In a culture that is all about self-esteem and individual exceptionalism this chapter may be hard to accept. It is in our sin nature to exaggerate our accomplishments in order to take as much credit for our situation as possible. Unmerited grace is so hard for worldly men to accept. But for Joshua and those whom the Lord has blessed, we have been granted a more realistic view - we look to Christ and marvel at grace!
Chapters 23 and 24 records two farewell sermons delivered by Joshua to the leading men of Israel. The intent was for these sermons to be re-told to the entire nation. If Joshua merely wanted to assure his place in history he would have listed his accomplishments and perhaps mentioned those folks who influenced him or were helpful. Sort of like what we hear when someone wins an award of excellence or is recognized for some accomplishment - ‘I want to thank my mom, my friends, or my school”. But Joshua, as befits his role as God’s prophet, speaks on a spiritual level – he speaks about God’s grace and in terms of covenant.
1) Grace Joshua reminds them that the Lord had fought for them according to His promise (verse 3) and has driven off those nations who had formerly occupied Canaan (verses 4 & 9) - neither Joshua’s great leadership or their great courage was responsible for their victories but it was all by the power and grace of God. And that grace was in no way merited especially since they had clearly not been faithful in what they were commanded to do: destroy all the wicked Canaanites (verse 12 - “these which remain among you …”). Joshua also explains how the Lord will use even this disobedience to discipline them in the future (verse 13 - “but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes.” Snares, traps, whips, and thorns do not seem very loving but we are reminded that those whom the Lord loves he disciplines (Hebrews 12:11).
Even as he acknowledges their unfaithfulness, Joshua reminds them that the Lord is faithful to his covenant, and is ready to continue to work of liberating the land (verse 5). Joshua is saying that even though it is true that some Canaanites continue to remain, and in some places still very strongly situated, the Lord has given every encouragement to the people that He will continue to fight for them. A natural question must have occurred to Joshua, that is, since the great army was disbanded and the men of war had turned each one to his tribe, how might they wage war again? The Lord’s answer was this: “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” (verse 10). The lack of a mighty army was not the deciding factor – “The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength” (Psalm 3:16).
2) Obedience Joshua reminds them of the importance of obedience. In verse 6 Joshua reminds the people of what the Lord had already said to him and the words he had passed on to them many times since - “be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7). This reminder is not some sort of Old Testament legalism since the Lord Jesus Christ also makes a very similar comment to the disciples and to us, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). Joshua also give a prophetic warning, do not “… mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them” (verse 7) and continues with the consequences of disobedience, “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” (verse 16). As prophet Joshua was foretelling exactly what did happen to the later generations of Israel.
3) Old Age As he is about to pass from this world (“today I am going the way of all the earth” verse 14), Joshua makes several passionate pleas for believers:
a. to be firm and not turn from the righteous path (verse 6),
b. to cling to the Lord (verse 8),
c. to love the Lord your God (verse 11),
d. and to trust the Lord for He is faithful (verse 14).
Consider This:
1) Grace Just as the Israelites could not credit the great general Joshua or their individual bravery for past victories, we also cannot claim any merit to obtain God’s favor for salvation. Nor do we merit God’s favor in our present situation. For whatever we have received we have obtained by the grace of God. In a culture that is all about self esteem and individual exceptionalism this is a hard saying. Keeping grace in mind, we obtain great assurance of our proper place in the world. It is my opinion that verse 10 is often mis-quoted to imply that Christian have some sort of special power that assures the Lord’s assistance in whatever they might attempt. If we think that humankind is the measure of all things perhaps we might also think God is obligated to grant us worldly success.
A more biblical view is that this verse bears on the fact that the true church will usually appear powerless in the face of opposition. In the context of this sermon, Joshua is again reminding them that the Lord is the one who fights for His people. Yes, as believers, we are under His protection in whatever situation may come. Yes, we know He is working all things for His glory and for our good. And yes, even when we are unfaithful, God is faithful and through Christ we are no longer subject to rejection. Because of this we no longer see difficulties or suffering as punishment but rather as blessed discipline or His loving school of righteousness. But lack of riches or lack of popularity or even sickness ought not cause us to despair or fear that we are under God’s wrath. We trust a God who is too wise to be mistaken and too good to be unkind. Ultimately, we do not fear death because God will prevent our death—our fear of death is diminished because we know that God will sustain us through death and will deliver us into eternal life. With that bigger perspective, everything else becomes less significant as our faith increases.
2) Obedience We are made right with God not because of anything we have done – including our right decision to accept His offer of salvation. Of course, every believer must ’follow Christ’ and that is an act of our will. But no one follows Christ without the Holy Spirit first giving them a ’new’ heart that imparts that desire. As we saw in John 15:10, following Christ necessarily means we have a desire to keep his commandments. Keeping his commandments, especially for the new believer, means church membership and baptism; and progressive sanctification in holiness throughout his or her life. For one who refuses to join a fellowship of believers or refuses to be baptized or one who cares not for holiness: there is no assurance of salvation. For the converted, those who truly desires to follow Christ, there is great assurance of being justified with a changed heart which is the gift of God. Also, like the ancient Israelites, the Lord is faithful even when we are unfaithful. The Lord continues that work of sanctification throughout the believers’ life. Though we stumble and fall, the Lord will continue to fight for us.
3) Old Age In his old age, with death approaching Joshua said, “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth …” (verse 14). Look at this from the point of view of those who were listening to this sermon. They had followed Joshua since first entering the land of Canaan, crossing the river Jordan. Joshua was the visible hero for them – the shadow of the Christ to come – the liberator, the great warrior, the judge, and the prophet. All those things that the Christ to come would eventually fulfill in a greater manner by far. His sermon deliberately pointed the people away from himself toward greater fidelity to the Lord. Joshua recognizes that there is a powerful urge for men to focus on the Christ-like attributes of his leadership. He was concerned that with his death, they might be discouraged and might even forsake the true God. Joshua uses words like, be firm, cling to, love, and trust the Lord to encourage the people to true worship.
In our day there is also a great temptation to attribute Christ-like powers to men in leadership. It is also powerfully gratifying for men to accept the adulation of people. True, we should give proper respect and honor men in leadership, whether the husband, the father, the elders, or others in authority (Exodus 20:12). But the fifth commandment may never supersede the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Men in authority are given to us by God. Our temptation is to give them powers that exceed their proper limits. How else do we explain political leaders who repeatedly lie and yet continue to receive support from followers? How else do we explain religious leaders who, for many years, participate in egregious acts of immorality and yet have devoted followers who are willing to overlook ungodly behavior? The failure of our Christian leaders often precipitates many to doubt their faith. A realistic view of church leadership will recognize that all believers will struggle with sin throughout life in this world.
The fact that all believers will struggle with sin helps us to recognize the great value of church membership. Formal association with fellow believers is one of the means of grace that encourages all of God’s people toward holiness.
The other critical extreme is those who take great delight in pointing out every failure or error on the part of their leaders. Jesus spoke of those who “… look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). As believers we ought to be those who are willing to extend grace especially as recipients of that greater grace (see Jesus answer to Peter’s question about forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35). Of course, we ought not wink at sin, especially in the local church, but like the apostle said, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).
