NBBC SS: Joshua 24; Be Loyal to the Faithful Lord

Introduction:

Joshua 24:1–13 “1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 ‘Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 ‘To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 ‘I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 ‘But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8 ‘Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. 9 ‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 ‘But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 ‘You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. 12 ‘Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow. 13 ‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’”

What’s interesting is that this sounds similar to something that we’ve heard before from Joshua.

Joshua 23:1-2 sounds so similar to the initial verses of Joshua 24.

However, there’s something significantly different between Joshua’s words in Joshua 23 and the words recorded here.

The words of Joshua 23 are Joshua’s words.

The words that Joshua speaks in Joshua 24 are the Lord’s words.

This does not diminish what the Spirit led Joshua to say and to be preserved in Joshua 23.

Instead, it sets the expectation for us that the Lord has something for His people that they need here in addition to what Joshua shared in the previous chapter.

Did you notice how many times the Lord refers to Himself and His actions in these verses?

According to my Bible software, God referred to Himself 17 times!

Notice, how far back did God’s activity among these people go?

To the time of Abraham’s father, Terah!

What’s fascinating is how we see the evidences of God’s incredible grace among His people and those that forfeited it.

How was it that Abraham and his ancestors were described?

As idolaters!

God lifted someone from a lifestyle that was completely against the Lord.

What had Abraham said or done that merited this choice by the Lord?

Nothing!

This was entirely God’s gracious choice of Abraham and his descendants.

God’s grace then as it is now is entirely His initiated response to those that He chooses.

Notice also, in addition to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their specific descendants in Israel, who else is mentioned here that received something from the Lord?

Esau.

He received Mt Seir.

Esau had forfeited his inheritance.

And yet, the Lord gave Esau Mt. Seir.

This too was God’s abundant grace to someone who was undeserving on account of their own selfish choices.

God’s grace is able to reach even the most selfish.

If we had to summarize what God did here for His people, how might we do that?

He has given a divine history lesson.

In this history lesson, God has been the primary actor and hero of the Israelite story!

Part of this history lesson has come outside of their experience.

Part of this history lesson has fallen within their experience; that is, they’ve seen God’s hand at work among them.

The question that we have to ask ourselves is, what is the point of a divine history lesson? - let’s keep reading.

Joshua 24:14–28 “14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 “The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.” 19 Then Joshua said 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 transgression or your sins. 20 “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey His voice.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And 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. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.”

What is it according to Joshua 24:14 that the Lord sees as the result of reflecting on this divine history lesson that He has given through Joshua?

Fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and truth; put away idolatry; serve the Lord.

I did a study on this phrase about the fear of the Lord, limiting it to Genesis through Joshua.

In particular, we see in Exodus 1:17 where the midwives of Egypt feared and protected life rather than submitting to the authority of Pharaoh.

In Exodus 14:31 and Joshua 4:24, following the Lord parting bodies of water, the people either feared the Lord or there was a monument erected to commemorate God’s activity so that the people would fear the Lord.

In Lev 25:17, 36, 43, the fear of the Lord serves as the basis for transforming the ways that one interacts with others: treat others with kindness, don’t take advantage of others, leading others in kindness.

In Ex 1:21 and Dt 6:2, we’re reminded that God’s makes fearing Him worth it for the Egyptian midwives and His people.

In Dt 6:13; 10:20; and 13:5, Fearing the Lord means worshipping Him, serving Him, clinging to Him (that is, believing Him that prompts us to trust Him wholly), keeping His commandments, listening to His voice, and swearing by His name (total allegiance to Him alone).

In Dt 31:13, everyone, including God’s people and the foreigners among them, must learn listen and learn to fear the Lord, which means to be careful to keep God’s Law as recorded in His Word.

In summary, because of God’s great and faithful deeds, we learn to fear Him through His Word submitting to His authority above all and choosing to serve, worship, trust, and pledge ourselves to Him alone.

What’s fascinating is that we see the people respond in a way that we would hope - confident affirmation that they will remain loyal to the Lord.

Yet, Joshua responds to them in a puzzling, if not, concerning fashion (Josh 24:19-20).

What strikes me about Joshua’s response is that he’s largely negative!

Wouldn’t you think that after you’ve heard others respond to you the way that you want them to that you would encourage them?

Let’s think through the statement about God not forgiving sins.

We know from other passages that God is ready to forgive sins (cf. Psalm 86:5; 1 John 1:9).

When is it that God does not forgive sins?

When someone is unrepentant.

Therefore, what is it that Joshua is identifying about the condition of this kind of people?

They are given to their idolatry that they do not want forgiveness.

This is a hardened unrepentance.

What Joshua is pointing to here is a future apostasy by the people where they have abandoned the Lord.

The truth is, when there’s seeming apostasy, they weren’t God’s people to begin with!

What a frightening thought that there are those who have said the right things but have turned from it.

Thus, we need to rely on the Lord to make us faithful.

I don’t believe that God’s people will ever apostatize.

However, faithfulness is still a battle that we need the Lord help to fight and be victorious.

We’re reminded not necessarily that we could fall away.

Instead, any preservation power that will keep us faithful is found in the Lord upon Whom we rely and cling to!

Fascinatingly, it’s believed that archaeologists have found the stone monument that Joshua erected for this very occasion (BKC; see ISBE picture).

When we get to Joshua 24:28, I’m compelled to ask, “Why did the Holy Spirit preserve for us something so simple as this action of Joshua dismissing the people to their allotments?

Because now it was time to get to work

They’ve been encouraged through the Lord’s faithfulness to be loyal to the Lord

Now it was time to put it into practice in their everyday life

We have something like this.

Not once where we erect a stone.

Every time that we get together around God’s Word.

Today, the Lord wants us to remember His faithfulness and cling to Him in helping us to be loyal to Him always.

Joshua 24:29–33 “29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 32 Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.”

What’s incredible is that we have the passing from the scene of godly men that the Lord used militarily but also in the division of the land.

Notice how this passage reflects on Joshua’s legacy.

If he was a servant of the Lord, then we’re meant to consider what he did as a servant.

Certainly, this would include his military service.

However, the picture that we have from the final chapter of Joshua is that of Joshua’s prophetic ministry in proclaiming God’s Word to call the people to strict loyalty to the Lord alone.

Joshua was faithful to confront the people with God’s Word and encourage them to faithfulness, even when it meant more brutal honesty than what we might otherwise be comfortable with.

Furthermore, Joshua’s legacy can be seen in those that were the recipients of his ministry and continued to be faithful to the Lord Who was faithful to them.

While the temptation might be to reflect on the sudden unfaithfulness that will prompt the Judges, that’s not the focus of this passage.

Instead, we’re encouraged that the Lord could use a man like this to encourage a whole nation to be loyal to the Lord.

What’s fascinating is the reference to Joseph’s bones.

Before Joseph’s death, he gave instructions that his bones be carried off and buried in the Promised Land.

From the outset, this may sound rather weird.

However, it’s a demonstration of Joseph’s confidence in the Lord to keep His promises to His people.

That is, the people are seeing Joseph’s confidence in the Lord come to fruition.

Hence, they’re continuing to see the Lord’s faithfulness play out before them.

Eleazar’s primary function with the book of Joshua was related to the land.

This was in aiding Joshua in the distribution of the land.

It was in settling for the daughters of Zelophehad their inheritance.

It was working with the Levites to have specified cities.

Notice, though, that Eleazar’s son Phinehas is referenced here.

In Joshua 22:30, we’re reminded that Phinehas is a priest.

In fact, Phinehas is the High Priest who will follow his father.

In fact, Joshua does not have a replacement.

But Eleazar’s does.

Hence, the Lord has provided for the people’s ongoing spiritual encouragement and development in the land.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the grace that the Lord showed to Abraham we are the benefactors of since the Lord brought His Son from Abraham’s family to live perfectly, die sacrificially to forgive our sins, and be raised to new life to give us new life through the Spirit and sonship.