Who’s word do you put the most trust in?
There was a sign in a store that said, “In God we trust, all others pay cash.”
As Joshua’s life comes to a close he calls all the people of Israel together for one last charge to encourage them and attempt to solidify their commitment to the Lord. Among the things he says to them listen again to verse 14 of chapter 23. "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in 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.
Here stands Joshua at the end of his life. He can look back all the way to Egypt and remember all that God has done for Israel. In chapter 24 he reviews their history for them again, reminding them of their roots in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God called these their forefathers out of idolatry. God led them and promised them things that Israel is just now seeing hundreds of years later. God doesn’t forget his words. He makes good on his promises. You can trust him completely.
If God promises you good things, he keeps his promise. Also, if God puts conditions on his promises, he sticks to them too. Joshua is leading a faithful nation at this point. These are the people who have come out of the wilderness. They have been disciplined by God and faith has formed in their hearts through the severity of the struggles they have endured. Being led by God day after day, week after week, year after year, they have learned to trust God. They have entered the land and fought the battles with God’s strength and received the blessings of faithfulness to God’s commandments. There is still much to do, and they are still doing it. But Joshua is at the end of his life now and he is watching a new generation rise up who have become the first generation to be born in the promised land of Canaan among all those nice cities that they have not built, eating fruit from the trees that they did not plant, and enjoying the benefits of luxury that they did not work for. This is a dangerous time for faith for this new generation. They are riding on the backs of the sacrifices of others. They are reaping the bounty of God’s gifts without the price that their parents have paid to receive them. It is a dangerous time. There are still Canaanites around them, worshipping their gods. Will this new generation of Israel walk in the footsteps of faith and cling to the Lord their God? Will they be careful to love the Lord their God? Will they fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness? Will they keep God’s covenant?
You know the answer already, don’t you? If you’ve been reading with us, you know it. Could this happen to us and our children?
Where is faith formed? Where do we learn to trust in the Lord and his word so that we cling to him and keep his commandments and love him with all our hearts? How can God build commitment into our hearts so that we will be true to him and faithfully follow his will for our lives?
Listen to me now. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, but faith is tested and strengthened by trial and obedience, discipline and repentance.
Israel fell because they were so attracted to those other gods. They got tired of worshipping the Lord and keeping his covenant. They were weary of doing the good things that demonstrated love for God and one another. Those Canaanite gods appeared to be so fun! They wanted to experiment with the attractions of Canaan. Ahhh, Canaan! That land of milk and honey where all those godless nations have created a place of exotic idolatry with wild parties and sensuous fertility worship.
Israel would be enticed to go after those Canaanite gods and break their covenant with the Lord their God, the one true and living God who had brought them out of Egypt and lead them through the wilderness and into the land of promise.
Listen to Joshua’s warning in verses 6-8: 6 "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
7 in order that you may not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
8 "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
Some of these Canaanite gods were worshipped with sexual acts including humans with animals. Some were worshipped by sacrificing infants. The Lord said that they were worshipping demons.
Listen to Deut. 32: 12 The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag,
14 with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape.
15 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.
16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols.
17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God-- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.
Look back at Joshua 23 and 24. Look at how many times Israel is warned about going after these gods.
(Josh 23:7 NIV) Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.
(Josh 23:16 NIV) If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you."
(Josh 24:14 NIV) "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
(Josh 24:15 NIV) But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
(Josh 24:16 NIV) Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!
(Josh 24:20 NIV) If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you."
(Josh 24:23 NIV) "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
What do these gods look like for us today? Whatever we trust more than God, these are our gods. Whatever we love more than God, these are our gods. Whatever we cling to and give our hearts to more than God, these are our gods.
What would keep you from worshiping God on Sunday night or coming to study his word together on Wednesday night? Could these be your gods?
What would keep you from sharing your faith with others or what stands in the way of your reading his word through with us this year? Could these be your gods?
Who do you trust? Who do you obey? Who or what do you treasure in your heart?
Could these be your gods?
The end of Deuteronomy and the end of Joshua are troubling. Both predict the fall of Israel. Both were right. But, thank God for this, the people who found faith in the wilderness, didn’t lose it in Canaan. The generation that God disciplined and led through those 40 years of wanderings became the generation of the faithful who entered the promised land and stayed true to the Lord until they died. My prayer for this church is that our Lord and Savior will do for us whatever it takes to form faith and salvation in each and every one of us. Whatever it takes. Wilderness. Snakes. Scarcity. Hunger. Thirst. Loneliness. Crisis. Loss of friends. Whatever it takes. I pray that our children will not go after the gods of Canaan and forsake the Lord God who sent his Son to die for them on the cross. I pray that our parents will bring their children up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord and do whatever it takes to lead their hearts and minds to Christ and do whatever they can to form faith in them. Obedient, saving, faith.
