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RESOLVED…

Joshua 24.1-33

S: Commitment

C: Joshua’s final words to the people

Pr: BE A DELIBERATE FOLLOWER OF GOD.

TS: We will find in our study of Joshua 24 how Joshua challenged the people to be ready for life after him.

Type: Inductive, narrative

I. SUMMONS (1)

II. RECOLLECTION (2-13)

III. CHALLENGE (14-15)

IV. COMMITMENT (16-18)

V. WARNING (19-23)

VI. COVENANT (24-28)

VII. LEGACY (29-33)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Make the choice to be a follower and servant of God.

• Be deliberate about following Christ.

• Be an influencer that speaks freely about your commitment.

• Leave a legacy of faith.

Version: ESV

RMBC 22 July 07 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Personal

I was performing a wedding yesterday for two former classmates of JJ of CCA.

And during the rehearsal, as often occurs, the wedding ceremony that occurs in The Princess Bride comes up. The groom begged me to start of the ceremony with “Mawwaige is what bwings us together … today.” Though I run rather casual and personal wedding ceremonies, I told the couple that I draw the line there. I was not doing that.

But I must admit, I was caught totally surprised and embarrassed that when it came to the vows, I said . . .

“The unbroken circle, the emblem of eternity, and the gold, the emblem of that which is least tarnished and most enduring, are to show how lasting and imperishable is the faith now mutually pledged by the giving and receiving of these ‘wings’.”

I know that I am not the smoothest talker. I often stumble over words, especially when I hurry, but still . . .

I was horrified, and hung my head. It was then the groom whispered to me, giggling, “It’s all right.”

It is hard to always get it right, isn’t it?

ILL History (H)

A noted psychiatrist was a guest at a gathering, and his host naturally broached the subject in which the doctor was most at ease. "Would you mind telling me, Doctor," he asked, "how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?"

"Nothing is easier," he replied. "You ask him a simple question which everyone should answer with no trouble. If he hesitates, that puts you on the track."

"What sort of question?"

"Well, you might ask him, ’Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?’"

The man thought a moment, then said with a nervous laugh, "You wouldn’t happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don’t know much about history."

You may not do well in history, but…

1. It is hard to go forward in life if you do not have some sense of where you have been.

Today, we come to our final study of Joshua.

And Joshua is preparing the nation for what is coming up.

He is preparing them for the future.

But to do it, their history will have to be remembered.

Joshua is now at the very end of his life.

We don’t know how much longer he lives after this, but we can be fairly sure that it was not a long time.

These are his final words to the entire nation.

He is, as one Puritan preacher said, speaking as a dying man to dying men.

He is speaking for decisions.

So…

2. We will find in our study of Joshua 24 how Joshua challenged the people to be ready for life after him.

He is going to challenge them about faithfulness.

He is going to challenge them about obedience.

These are the essentials as he makes the…

OUR STUDY:

I. SUMMONS (1)

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God.

3. The people were brought together to a historically significant place.

Last week, when we studied the 23rd chapter, Joshua had gathered all the leaders of Israel to the spiritual center, Shiloh.

In this chapter, he has asked a much larger group to gather.

Probably as many of the people of the nation that could be there were there, in Shechem, a few miles northwest of Shiloh.

It was a significant place because it was in Shechem that Abraham first received the promise that God would give his seed the land of Canaan.

It was also a significant place because Jacob buried the family idols there, to demonstrate that his family would be for God only.

So, at Shechem, the voice of history spoke both of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to Abraham and of Israel’s solemn calling to make a radical break with all idolatry. (Goslinga)

But it was also at Shechem that Joshua gathered the nation to review the law after conquering the center of the land.