Conquering the Land
“Calling and Caution”
Joshua 23
Introduction
This morning we come to chapter twenty- three in our series in the book of Joshua. As I mentioned last week the last three chapters in the book of Joshua is a series of three assemblies that Joshua called to speak to the tribes of Israel. Last we considered chapter twenty-two where Joshua addresses the two and a half tribes before they returned to their land west of the Jordan River. This morning we will consider Joshua’s address to the leaders of the nine and a half tribes east of the Jordan. Next week Joshua will call all the tribes of Israel together as he gives his final farewell in chapter twenty-four.
Hear now the Word of God, Joshua chapter twenty-three verses one through sixteen.
Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. 5 The Lord your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 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 so that you will 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. 9 For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.10 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. 11 So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 14 “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. 15 It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”
Call
At least seven years separate chapter twenty-two and chapter twenty-three, which is noted in verse one telling us that everything came about after many days. (23.1) The tribes of Israel have been living in their allotted land for at least seven years enjoying the land that flows with milk and honey. A lot can happen in seven years. Seven years ago, our oldest son had just gotten married and now we are grandparents. Where were you in 2014? To be certain there was plenty of things the tribes of Israel had to do during the past seven years. They had to build their homes. They had to clear their fields. They had to plow, plant, and harvest. But Joshua was concerned that in all their doing they would forget to drive out the nations that still dwelt in the land. The Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies but maybe they were starting to consider their enemy as their friend.
Joshua is about one hundred and ten years old. No wonder the first thing he says to the leaders of the nine and a half tribes was, “I am old, advanced in years.” (23.2) Joshua must had known that his years were coming to an end saying, “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth.” (23.14a) So, the Lord prompted Joshua to call the leaders of the nine and a half tribes together to give them some elderly advice. Joshua gathers them together to share from his heart the most important thing they needed to hear.
Joshua begins his address by giving glory to God saying, “you have seen all that the Lord
your God has done.” (23.3)It would have been easy for Joshua to focus on his leadership and military accomplishments, but he is far more interested in glorifying God than talking about himself. These leaders of the nine and a half tribes had seen all that the Lord their God had done for them. They had seen the Lord fight their battles as their conquered the Canaanite cities and took possession of the land. But when the conquest was completed and each tribe gain possession of their inheritance it was the responsibility of each individual tribe to drive out any remaining Canaanites from their midst. The Canaanite armies had been utterly defeated but, in many districts, the old inhabitants remained. And the reason was due mostly to the complacency of the Israelites.
After seven years it is easy to just accept things the way they are and not “rock the boat.” But Joshua knew that wasn’t the Lord’s plan. So, he exhorts these leaders saying, “The Lord
your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 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, so that you will 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. (23.5-7)Joshua doesn’t want these leaders to be comfortable with the complacency. He exhorts them to embrace their calling as leaders and rally the people of their tribes to finish the task.
I want you to notice that Joshua’s doesn’t call these leaders to action by focusing on a sense of duty. No, Joshua calls these leaders to action by focusing on their devotion to the Lord saying, “But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.” (23.8)
This word “cling” means to stick, to stay close, to cleave, to be joined together. It is the same word used in the familiar verse when the Lord instituted marriage saying, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen.2.24) I want you to see that cleaving brings oneness. In the same way a healthy marriage is not built on the foundation of duty, so it is with our relationship with the Lord. A marriage built on the foundation of duty will eventually collapse under the weight of obligation. But a marriage built on the foundation of devotion will become stronger and stronger as the years go pass. And so, it is with our relationship with the Lord. We must cling to the Lord our God. The New Testament word is “abide.” Jesus said, “He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit.” (Jn.15.5) You see, accomplishing the task is not the main thing. Clinging to the Lord is the main thing. If accomplishing the task is the main thing then after the task is accomplished, we are empty and alone. But if the clinging to the Lord is the main thing, then after the task is accomplished, we are full of God’s presence and God’s power. We are together with Lord. We are one with God.
Joshua reminds the leaders of the past and calls them to embrace the promises of God for the future saying, “For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.” (23.9-10) But to see this type of victory we must take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. (23.11) Again, we see Joshua telling these leaders that the premise for victory is based on their relationship with the Lord. The premise for victory is based on their love for the Lord. Joshua knew this from personal experience. As the leader of the Lord’s army, Joshua had countless victories, but his greatest triumph was his life-long love affair with the Lord. Brothers and sisters a life-long love affair with the Lord is not some mystical fantasy. A life-long love affair is something that requires deliberate diligence to maintain. It requires ongoing personal internal examine of the heart. It requires an individual to take diligent heed to themselves to love the Lord your God. As the Scripture says, “keep yourselves in the love of God. (Jd.1.21) Cultivating and maintaining this type of love affair with the Lord must be our greatest accomplishment.
Caution
But starting with verse twelve Joshua’s call transitions to issuing a caution. For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. (23.12-13)
Joshua cautions these leaders not to cling to the rest of these nations. This is the same word that we used in verse eight when Joshua called the leaders to “cling to the Lord.” Joshua is cautioning these leaders to not seek oneness with these remnant nations. Joshua cautions them not to compromise. If they do these nations will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes. Compromise always leads to consequences.
These leaders knew 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. (23.14) But Joshua stresses the fact that as sure as the blessings of the Lord are true so are His judgments saying, “It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” (23.15)
Maybe that’s why God’s Word is called a two-edged sword. (Heb.4.12)
An Illustration of our Sanctification
The Bible tells us that whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction. (Rom.15.4) So we must ask ourselves what Joshua’s address to the nine and a half tribes has to do with us today. And my response would be that Joshua’s address in chapter twenty-three is an illustration of our sanctification. Let me explain. Even though we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus we still have remnants of the flesh that linger. Yes, we are blessed with a glorious inheritance in Christ, but we still must wage war against the flesh. Like the children of Israel had seen all that the Lord had done driving out great and strong nations, so we have seen the Lord disarmed the powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col.2.15) Like the tribes of Israel had received from the Lord the inheritance of the land we have obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (IPt.1.4)
But just like after taking possession of their inheritance each tribe had to drive out the remaining Canaanites from their midst so each one of us who have received the possession of our inheritance in Christ must drive out the remaining remnants of the flesh in our lives. Things like pride, anger, lust, and envy must be driven out of our hearts and lives. But like the Israelites we can get caught up in the regular course of life and start considering these things as normal and acceptable. Like the Israelites we can become comfortable with complacency. We need the true Joshua, the Lord Jesus, to call us out of our conformity and challenge us to cling to the Lord. We need to take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God.
Joshua’s call and caution to the nine and a half tribes can be summed up by saying, “Don’t make friends with the enemy.” Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (Js.4.4) Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (IJn.2.15-17) God’s Word tells believers not to be bound together with unbelievers.(2Cor.6.14) Like I said earlier, compromise always leads to consequences.
Closing Thought
As Joshua concludes his address, we do not see any of the leaders respond. Joshua has poured out his heart and we don’t hear them say a word. Maybe they were in shock. Maybe they were ashamed. We simply don’t know. But I do know that doesn’t have to be the same for you and me. We have the opportunity this morning to respond to God’s Word repenting of our spiritual compliancy, our compromising of God’s standards, our conformity to the world, and respond to the true Joshua’s call to cling to the Lord and not to the world.