A New Phase Of Life-2(:17-21)(2024)

A NEW PHASE Of LIFE-II—Joshua 24:17-21(:14-28)

Attention:

Last week we applied these verses to high school graduates.

And so we were looking at high-school graduation as a ‘New Phase’ along a person’s timeline.

Need:

Everyone reaches ‘noteworthy’ benchmarks in their walk with the Lord.

Throughout life’s journey, you gain new degrees of personal experience & prayerfully, gain a greater degree of God’s wisdom.

And along with those new experiences, comes a new &/or expanded degree of responsibility & answerability to God, in how you respond to them.

Every one of God’s people, is called upon to readily acknowledge their current life-challenges & apply their cumulative wisdom.

Just as our high school graduate is venturing out to tackle a new phase of life, so thru our circumstances, you & I are ‘thrust out’ into the personal challenges of entering & enabling the ‘Good Land’ that is ‘promised’ to you, thru your commitment & service to God.

Joshua recognized a major benchmark in Israel’s progress toward inheriting the Promised Land.

God’s people reach benchmarks in their lives that have potential for positive progress thru their relationship with God.

But, How do we respond/relate to a new phase of life?

4 requirements for responding to a new phase of life.

If you are going to possess the ‘land’ God wants you to have(that He has promised you), then you must respond appropriately to it.

Last week we found that:

1. ANY New Phase of life requires...

SELF-EXPOSING DECISIONS(:14-16)

Today we’ll also find that:

2—ANY New Phase of life requires your...

SUBSTANTIATION(:17-21)

Explanation:(:17-21)Confirmation/Proof/Verify

:17—“for the LORD our God is He who brought us & our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, & preserved us in all the way that we went & among all the people through whom we passed.”

The people of Israel had assured Joshua of their decision—“Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods.”(:16)

Notice that verse :17 begins with the people of Israel’s referring to YHWH as—“the LORD our God.”

•Because together as a people/nation, Israel acknowledged to Joshua—very practically—that YHWH their God, had brought about their very beginnings thru Abraham, & had brought their forefathers up, even “from the other side of the River”(:14, 15) Euphrates—AKA--the Fertile Crescent, or Mesopotamia(~modern Iraq & Syria).

•Israel ALSO related to Joshua—very practically—that following the increase of their population, while enslaved in “Egypt”, YHWH God had “brought” them “up out” “of that house of bondage.”

•Israel ALSO recalled to Joshua—very practically—that YaHWeH had done “great signs” which they had observed with their own eyes(“who did those great signs in our sight”).

•Israel ALSO made known to Joshua—very practically— that YHWH Himself had “preserved” them as a separate “people.” YHWH had protected Israel from all the surrounding territorial & warring “peoples” through whose land they had “Passed.”

:17—‘WORDS’—

“Bondage”—dbe eh'-bed—Noun Masc. - Common Masc. Plural Absolute—1) Slave, servant—1a) Slave, servant, man-servant, 1b) Subjects, 1c) Servants, worshippers(of God), 1d) Servant(in special sense as prophets, Levites etc.), 1e) Servant(of Israel), 1f) Servant(as form of address between equals). Strong—A servant.?From—dbe aw-bad’—Verb—To work(in any sense); To serve, till; Enslave, etc.; a primitive root.

“Signs”—twa 'owth—Noun Fem. - Common Both Plural Absolute—1) Sign, signal—1a) A distinguishing mark, 1b) Banner, 1c) Remembrance, 1d) Miraculous sign, 1e) Omen, 1f) Warning; 2) Token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof. Strong—probably from twa[to come, assent](in the sense of appearing); A signal(literally or figuratively), as A flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc..

“Preserved”—rmv shaw-mar'—Qal Sequential-Imperfect 3rd Masc. Sing.—1) To keep, guard, observe, give heed; 1a) (Qal)--1a1) To keep, have charge of, 1a2) To keep, guard, keep watch & ward, protect, save life—1a2a) Watch, watchman(participle), 1a3) To watch for, wait for, 1a4) To watch, observe, 1a5) To keep, retain, treasure up(in memory), 1a6) To keep(within bounds), restrain, 1a7) To observe, celebrate, keep(sabbath or covenant or commands), perform(vow), 1a8) To keep, preserve, protect, 1a9) To keep, reserve. Strong—properly--To hedge about(as with thorns), i.e. Guard; generally--To protect, attend to, etc.; —a primitive root.

:18—“And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”

“And the LORD drove out from before us all the people,...”

Israel ALSO recalled—very practically— that YHWH God had “driven” “all the” opposing “people” out of what was now Israel’s “land.”

Israel ALSO recalled —very practically— that YHWH had driven out “the Amorites” in particular(obviously a very formidable opponent).

“Drove out/Drave Out”—vrg gaw-rash’—Piel(intensive/intentional/repeated/extended) Sequential-Imperfect 3rd Masc. Sing.—1)To drive out, expel, cast out, drive away, divorce, put away, thrust away, trouble, cast up—1a) (Qal)--To thrust out, cast out; 1c) (Piel)--To drive out, drive away. Strong—To drive out from a possession; especially--To expatriate or divorce. Used 47X.