Joshua Review

We will review some of the things we learned from Joshua.  The first is that the earthly leadership of God's people changes, but God does not.  Moses was dead, and Joshua took his place.  Our faith today should never be in a earthly leader of the church, the people of God.  Even in the local fellowship of believers, the earthly leadership is going to change, but God's leadership will not.  We also see that lack of faith can cause us to wander in the wilderness, but if we return to faithfulness in God then we can go where God wants us to be.  A whole generation, except for Joshua and Caleb, were denied access to the promised land.  They were still God's chosen people, but they didn't receive all the benefits from being God's people.   A lack of faith on our part as followers of Christ today may keep us from enjoying all the blessings that God has in store for us, but that does not mean that we are not a part of His people if we have truly accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We also see that even though they already had the land promised to them, that the two and a half tribes were still responsible for helping the rest of the people of Israel to possess the rest of the promised land.  Just because we feel secure and prosperous in the world as followers of Christ does not exempt us from helping others, especially fellow Christians, in their struggles.  I don't believe that God blesses us just so we can enjoy His blessings and ignore those less fortunate.  I do not see anywhere in the Bible where God said keep it all for yourself, but I find many examples where He said share with others.  Even the feeding of the five thousand began with one person, a boy, sharing what he had to help the others.  Also, we see that if we look to God instead of at the problem, then we will be successful.  The people that the Israelites were going to war with had not changed in the years that the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness, nor had God.  Once they put their faith in God, they went over the Jordan to claim the land promised to them by God.  If we put our faith in God, even those enemies that once seemed so insurmountable will seem small.  It is always a question of faith in God.      

Joshua 24:26

Joshua 24:26 says, And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.  Joshua recorded the words of their covenant in a book of the law of God.  God's word has been preserved for ages by His people, and we today have the completed book of God, the Bible.  He placed the book close to the sanctuary,  Verse twenty-seven states, And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.  Joshua said that the stone that he set up would be a memorial to the people of Israel and their covenant with God.  The cross is our symbol of our covenant with God today.  Joshua said that God had heard all the words that the people of Israel had said to Him that day, when they promised to be faithful to Him, just as He will hear any person who promises to be obedient to Him today.  Just as the stone was their witness, the Holy Spirit is our witness to let us know if we are straying away from God.  Verse twenty-eight declares, So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.  Joshua then let the people go to their own inheritance, or homes.  They had committed themselves to God as a group, but it would be up to each individual to keep that commitment in the world.  We today gather together as churches, local fellowships of believers, where we profess our obedience to God, but then we go to our separate homes, where it is up to us individually to remain true to God.  Verse twenty-nine states, And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.  After this, Joshua died, and once again the people of Israel were without an earthly leader.  Those who lead the church today will die, but God is still in charge.  We have a personal relationship with God through our faith in Christ which is not dependent on any earthly person, so when one leader dies, we can be certain that God will call another until the time of the return of Christ.  Verse thirty adds, And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.  We are told where they buried Joshua.  This does not mean that we need to attempt to find his burial place today though.  Joshua is not there, but he is in heaven with his Savior, Jesus Christ, even though Jesus did not come until centuries later.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.  The people of Israel continued to serve the LORD all the days of Joshua and the elders who out lived him who knew the LORD and His works.  I don't believe that means that every person followed God, but that the people as a whole did.  Likewise, not every person who is a Christian or proclaims themselves to be one will always be totally obedient to God's word and will.  Verse thirty-two adds, And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.  Joseph's bones, which had been brought out of Egypt, were buried in a parcel of ground bought by Jacob.  The people of Israel had been in the promised land before until they went into Egypt.  If we have made a sincere profession of faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we have a home in our promised land, heaven.  We may have to struggle through this world below, but we can be certain that God will bring us safely home, just as He did the Israelites.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.  Eleazar, the high priest, the son of Aaron, died as well and was buried.  The old leaders were passing away, so it would be time for new leaders to arise.  There remained the question of whether they would or not.  As has been stated many times, we as followers of Christ are just a generation away from total lack of believers.

Joshua 24:14

Joshua 24:14 says, Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.  Joshua called on the people of Israel to put away the other gods that they had once had in their lives in Egypt and on the other side of the flood, and to serve the only true God in sincerity and truth.  We, as Christians, can substitute the cross for Egypt and the flood, and we need to put away anything that was a god to us before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Then we are to serve God in sincerity and truth.  Verse fifteen declares, And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Joshua called on them to make a choice.  They could either choose to serve some false god or the one true God.  There were many other gods to choose to worship, from those worshipped before the flood to those of the people of the land the people of Israel had just conquered.  We today must at some point choose whether we are going to serve the gods of this world or the God Who created this world.  Everyone will choose one or the other by their acceptance or rejection of Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Joshua said that he and his family chose to serve the true God.  We really can't make that determination for our family, but we can and should point them to Christ.  Verse sixteen states, And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;  The people of Israel proclaimed faith in God.  This did not mean that they all would remain faithful to God though.  It is one thing to proclaim ourselves to be faithful to God, but the proof will come when we are faced with temptation or a fearful situation.  Verse seventeen adds, For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:  The people professed that God had delivered them from Egypt and bondage.  Christ has already delivered everyone from the bondage of sin today, if people will only accept that deliverance by putting their faith in Him.  Verse eighteen continues, And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.  They testified to what God had done for them, just as we must testify to what God has done for us today if we are followers of Christ.  Verse nineteen declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.  Then verse twenty adds, If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.  Joshua warned the people of Israel that they could not serve God and serve false gods at the same time.  He said God was  jealous God, expecting their total allegiance and He still is today.  We cannot serve God effectively and allow anything to become more important to us than He is.  Verse twenty-one says, And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.  Once again, the people declared there obedience to God.  I believe that we must each day declare our obedience to God, or we may find ourselves chasing after the things of this world, which in effect become gods to us, since they become more important than our relationship to God.  Verse twenty-two declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.  Joshua said that their declaration of obedience to God served as a witness against them.  When we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ, our words of faith serve as a witness against us.  If we are not sincere in our profession of faith, or if we later falter in our relationship with God, we alone are responsible.  Verse twenty-three adds, Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.  Joshua charged them to put away any strange gods, just as we must today.  Verse twenty-four states, And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.  The people of Israel once again stated that they would serve the LORD their God.  Joshua made the choice very clear, and every time the people of Israel said they would serve the Lord.  Though salvation is a one time decision that lasts forever, we must daily choose whether or not we are going to allow God to be first in our life.  Verse twenty-five declares, So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.  Just as Joshua made a covenant with the people, we as followers of Christ make a covenant with Him, and then we are called on to daily fulfill our part of the covenant.  Christ has already fulfilled His, when He died for us on the cross.

Joshua 24:1

Joshua 24:1 says. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.  Joshua gathered all the leaders of Israel to Shechem to present themselves to God.  They were not there simply to appear before Joshua, even if he was their leader.  They were there to appear before God.  When governmental leaders gather today, it would be good if they appeared before God first and foremost.  Verse two states, And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.  Joshua told the people what God had to say to them.  He reminded them first of where the came from, before the flood and to the time of Abraham.  Joshua said that they had worshipped other gods at that time.  We need to occasionally remember where we came from before accepting Christ as our Savior and Lord, when we worshipped other gods, so that we never forget God's gracious gift of salvation.  Verse three says,  And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.  Joshua then reminded them of God's promise to Abraham and His fulfillment of that promise, through Isaac.  God made Abraham a great nation through his one son of promise, Isaac.  God makes His great nation today through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Verse four states, And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. Then, Joshua reminds them of Jacob and Esau, and Jacob going into Egypt.  Verse five declares, I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.  Joshua was now getting closer to their time, when Moses and Aaron had delivered the people of Israel from Egypt by the power of God.  I believe that we should always remember the day that God delivered us from the bondage of sin by our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  If we have not done this, then the Bible is just another book instead of the divine word of God.  Verse six adds, And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.  Joshua reminds them of the faithers coming to the Red Sea as they were departing Egypt.  Sometimes, we have to reach the point of total despair before we turn to God for deliverance, but the good news is that He will always be there to deliver us, unless we do say no to Him too many times.  Verse seven says, And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season  Joshua said that when the people cried out to God that He delivered them, and that the people gathered there knew personally what had occurred during the wilderness wanderings.  We may only know of what happened to the people of God in the past from reading about it, but if we are a follower of Christ, then we know personally about what has happened in our lives as we wandered in the wilderness of sin before accepting Christ.  Verse eight states, And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.  Joshua said that God brought the people of Israel into the land of the Amorites and gave it to them.  God was responsible for them being where they were and for their victory over their enemies, just as He is responsible for our salvation and victory over our spiritual enemies today.  Verse nine adds, Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:  Joshua then reminds them of one particular enemy, Balak, who rose against them in the name of his god Balaam.  We today are going to have many spiritual enemies if we are Christians.  Verse ten declares, But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.  Joshua said thst he would not harken to Balaam, so God delivered them from Balak.  God will always deliver us from the forces of evil around us, if we remain faithful to Him.  Verse eleven adds, And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.  Joshua then spoke of their victory over the people in the land on this side of the Jordan.  This was all accomplished by the power of God.  Verse twelve continues, And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.  Joshua reminded them that God had defeated two kings, not with the sword, but with hornets.  We may not have the strongest weapons today, but we will always have the strongest God if we are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen concludes, And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.  God gave the people of Israel the land, just as He will give us our heavenly home today if we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Just as the people of Israel did not work for the promised land, neither can we work for our salvation.  Just like the promised land, salvation is a gift from God because of His mercy to us.

Joshua 23:11

Joshua 23:11 says, Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.  This is still Joshua's command to the Israelites, and it is a good command for the followers of Christ today.  We need to take good heed, or make sure that we are committed to loving Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Though salvation comes once and for all time for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, it is continual commitment to allow Him to be Lord.  Verse twelve states, Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:  Joshua warned the people of Israel if they did not remain committed to God that they could be drawn back into sinful relationships.  The same is true for Christians today.  We cannot compromise our faith in God in any aspect, no matter how appealing it may be to do so.  Joshua spoke specifically about marrying outside the people of Israel, but there are many other ways to be led astray besides marrying outside the faith of those who are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen declares, Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.  Joshua told the people that they should know for a certainty that God had already driven the enemies of Israel out and that He wouldn't do it again.  God had given them the victory and He expected them to remain faithful to Him, and as long as they did, there would be no need to drive out any other people.  God gives us victory over sin through our faith in Christ, but He does not remove all temptation from our life.  It is only as we remain faithful to Christ in our everyday life that we are victorious over sin.  Though we are commanded to go into the world, we are also reminded to not allow the things of the world to begin to rule us.  Verse fourteen adds, And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.  Joshua said that he was going to die, but that the people needed to remember that God had not failed them in any way.  God had fulfilled His promise to them in all aspects.  They had not claimed the promised land of their own power, but by the power of God.  God has not and never will fail us in any promise that He has made to us, and this is something that we should remember daily.  Religious leaders may die, but God's word does not die with them.  Verse fifteen continues, Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.  Joshua warned the people of Israel that just as God had brought all good things to them when they were faithful to Him that He could allow all evil things to come upon them if they turned away from Him.  When we falter in our faith in God, we should not be surprised that evil comes into our life.  Verse sixteen concludes, When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.  Joshua said there was a penalty for serving other gods, and that was that God would drive them out of the land that He had given them.  If we have truly accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we will never lose our heavenly home, but we will lose the joy of our salvation.  We cannot afford to allow anything in this world to come between God and us.

Joshua 23:1

Joshua 23:1 says, And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.  Several years after God had given peace to Israel, Joshua was old and age was beginning to catch up with him.  No matter how successful we are in doing God's work, age will eventually slow us down, some more quickly than others.  Verse two states, And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:  Joshua gathered all the other leaders of Israel together and told them that he was old and stricken with years.  He knew that the could not lead them forever, and he was preparing them for that.  Whether we are a leader or a follower in God's kingdom, we must realize that we will not live on this earth forever, and we must be prepared for new leadership to come in to do God's work.  Verse three adds, And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.  Joshua reminded them of all that they had done through the leadership and power of God.  Joshua did not take the credit, but gave it to the people and more importantly to God Who had impowered them.  We must not attempt to take the credit for what God is doing today, but must give the credit to all Christians who are working under the power and leadership of God.  We like Joshua will not be here forever, so we must be teaching others to take our place under God's leadership and power.  Verse four declares, Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.  Joshua said that he had divided the land between them by lot, or according to God's will.  Today, if we are followers of Christ, He will gives us different blessings according to His will, but even then they are temporary.  The things God blesses us with here on earth like all things will eventually pass away.  Verse five adds, And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.  Joshua said that God, and not Joshua himself, would drive out all their enemies.  When one earthly Christian leader gets old and can no longer serve today, we need to realize that it is God Who is in charge and brings success and peace and not a particular person.  Verse six warns, Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;  Joshua called on the people of Israel to remain true to the teachings of the laws of God that had been give to them by Moses.  It was not Moses' law, but God's law.  They were  warned to not turn away from God's law in any way.  We are still to follow God's law today, even though we are saved by the grace of God, as they really were in Joshua's day.  Verse seven adds, That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:  Joshua reminded the people of Israel that that they were not to intermingle with the rest of the world and begin to give credit to their gods.  We today, though we are to be in the world physically, must always be separate from the world spiritually.  We cannot allow any other god to come into our lives and still effectively serve and worship God.  Verse eight continues, But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.  Joshua told them to stay close to God as they had one so far.  We too must continue to stay close to God. as we always are when we first accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse nine declares, For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.  Joshua said that when God was with them that no one had been able to stand before them.  It was not the power of the people, but the power of God that made them successful, just as it is for us today.  Then verse ten adds, One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.  Joshua sad that one man of Israel would chase a thousand under the leadership and power of God.  We need to realize this today.  No matter how powerful the people who oppose God may seem, they cannot stand before the power of God.  If we as his followers truly believe this, then we never have a reason to fear the forces of evil in the world.

Joshua 22:30

Joshua 22:30 says, And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.  Phinehas and a few of the heads of the tribes had come ready to pronounce the doom of these two and a  half tribes because they thought that they were being disobedient to God.  When they herd the explanation of the tribe of  Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, they were pleased.  We as followers of Christ cannot simply go ready to condemn others, especially fellow believers, because of what we think they are doing, but we must instead go under the guidance of God and get the facts about what they are doing.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.  Phinehas, again identified as the son of Eleazar the priest, was the spokesman.  He said that the rest of the nation now perceived that the LORD had not left them because of the actions of these two and a half tribes.  We should never assume that God is going to leave us because of the worship practices of others, but I do believe that we should always question practices that may seem to be inconsistent with God's word, not to condemn others but to at least attempt to make them aware of what we believe to be contrary to God's word.  Some people who profess to follow and worship God and pronounce themselves to be a part of His people include beliefs and practices in their worship service and even daily life that are not in accordance with the Bible.  Some even attempt to rewrite the Bible, and we cannot accept this.  Verse thirty-two adds, And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.  Phinehas and the others went back home.  When we are certain that other believers are living in accordance to the word of God and under His leadership, we need to simply leave them to their worship and know that they are a part of God's people.  Verse thirty-three continues, And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.  The rest of the people of Israel were pleased with the report and decided that they did not have to go to war with the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.  It is never a good thing for those who call themselves Christians to go to war with each other.  Of course, I do believe that we have a responsibility to make sure that what we are doing in the name of God is in accordance with the Bible, and we should question any practice that does not seem to be.  This should all be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.  The people of Reuben and Gad proclaimed the altar to be a witness between the LORD and them.  Whatever we do in worship of God today as Christians should be done as a witness between God and us.  We may not all worship the same way, but we all worship the same God, the only true and living God, if we are followers of Christ.