grown complacent in your walk with the Lord. And that's something is certainly that we all can fall prey to is complacency after c. To the things of God. And that's one thing that Joshua feared

be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses lest you, turn, aside from it, to the right hand or to the left. Well, in verse 7. Notice that he fears compromise, he fears compromise. He says, in the last you go among these nations, these who, who remain among you? You shall not make mention of the names of their gods. Nor calls anyone to swear by them. You should not serve them nor bow down to them. It's another fear, Joshua possesses is that the people of Israel. Will decide to follow the dead gods of Canaan? He fears that they will compromise their standards. He fears that they will bow down to those idols. And again, is that it's as if that Joshua was looking through a crystal ball and seeing things taking place that would happen because that is exactly what did happen for the children of Israel.

If we're honest, we're just as guilty at times as Israelites. Have not the people of God, given their affection to other, God's will, for honest, We All Fall prey to that. I certainly many worship the gods of self. the gods of success, the gods of materialism, the gods of career, It's very interesting. When you read 1st, John, the final thing that the Apostle, John tells, the congregation to whom he is riding in first, John chapter 5 verse 22, he says to them my little children keep away from idols. Keep away from idols. Calvin was right. When he said, man's nature man's nature. So to speak is a Perpetual Factory of idols. Man's heart is a Perpetual Factory of idols.

Well, what Joshua feared?

Is what we two can fall prey to if we're not careful. I noticed also in verse 8, Joshua. He fears commitment. Verse 8. He's but he says, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God as you have done to this day. I noticed here that it's not that Josh with fears that they will be committed to the Lord, rather he fears that their commitment will become Slack. if they will not cleave to the Lord as they should, And once again this is this is just like Josh was being prophetic here because this is exactly what the nation of Israel has done.

That's with these two other problem, areas. This is a, there is a word for here for us tonight. It has become painfully obvious in recent days that the commitment of many in the American church is not where it should be. And maybe the covid. Pandemic brought a lot about this out into the open. And revealed some things that maybe we had not seen before.

Think about this as we think about commitment. what Jesus said, in Matthew 10:38,

Jesus said he that loves his father. Or mother more than me. Is not worthy of me. and he that loves son or daughter more than me, Is not worthy of me. And he that takes not his cross and follows after me is not worthy of me. At, what does Jesus mean? when he says, Such things as this. He who loves his father more than me is. Not worthy of me. He who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. What do you mean?

Well, he means this, he means if Christ is not number one, if he is not priority in our hearts and in our lives that we are not worthy of him.

And the truth is, we really can't love our spouse. The way we are to love our spouse or to love our mother or our child. The way we are to love our child if our affections are out of priority. We are to love the Lord, thy God. First.

And foremost, it is to be our pre-eminent love and it is out of that, loved it. Then we can love our spouses the way we ought to love her spouse and children. The way we are to love our children. It is. When we get that out of order that we really fail to love them as they should be loved.

So he fears commitment, again, not that they are going to be overly committed, but he fears that their commitment will Wayne. Sammy, that's exactly what took place. Notice secondly, Joshua's challenge to them. Joshua's challenge. And this section here, Joshua challenges the elders and the people to observe certain truths concerning. God is challenges for them to look at What the Lord Has Done and is doing in their lives. By starting a verse number 9 He wants us to consider God's Wrath.

Now, that's something that way you don't hear much about today, is it? We wanted to consider God's love and want to just focus on that. That's Joshua doesn't doesn't mention that here. He starts out by mentioning and considering God's Wrath versus 94. The Lord has driven out from before you, great, and strong Nations. But, but asked for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand for the Lord. Your God is he who fights for you as he promised you? Therefore take careful heed to yourselves that. You love the Lord your God or else. If indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages with them and go into them and they too, you know, for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you, but they shall be snares and traps to you and scourges on your side and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land from which the Lord, your God has given you. And so, while there were many challenges given here, the primary idea that Josh was trying to convey here is that if you will serve the Lord, the Lord will bless you if you disobey him. He would chastise you and we talked about this a little bit last Sunday in Sunday school hour. When the Lord blesses if we obey him, he'll bless our lives. That mean he's going to make us prosperous financially. Is that mean they were going to live without any illnesses or have great success by the world standards. No, no, he will bless you about giving you the grace that you need. Your bless you by giving you peace that passes all understanding, he'll bless you and a whole lot of different ways that the world knows nothing about. He'll bless you in ways that money cannot help people who are rich. And are filthy rich, do not have the peace of God that passes all understanding those who are billionaires are still unhappy people. But those to whom are fleecing. The Lord, those to whom are who are wanting to please him. Have that piece have that satisfaction.

That's what he means by blessing them notice. In chapter 24, not only that they were to consider God's Wrath. What? They were to consider God's work.

24:1. Says then Josh with gathered, all the tribes of Israel to she come and call for the Elders of Israel for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people thus says the Lord God of Israel, your father, including Tara, the father of Abraham, the father of nahor wealth on the other side of the river in old times and they served other gods. Then I took your father, Abraham from the other side of the river, let him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied. His to this, his descendants and gave him Isaac. Do Isaac. I gave Jacob and Esau to Esau, I gave the mountains of sour to possess but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt and I sent Moses and Aaron. And I plagued Egypt according to what I did among them afterward. I brought you out that I brought your father's out of Egypt and you came to the Sea and the Egyptians pursued your father's with chariots, and Horsemen to the Red Sea. So, they cried out to the Lord and he put Darkness between you and the Egyptian Egyptian's. Brought the sea upon them and cover them and your eyes. Saw. What I did in Egypt, then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. And I brought you into the land of the amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand that you might possess their land. And I destroyed them from before you, then balak the son of zip or the king of Moab a rose to make war against Israel and sent and called Balaam and Son, Abbey or the to curse you But I would not listen to Balaam, therefore, he continue to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. Then you went over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho in the men of Jericho fought against you also the amorites of parasites, that Canaanites to hit sites to girgashites that he bites in the Jeep besides, but I deliver them into your hand. I sent the Hornet before you, which drove them out from before you also the two kings of the amorites, but not with your sword, or with your bow, I have given you a land from which you did not labor and cities, which you did not build, and you dwell in them. You eat of The Vineyards and Olive Groves, which you did not plant. He reminds them what? He's going back throughout the entire history, he's reminding that everything that you have today is not because of you. You didn't do this. I did it every war that was fall. You did not do it. I did every blessing. He did, he gave it. In the New Testament, tells us that every good gift. Comes from above. And so this is a good thing for for Joshua to rehearse this to the children of Israel to remind them of the blessings and remind them of the faithfulness of God, to keep his word. How Beneficial this is for us as Christians to do the same thing to rehearse into our hearts and in our minds, the different blessings that God has bestowed upon us. And all the blessings that we have is not because of our goodness, it is not because of our works. But the cause of his work in US. Consider God's works. I didn't notice and verse 14 and 15.

Consider God's will. Consider God's will now therefore fear the lord. Serve him in sincerity and in truth. And put away the gods with your father, served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord choose for yourselves this day, whom you will serve Whether the gods with your father served, that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the amorites and whose land, you dwell. but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So the people answered and said, far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. And the Lord, our God is he who has brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Who did those great signs in our side and preserve this and all the way that we went and among all the people Through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out from the forest, all the people including the amorites who dwell in the land, we also will serve the Lord for. He is our God We listen to what they say in, reply to Joshua's command and Joshua's plead to them, we say, Amen. Praise the Lord. I guess, what is real? Nice. They don't do the things that they said. In that moment of confession, where they're innocent saying amen. Joshua. We will not serve the gods of the amorites or the gods of Canaan. We will serve the Lord our God.

but when the going got tough,

they served the gods of Canaan.

Joshua tells the people that it is a Lord's will for them to clean up their lives. In the serve the Lord Faithfully. He makes the statement that he and his family will do just that. He says, hey, I don't care what you guys do as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. and that kind of, Resolve is so needed today, is it not? I'm in in a day, where it seems that every day. Something more bizarre is taking place and there's more pressure for us to give in this temptation to to bow down to today's Idols, we need this resolved to say, hey, ask for me and my house. We will serve the Lord and then do it.

Let's look at starting to verse 25.

Joshua's Covenant.

Joshua's Covenant verse 25.

328. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day. And made for them a statute and an order ordinance. And she come the Joshua wrote these words in the book of The Law of God. And he took a large Stone and set it up there under the oak. That was by the sanctuary of the Lord, and Joshua said, to all the people behold, the stone shall be witness to us where it has heard all the words of the Lord, which he spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you less, you deny your God. So Josh will let the people depart each to his own inheritance, some verses 25 through 28. We see a great Stone. Is involved before Joshua. C a r x, a great Stone, as a monument to the fact that the people have sworn to follow the lord. And so that way there, after whenever people would pass by that place, they would remember their oath, they would remember that place. Where they gave their life. And made an oath that they were going to please the Lord, their God. I think about today we don't have actual Stones much like Joshua's talkin about obviously but you know God has placed before us some great memorial stones. Virtual Stones, I guess you could say. That are reminders of God's goodness. And that being number one, the Lord's Supper. Number to baptism. That those are things that we can perpetuate Lee, go back to time and time again to be reminded of Christ's death.

His payment for our sins. And be reminded as well as God as Jesus of Jesus, resurrection that he has conquered death. So we don't have a great Stone much like the children visual did, but we have one that's even greater. Something that is tangible something that we can see in that is the ordinances. The elements of the Lord's Supper. And Believers baptism. I noticed and versus 29 through 33, not only does, he mention this great Stone, but he mentions some grave stones. The book close is here with three funerals. I need funeral speak to us today. Number one, we see the gravestone of faithfulness, the gravestone and faithfulness we see you verse 29. 231. Now, it came to pass that after these things that Joshua the son of nun. The servant of the Lord died, being 110 years old, and they buried him within the border of his inheritance and Tim nacera, which is in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount gash. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of their Elders, who outlived Joshua Who had who had known all the works of the Lord. Would she had done for Israel until this first Greystone? that is mentioned, is that of Joshua himself his Tombstone, spoke about the faithfulness of God to his people That through the life of Joshua. God had given himself to be a faithful God. And then the verse 32, we see another Funeral, another grave, the bones of Joseph? Which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at she come. In the plot of ground, which Jacob had bought from the sons of him, are the father of cecum for 100 pieces of silver. And which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph, until the second gravestone mention belong to a man who had died. I think about this centuries before in the land of Egypt, while Joseph was on his deathbed, he made the following prediction. Listen, listen to this and Genesis 50:20 for It says and Joseph said to his Brethren, I am dying. The God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land to the land of which he swore to Abraham to Isaac and Jacob. Ben Joseph, took an oath from the children of Israel saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bone from here. So Joshua. I'd be 110 years old and they involved him, so it's amazing. He makes his prediction while they are in slavery, in Egypt, but he says by faith. Hey God, I'm going to visit the people of Israel. He's going to visit you. He's going to take you out and when you leave, don't forget to take my bones with you and bury me there in the promised land. I didn't notice and verse 33. We see the gravestone of finality. Verse 33 says and alien Ali-A's are the son of Aaron died, they buried him in a heel belonging to finest his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim until this last drapes down marks. The death of Aaliyah's are, who was the son of Aaron? The first high priest, his grave is the grave of finality. The death of Eleazar marks The Changing of the Guard in Israel. As now all the old-timers are gone. All those who came out of Egypt in the out of the Wilderness, have passed from the seen, all those that God had used in such Mighty fashion are dead.

He goes on. See.

It's a shame when old Soldiers of Jesus. Pass from the scene. But it is, it's even a greater shame when those who are left behind. Do not lift the mantle and carry on for the Lord. As we talked about Israel turns Idols after the death of their great leaders. And so, to the modern church has forsaken the path laid down by those who have gone before.

God help us to be like Elijah who lifted the mantle of Elijah and cried out to God. You did it for Elijah. Now do it for me. So we see here the closing of this book, this tremendous book, The Three funerals of three great men of God by faith. God used in a Great and Mighty way and we pray that God would we certainly speak to us as we think about his faithfulness to us.

As we serve him today. Alright, let's take a few moments.