7/1/2012
1. CHALLENGE TO REMAIN FAITHFUL (JOSHUA 23:1-16)
- In this chapter Joshua calls the leaders of Israel to courage and certainty.
- Jacob called his 12 sons about him and gave prophecies concerning each of them.
- Then Moses called the 12 tribes to him and blessed them.
- Now Joshua, who has been their leader for 40 years there in the Land of Promise, is giving them his final message before his death.
- Verses 1-10: The Last Message of Joshua
- Joshua is calling them to do what Moses had called them to do.
- The grave danger of facing an enemy in a strange land had kept Israel close to the Lord. Joshua recognized that now since they had entered into rest and were enjoying prosperity and plenty, they might drift away from God.
- God was testing us with prosperity -- it is the most dangerous period any people can go through.
- This is the reason Joshua is giving Israel this charge.
- If Israel would stay close to God and obey Him, then God would continue to bless them.
- Then Joshua warns them what will happen if they turn from God.
- Verses 11-16: Obedience or Punishment
- If they had been obedient to drive the occupants out; God would have continued to give them the power to do so and they would have enjoyed more of God’s blessings in their lives.
- How many of us here see things that use to shock us, even to blush at the thought, and after seeing it over and over, we are no longer shocked or bothered by it at all?
- It was a danger for the Israelites and it is still a danger for us today
2. CHALLENGE TO REMEMBER THE LORD’S FAITHFULNESS
(JOSHUA 24:1-13)
- Verses 1-13: Joshua recounts the history of God’s dealing with Israel to the present.
3. CHALLENGE TO CHOOSE THE LORD (JOSHUA 24:14-28)
3A. TAKE YOUR STAND (JOSHUA 24:14-15)
14 "Now, therefore, fear the
LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your
fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- "Therefore" points back to all that has been said thus far in this chapter.
- Everything God had promised them was fulfilled.
- They were "therefore" responsible to serve the Lord in sincerity and in truth, and to put away the false gods which their fathers had served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and to serve the Lord alone.
- Many become content with what they perceive to be their level of spiritual growth and they lose their incentive to continue to grow as a Christian.
- Questions to ask yourself:
- Have I reached an acceptable level of spiritual maturity?
- Am I willing to seek the Lord with all my heart?
- So long as anything else is given God's place in our hearts, there can never be the fullness of blessing that God would have us enjoy.
- Neutrality is not possible where God is concerned for God will not permit it!
15 And if it is disagreeable in
your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve:
whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the
gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD."
NASB
- Worship must always be a voluntary choice.
- Coerced worship is no worship at all.
- Miles Seaborn, Jr. – “From time to time, it would be a good idea for all of us to privately write down the things that we commit to change, add, or delete, by the power of the holy spirit, in order to clean our spiritual house.”
3B. REFUSE SHALLOW COMMITMENT (JOSHUA 24:16-18)
16 And the people answered and
said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other
gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of
the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in
our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all
the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 "And the LORD drove out from
before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also
will serve the LORD, for He is our God."
NASB
The response of the people in
v.16-18 was very good and no doubt at the moment they meant every word they
said; but time was to prove how untrustworthy the human heart is. Joshua
realized it and warned the people accordingly in v.19-20.
3C. COUNT THE COST (JOSHUA 24:19-25)
19 Then Joshua said to the
people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He
is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 If
you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm
and consume you after He has done good to you."
- Many people think they can do exactly as they please.
- It is true that God is a God of mercy, love, and comfort, but he is also a God of judgment.
21 And the people said to Joshua, "No,
but we will serve the LORD." 22 And Joshua said to the people, "You
are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD,
to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 23 "Now
therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your
hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we
will obey His voice." 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that
day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
NASB
- Today, all who have trusted in Christ, made a profession of faith, who have made a commitment to follow and to obey him, and are their own witnesses as to whether of not they have been obedient in serving him.
- In this life, God chastens those whom He loves.
- Our being our own witness applies to the following:
1.
If we do not properly follow the Lord, we are our own
witnesses to the need of and the righteousness of the chastening.
2.
Before the judgment seat all shall be their own
witnesses, for or against themselves, as to whether they have served the Lord in
righteousness and truth.
4. CHALLENGE TO LEAVE A POSITIVE LEGACY (JOSHUA
24:29-33)
- The death and burial of Joshua
- The burial of Joseph’s bones
- The death and burial of Eleazar the high priest
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