Joshua 1:10-18: "The Conquest: A House of Cards?"

I'd like to start this morning, simply by rereading from the beginning of Joshua through verse 9: (1) And then, after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh said to Joshua son of Nun, the one serving Moses, saying, "Moses my servant died, and now rise!, cross! over this Jordan-- you and all this people to the land that I am giving to them--to the sons of Israel. (3) Every place that the sole of your feet walks on it, to you I give just as I spoke to Moses. (4) From the desert and this Lebanon and up to the great river--the river of Euphrates--, all the land of the Hittites and up to the great sea, the great setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have lived with Moses, I will be with you. I will not abandon you, and I will not reject you. (6) Be strong and be brave because you will give this people the land that I swore to your fathers to give to them. (7) Only, be strong and be brave exceedingly, to keep to do according to all the instruction that Moses my servant commanded you. (8) This scroll of the instruction must not depart from your mouth, and you must mutter over it day and night. in order that you may keep to do everything written in it because then you will be successful in your roads/ways, and then you will prosper. (9) Did I not command you be strong and be brave? Don't tremble, and don't be terrified, because with you Yahweh your God is, in everywhere that you are walking." ----------------------------------------------- So that was Yahweh's speech to Joshua, and last week's sermon. Get up! Cross the Jordan! Be strong, and be brave. Now, in verse 10-15, we get Joshua's response. What will Joshua do? Will he trust? Will he obey? We get our answer indirectly, from Joshua's words from two different groups of people. First, Joshua gives commands to the officers of the people, in verses 10-11. After this, Joshua speaks to the Reubenites and Gileadites and the half-tribe of Menasha in verses 12-15. (10) And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, (11) "Cross in the midst of the camp, and command the people saying, 'Prepare for yourselves supplies/provision, because in three days you will be crossing over this Jordan to go to take possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to possess it,'" Yahweh had told Joshua to be strong, and be brave. And it sure looks like Joshua is obeying. Everything Joshua says sounds good, and we find ourselves optimistic. Joshua is taking Yahweh at his word; he is claiming Yahweh's promises. Yahweh is giving the land. Since this is true, Israel needs to respond in faith, and take it. They just need a few days to pack some food, and whatever else an army needs to do, before they are ready to march. That seems fair enough, right? In verses 12-15, Joshua then turns to address the 2 1/2 tribes. What makes these tribes unique, is that the land Yahweh is giving them is actually already under Israel's control. They live on the wrong side of the Jordan-- the side that's already been captured, and is outside of the land God originally promised to give to Israel. Verse 12: (12) while to the Reubenites and to the Gileadites and to the half-tribe of Menasha Joshua spoke, saying, (13) "Remember the word that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded to you, saying, "Yahweh your God is giving rest to you, and he is giving you this land. These three tribes already control the land they will call home. They have homes to live in; they have livestock. They have what Yahweh has promised them. It would be tempting for them to look at the rest of the tribes getting ready for war, and say, "May Yahweh be with you! We'll pray for you!" But this simply doesn't work. Who is giving them rest? Who is giving them the land? Yahweh their God. And so, as they admire their new land, and cattle, and everything else, they need to remember who is giving these things to them. It is Yahweh. And if it's Yahweh-- and it is-- they know that they have a responsibility both to him, and to the nation of Israel as a whole. All the tribes need the land; all of them need to work together to take possession of the land Yahweh is giving them. Verses 14-15: (14) Your wives, your little children, and your livestock will/shall stay in the land that Moses gave to you beyond the Jordan, while you shall cross, being lined up for war before all your brothers--all the warriors of the army-- and you shall help them (15) until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers as you, and they shall take possession of-- also they-- the land that Yahweh your God is giving to them, and (then) you will return to the land of your possession, and (then) you will take possession of it, that Moses the servant of Yahweh has given to you beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun." Here, Joshua splits the 2 1/2 tribes up into two groups. The men are one group, and the wives, little children, and livestock are the other. The women, children, and livestock are allowed to stay in their homes. They can get settled, and enjoy the rest Yahweh is giving them. But the men still have a responsibility. The other tribes are their brothers-- they are family-- and their job is to help the other tribes until Yahweh has given everyone rest. Then, they can return, and take possession of what Yahweh has given them. It may look like they control the land already, but they can't actually take possession of it until all the tribes have received what Yahweh is giving them. This brings us to verse 16. Here, we get the people's response to Joshua: (16) And they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we shall do, while all (=everywhere) that you send us we shall go. (17) In all (=everything) that we listened to Moses, in the same manner we shall listen to you. Only, may Yahweh your God be with you, just as he was with Moses. (18) All (=every) man that rebels against your mouth, and doesn't obey your word in all that you command shall be put to death. Only, be strong and be brave." When we read Deuteronomy 31 last week, Moses made Israel sound hopelessly wicked. Israel is a stiff-necked, stubborn people who will turn to serve and worship other gods. But, the people's response here is impressive, right? All of Israel understands that Yahweh has made Joshua the new leader over Israel (Deut. 31). Joshua is the one who will lead them, and make them possess the land. Here, they promise their total allegiance to Joshua. Everything he commands, they will do. Everywhere he commands them to go, they will go. Everything he says to them, they will listen to. Everything they say sounds perfect. Almost. Except, they add two "onlys." They place two limitations on their obedience. The first was in verse 17: "Only may Yahweh your God be with you, just as he was with Moses." The Israelites understand that the single most important promise Yahweh has made, is the promise that he will be with Joshua, and that he will be with them. If Yahweh is with Joshua, in the way he was with Moses, the conquest will go okay. Yahweh will be faithful; he will do what he's promised. And they're not all going to get killed. But that's only true if Yahweh is with Joshua. And so what verse 17 is, really, is a very polite, very diplomatic way of qualifying their commitment to Joshua. And what this qualification does, in terms of the larger story of Joshua, is add a note of uncertainty to everything. If Yahweh isn't with Joshua, this entire thing is going to fall apart. Because the tribes have no intention of getting killed for Joshua. The second only was found in verse 18, after the tribes promise to kill anyone who disobeys Joshua: Only, be strong and be brave." The tribes understand that what happens next to them as a nation doesn't just depend on Yahweh. Even if Yahweh is with Joshua, Joshua still has a responsibility. He has to be strong and brave. Joshua has an enormous task before him, and if he lets fear overwhelm him, he's going to fail. If he plays this conservatively-- if he fails to really live out of faith-- the conquest is going to fall apart. And so they qualify their commitment a second way, and they again do so politely, and diplomatically. They will kill anyone who disobeys Joshua, absolutely. Only, However, Joshua needs to be strong and brave. If Joshua shows fear and doubt, or if he is indecisive, and people then leave to go home-- they get to go home. They aren't going to kill their brothers for refusing to follow a chicken. It's possible that verse 18 bothers you. Let's reread it: (18) All (=every) man that rebels against your mouth, and doesn't obey your word in all that you command, will be put to death. When Yahweh made a covenant with Israel, it was with the nation as a whole. God is faithful to the nation as a whole. And Israel, in response, collectively obeys. Anyone choosing to live as part of the nation, has to accept this covenant. There are no outsiders. What this means is that every single person has a responsibility to obey. But what happens if you don't? What happens if you rebel, and decide not to obey Joshua, or Yahweh? Yahweh will not tolerate rebellion. He demands complete allegiance. The people know this. And they understand, correctly, that anyone who rebels against Yahweh needs to be killed. Israel is a holy people, and must remain holy. If the Israelites don't kill a rebellious person, they run the risk of Yahweh taking his anger out on the nation as a whole. So they need to deal with this themselves. And note that they all agree to this. They all understand, that this is how it needs to be, if they are going to be in a covenant with God. This maybe bothers some of you. Does it bother you? All of you, I'm sure, understand in the NT that God expects this from you. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 5 (ESV): 1 Corinthians 5 (ESV) 5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.[a] 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church[b] whom you are to judge? 13 God judges[c] those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” So you all know, as NT Christians, that you have a solemn responsibility to purge the evil person from among you. You know, as NT Christians, that God doesn't tolerate evil. You know if believers are living in sin, and aren't repenting, you are supposed to purge them. They cannot be part of God's people. You are holy. If they choose to repent, and come back, you welcome them back. Absolutely. But if they don't, you exclude them. And the reason you do this, is because God is holy. And God is a jealous God, who doesn't tolerate rebellion. None of this is a shock for you. You know this, as NT Christians. But maybe you didn't expect God to treat people like this in the OT. You know that in the OT, God is slow to anger, rich in love, abounding in mercy (Exodus 34:6-7; Jonah 4:2). But even in the OT, God is dedicated to his people, and he expects his people to respond in kind. Even in the OT, God expects loyalty, commitment, dedication. And so the 2 1/2 tribes do well, when they promise to purge the evil one from Israel. And so, if it bothers you that God expects his people in the OT to purge the evil person from among them, just remember that God didn't change. Even in the OT, God expected this of his people--because God doesn't change. Instead of offering you an application today, I'd like to close by calling your attention to the three "only"s in chapter 1. Whenever we start a new book, it's overwhelming. It's hard to know what to focus on. It's hard to know what's important. But the Author of Joshua--who we will call AJ from now on-- has given us significant help with these 3 onlys. We found the first "only" last week, in verse 7. This "only" is Yahweh's, as he addresses Joshua. I'll start at verse 6: (6) Be strong and be brave because you will give this people the land that I swore to your fathers to give to them. (7) Only, be strong and be brave exceedingly, to keep to do according to all the instruction that Moses my servant commanded you. Yahweh promised Joshua, among other things, that all of this would take place through you. "You" is highlighted in the Hebrew; Yahweh makes a big deal about this. However, Yahweh then places a limitation-- a qualification-- on this. If Joshua lets fear overwhelm him, or if he isn't careful to keep all of Yahweh's commands, Yahweh's promises are not something he can claim. What does that do to us as readers? It makes us nervous. We know how hard it is to live courageously in faith, claiming the promises God gave us. We know how easy it is to stumble and disobey. And if Joshua lives like we so easily do, we know that Yahweh's help in the conquest becomes no sure thing. Yahweh's help is based on Joshua's continued faithfulness. The second "only," we read in verses 16-17. This "only" is the tribes,' after they pledge their loyalty to Joshua: (16) And they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we shall do, while all (=everywhere) that you send us we shall go. (17) In all (=everything) that we listened to Moses, in the same manner we shall listen to you. Only, may Yahweh your God be with you, just as he was with Moses. The tribes offer this amazing display of commitment to Joshua. But then they half-weasel out of it in verse 17. If it turns out that Yahweh isn't with Joshua, just as he was with Moses, then they are released from their promises. And if Joshua sins-- Yahweh won't be. So we find ourselves nervous about the tribes as well. And we find ourselves thinking, if the 2 1/2 tribes qualify their support so sharply, so carefully, right at the start, can they really be trusted? If you were Joshua, at the front lines, ready to take on the enemy, and you know every soldier behind you had an "only" attached to their commitment, would you trust them? Would you be confident in them? These men sound like they are looking for a reason to run. The third "only" we found in verse 18. The tribes will kill anyone who disobeys Joshua, but only if Joshua is strong and brave. When we take these three together, what do we have? At first glance, chapter 1 sounds promising. Everything sounds good. But just below the surface, we find three qualifications-- 3 "onlys"-- that make all of this incredibly fragile. The whole thing feels like a house of cards. And we wonder how likely it is, that all of this will actually work out okay. So these, I think, are the questions you should keep in mind as you read: (1) Will Yahweh prove faithful to Joshua and Israel? Will he keep his promises? Will he be with Joshua, just as he was with Moses? We find ourselves wondering. (2) Will Joshua prove to be strong, and courageous, and obedient? Everyone is worried about him-- Yahweh, and the tribes. Everyone wonders if he is up to this. And so we find ourselves thinking, if everyone is so worried, we will have to keep an eye on him. (3) Will the tribes be loyal? The tribes pledge their allegiance to Joshua, but the fact that they qualify this, shows there is some doubt on their part. When an army pledges its commitment, but only if they don't die-- and only if it goes well-- it makes you wonder, as a general, if these are really the soldiers you want behind you. So chapter 1 sounds great. But it sounds fragile. And we will just have to keep reading, to see if this house of cards will all somehow turn out okay.