A FRESH START, A FITTING END (JOSHUA 23:1-23)
The World Cup is held every four years since 1930 except for the Second World War. The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil has won five times, the most among winning countries. In the 21st century Germany won it in 2014, Spain in 2010, Italy in 2006 and Brazil in 2002. Do you remember the last team to repeat as champions? Not for the last 12 tournaments.
As it has often been said, “It is harder to defend a title than to win a title.”
The duration “long time” (v 1) is a key phrase that repeats as many as four times in the book (Josh 11:18, 22:3, 23:1, 24:7), more than any book in the Bible. Joshua waged war for a “long time” against all the local kings (Josh 11:18) and the Israelites lived a “long time” in the desert (Josh 24:7). How long? Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent him to explore the land. (Josh 14:7) Now it was at least 45 years later, as Caleb attested (Josh 14:10). Victory was not accomplished overnight. It came through hard work, patience, and determination. The Israelites had rest from all their enemies around them (v 1, Josh 22:4), just as the Lord had promised early in the book (Josh 1:13-15). Up to Joshua’s time, the word “rest” occurs the most – six times in Joshua (Josh 1:13, 1:15; 3:13; 21:44; 22:4; 23:1). The old and well advanced Joshua had choice words for the Israelites. But the challenge had just started?
What do we have to guard against when things are smooth? How can we prevent complacency when times are good? Why is a fitting end just as good as a fresh start?
Long to Be Obedient
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 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 23:6-8)
A country church was having their annual revival meeting. On the first night the preacher preached a message about repentance and the need to return to the Lord. At the altar call, a man came down the aisle saying “Fill me Lord, fill me.”
The next night the preacher challenged the congregation with the need to totally surrender their lives to Christ in complete obedience. Again the altar call was extended; like the night before the same man came down the aisle saying “Fill me Lord, fill me”.
The third night of the revival preacher warned his congregation of the evils of sin and urged the congregation to live lives of holiness. Again at the invitation was made to give one's life to Christ, the same man came up the aisle saying “Fill me Lord, fill me”.
To which someone in the back of the church yelled; “Don't do it Lord, He leaks!”
The word “strong” (v 6) makes its debut in the Bible when the angels “grasped” the hands of Lot and his family when they hesitated to leave Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:16). Angels’ grip and hands are no laughing matter in the Bible. The most extreme case of “strong” is when the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Ex 9:2, 12, 35). In Pharaoh’s case, he was steadfast to the point of stubborn. Obedience means yielding to a higher authority, in this case man’s will yielding to the word of God.
To be disobedient means to stray from the path, to walk in one’s ways, and to waver in belief and to want what is forbidden. Richard Baxter said, “The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.” To obey means to put God’s words and ways above your wisdom and willfulness. Disobedience leads to pain more than punishment. It leads to disappointment and defeat more often than it leads to distress and disaster. An obedient life results in the delight to do the Lord’s will, but a disobedient life results in denial of the Lord’s will.
The second part of verse 6 “be careful to obey” (v 6) PPT is literally “TO keep and TO do” and is linked to “be very strong” in Hebrew by the preposition “to.” It should be “be very strong to keep and to do” – the two purposes of “be very strong.” It is also a continuation of what Moses told Joshua before he left them (Josh 1:7, 8)
There is a huge difference between this time with the admonishment to be strong than previous admonishments. Previously the fourfold advice by the Lord himself to Joshua was to be strong (Josh 1:6, 7, 9, 18; 10:25), now it was Joshua’s turn to admonish the Israelites so, not just to be strong, but to be “very strong” (Josh 23:6), its only reference in the Bible. It means to have super determination, strengthening, solidifying and even steeling, one’s resolve to obey God’s word, not straying, softening or slacking in resolve.
Interestingly the first “be strong” translation in the Bible was given by Moses to the twelve spies (Num 13:20, NIV’s “do your best”), and repeated to all Israel (Deut 31:6, 7, 23) before his departure. So this is a new start and a reversal of the last failure. Now Joshua followed in the legacy with a stronger admonition to “be very strong,” not just “be strong” in the new land. “Turn aside to the right or to the left” previously was another repetition of Moses’ advice to the Israelites before they enter the land (Deut 5:32) and the Lord’s advice to Joshua (Josh 1:7) before the conquest, so presently it was Joshua’s challenge to the Israelites at his old age.
Learn to Oppose Sin
7 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. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now. 9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.
What are you most unwilling to give up– sweets, meat, pizza, soda or hamburgers? A survey asked, “What foods men and women say they are unwilling to give up for the sake of health?” The least resistance is hamburgers. Only 7% are unwilling to give it up. Harder to give up was soda- 8%. 14% is not open to give up pizza and 25% refused to give up meat. Surprisingly the most resistance is giving up sweets, 35%. (USA Today, Feb. 20, 1996)
There were lots of temptations in the new land. The most severe test is idols and their indulgence, immodesty, and immorality they represented and offered. In Joshua’s heyday he left none “remaining” (Josh 10:40), but when he was old there was very much land “remaining” yet to be possessed (Josh 13:1). Now it was worse. Nations remained among them (Josh 23:7), so they had their work cut out for them. In regard to the “nations” (plural), a word that occurs seven times in the chapter (vv 3, 4 twice, 7, 9, 12, 13)- the most in a chapter so far and only once previously in Joshua. There were as many idols as there were nations. Prior to Deuteronomy (Deut 4:38, 9:1, 11:23), the shorter phrase “great nation” is always in the singular sense. The challenges will continue, will increase and intensify, not stopping or slowing, declining or decreasing any time soon. So the temptations came from all sides.
The four things they were not to do, which is a progression – “invoke/remember,” “swear,” “serve” and “bow.” The first “invoke” is to “remember” (zakar) in Hebrew – in the mind, the second is to “commit” or “swear” in KJV, “seven” in Hebrew – on your lips, the third is serve – with all your heart and all your soul (Josh 22:5), and the fourth is prostrate – on your knees.
The Israelites were renowned for their penchant to sway and stray in belief , which made Joshua more alarmed, thus he had a stringent and urgent response and warning to Israel in these testing, troubled and tentative times,, which was to “hold fast” to the Lord your God. The verb “hold fast” is cleave (KJV) or cling, as in the marriage equation of Adam and Eve when they were “united” (Gen 2:24). The analogy of cleave is borrowed from the marital relationship, where no third-party is allowed or tolerated.
The verb “hold fast/cleave” is an important repetition in chapters 22 and 23. It is a continuation of the previous chapter’s admonition (Josh 22:5), a caution very dear to Joshua in the twilight of his age. Verse 12 contrasts “holding fast” to the Lord or “allying” themselves with the survivors of these nations – both are the same in Hebrew.
“Cleave/hold fast” means more than hold; it means to hold on tightly. It is the degree, the drive and the determination. It is to stick. The opposite of cleave is to leave behind (as in parents) or let go.
“Hold fast to him” is a theological concept first espoused in Deuteronomy (Deut 10:20, 11:22, 13:4). Our God is a jealous God. He cannot admit or accept a competitor or challenger to His affection or allegiance. The closest and safest counter sin is not to deny sin but to hold fast to God. It means to be attached to God and not to be attracted to idols, to glue with the Lord and not to gel with idols, to yield to God and not to yoke with sin. The hardest thing in a young marriage is to leave your parents but the hardest thing in a seasoned marriage is to cleave to your spouse. But the purpose is always to be one flesh, the word repeated four times in Genesis 2:21-24. So “cling” means to be inseparable, intimate and irreplaceable relationship.
Serving and cleaving are two sides of a coin as early as the previous chapter (Josh 22:5) because it is a contest, a combat and a commitment of one’s heart and soul.
Live to Love God
11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God. 12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you. (Josh 23:11-13)
The longest-married couple in the States has been married for more than 78 years. Wilbur Faiss and his wife Theresa of Las Vegas were married April 14, 1933. As for wedding bliss, the 100-year-old Faiss gave his secret for their happy, long-lasting marriage. “It's very simple; it's give and take, and compromise,” he said. Faiss says his wife is still his best friend.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=8526025
The first had to do with doing, the second is being, and the third is loving, or the head, the flesh and the heart. What is loving God? Charles Colson says, “Loving God - really loving Him - means living out His commands no matter what the cost.”
Loving the Lord, of course, is a choice, but it is expected of Israel. After all, the Lord is the Lord your God. “The Lord your God” (v 3) is a title introduced into the Bible in Moses’ days (Ex 6:7). It occurs as many as 13 times in the chapter, more than any chapter in the Bible. How can you not love someone who has saved you and shaped your destiny and supplied your need? Now the Israelites understood the fierceness and faithfulness of the Lord for Israel. Loving the Lord is a proper and purposeful (v 11, infinitive) response.
Loving the Lord is the greatest commandment of all (Matt 22:36) and first commandment in the law (Mark 12:28). It is introduced in Deuteronomy - love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deut 6:5-6) - and repeated three times in the last words of Moses (Deut 30:6, 16, 20). In Jesus’ words it is with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matt 22:37), and always with “Lord the God” except for Psalms. The fascinating thing about the 17 occurrences of “Love the Lord thy/your God” through its 14 occurrences in the Bible is that it is never in the imperative mood because it must be offered and not obligated.
To love the Lord is contrasted with “turn away” and “ally” with the nations. “Turn away” is turn, turn in Hebrew. “Ally” is also the word “hold fast/cleave” in verse 8. “Be very careful” in verse again is also translated as “take GOOD heed” in KJV. The word “very” is seldom combined with “be careful.” “Very” is the same word as in verse 6. It means to keep, observe, beware, watch. Loving the Lord is a new concept at this point, a determination rather than duty.
Loving the Lord is the greatest motivation, change and miracle in one’s life.
It is not forced. It is a command but not an imperative. A command is given to
Previously no one was able to withstand against the obedient Israelites (v 9), but presently the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before the disobedient Israelites (v 13). Instead, they will become snares and traps for them, whips on their backs and thorns in their eyes, until they perish from the good land, which the Lord your God has given them. A snare is spread out like a net, a trap is a hook, and whip is to flog, The word good is repeated five times as good land (vv 13, 15, 16) or good things (vv 14, 15).
Conclusion: God wants us to enter, engage and enjoy an exclusive, endearing and everlasting relationship with Him. He does not want us to return to the past, rest on our laurels and regress in our faith. Do you obey sin or opposed sin? Do you serve the Lord or idols such as power, money and lust? Do you love the Lord unconditionally, and unceasingly?
