Remaining Faithful and Fearful Every day (Joshua 23: 1-16)

Welcome:

Welcome to today’s episode! Today we’re looking at Joshua’s final address to the leaders of Israel—a farewell that not only recounts God’s past victories but also issues a call for unwavering faithfulness. As Joshua prepares to step into the background, his words challenge us to remain both faithful in our devotion to God and fearful of the dangers of straying from His commands.

Episode Notes

• Joshua’s Farewell Address:
  • At the close of his military and leadership career, Joshua gathers the elders, judges, and officials of Israel to remind them of all that God has accomplished on their behalf.
  • His message is a blend of gratitude, exhortation, and warning as he reflects on God’s faithfulness in giving Israel the land and defeating their enemies.
• Key Themes:
  • God’s Faithfulness:
    • Joshua recounts how God fought for Israel, delivering victory and fulfilling every promise made to the patriarchs.
    • This historical fulfillment is a call to trust that the same faithful God will continue to work on our behalf.
  • Call to Obedience:
    • Joshua instructs the leaders to diligently obey God’s Law—walking in His ways, keeping His commands, and holding fast to Him.
    • He warns against even the subtle drift toward idolatry or unholy alliances, which can undermine the blessings they’ve received.
  • Being Faithful and Fearful:
    • The dual call is clear: as recipients of God’s unwavering grace, we must be equally committed in our obedience (faithful) and mindful of the consequences of turning away (fearful).
    • Joshua reminds them that while God’s blessings are sure, deviation from His commands brings severe, corrective discipline.
• Practical Applications:
  • Personal Commitment: Reflect on your own life—how can you remain steadfast in your relationship with God, even when challenges arise?
  • Guard Against Compromise: Stay alert to the subtle influences that can lead you away from God's commands.
  • Embrace God’s Discipline: Understand that loving discipline is a sign of God’s fatherly care; it is meant to guide you back to the path of righteousness.
  • Unified Community: Whether in your church or family, let this message encourage you to hold fast to a shared commitment to honor God, reinforcing both individual and collective faithfulness.

Enjoy the episode and be inspired to live with wholehearted devotion to the Lord!

Transcript

Remaining Faithful and Fearfull Every Day.  (Joshua 23:1-16)

Transcript:

As we journey through the book of Joshua, we’ve witnessed his courageous leadership, battle after battle, leading Israel to victory. However, Joshua concluded his career not in death or on the battlefield, but by after successfully completing his campaigns and offering a farewell address.

Remarkably, Joshua will give not one, but two farewell addresses: one to the leaders here in chapter 23 and another to all the people in chapter 24, which we will look at tomorrow.

But today, our focus is on what he said to the leaders just before he steps away from active leadership and steps into the background.

At this point the tribes had settled in the land they had conquered, a historic moment for Israel. And in Joshua 23, we see him addressing the leaders, the elders, judges, and officers and gives a clear call to the leaders of Israel and it is a call to be faithful, but also to be fearful….

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

1 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 

(Joshua 23: 1-12)

In verses 1 and 2, Joshua, reminds them, “I am old.” To put that into perspective, he was 78 when Israel entered the land, 85 when the conquest was completed, and will be 110 at the time of his death. 

His acknowledgment of his age serves as both personal admission and a moment to reflect on the journey they have shared.

3 You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain, the nations I conquered between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.

6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

(Joshua 23: 3-8)

From verses 3 through 8, Joshua then recounts what the Lord has done for Israel. He tells the leaders: “You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations, reminding them that it was He who has fought for them.” He also reminds them that God divided the land among the tribes by lot, cutting off the nations as far as the great sea to the west. 

More importantly, Joshua promises that the Lord will continue to expel the remaining enemies so that they may fully possess the land God had promised.

In this simple yet intense message, Joshua underscores the faithfulness of God. His words affirm that the victories of the past are evidence of God’s unwavering support, and they also serve as a guarantee for future success. 

However, even though the major battles have been won, a few challenges remain. Yet, Joshua’s message is clear: just as God fought for them in the past, He will remain faithful in the days to come.

One can imagine the impact of these words on the assembled leaders. Many likely reflected and thought, where they were today was largely because of Joshua’s leadership. He was not only a brilliant military strategist but also a courageous leader who planned and led Israel to victory. His guidance had been indispensable; without him, the nation of Israel would not even have reached the land of promise, never mind conquered it.

As we work through this chapter today I hope we can see that God’s faithfulness is not just a thing of the past—it is a promise for the future. 

Just as Joshua led Israel into a victorious inheritance, so too, I believe, we can we trust in God’s guidance and provision in our lives today. 

Without leaders like Joshua, who combined divinely inspired strategies with courageous action, the journey would have been impossible. And today, as we face our own challenges, may can draw strength from the same faithfulness that sustained Israel then and continues to sustain us now, today.

Joshua speaks not like a coach congratulating his team after a win, but as one who has been through the heart of the battle with them. He reminds the leaders plainly: “God fought for you. God gave you victory. God has been faithful.” In Psalm 44, the psalmist writing at least 500, maybe 1000 years later will later recalls these historic deeds, declaring:

“We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what deeds You did in their days, in the days of old. How You drove out the nations with Your hand, how You planted them, afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. They did not win the land by their own sword, nor did their arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance because You favored them.”

This psalm echoes Joshua’s message to the leaders. It wasn’t our own strategy, cleverness, or strength that brought victory, it was the sovereign hand of God, who promised and delivered. Because of His faithfulness, we stand victorious today.

But, Joshua also gives the leaders direction on how they should apply this faithfulness of God in the future. In verse 6, he begins: “Therefore, be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law.” 

Pause here and notice the word “therefore.” Joshua is connecting God’s past deeds with a present call to action. 

Having witnessed God fight for you and fulfill His promises, you are now commanded to obey His Law without deviation and to avoid drifting to the right or left or going the way of the people around you.

The instructions grow even more specific in the following verses. Joshua issues a clear prohibition against idolatry. In verse 7 he instructs the people not to:

·        Mention the names of other gods,

·        Cause anyone to swear by those names,

·        Serve them,

·        Bow down to them.

In effect, Joshua warns them to not even casually utter the names of these idols. 

One commentator I read helpfully explained that the everyday habitual mention of an idol’s name could gradually diminish the natural suspicion and abhorrence you should feel. Have you ever thought about the fact that swearing at something can more easily than you would imagine change into swearing by them.

Swearing by them will in turn ultimately lead to serving and worshipping them. The progression may be to slow to notice day by day or even, year by year, but this type of demonic mission creep is real. A simple acknowledgement might lead to deeper involvement until, before you know it, you’re bowing down to false gods.

In verse 8, Joshua reinforces the positive command: hold fast to the Lord your God, just as you have done so far. He is not accusing anyone of failing, he is  just urging you to continue in the faithfulness that has brought you victory. 

The thrust of his main message is unmistakable: Because God has been faithful, you must be equally faithful to Him. Do not be lured by the idols of the land.

Now, consider its application for us today. 

While you may think you are not facing the temptation to worship wooden idols, the principle remains the same. The New Testament also teaches us to hold fast to the true God and not be swayed by false gods in our modern lives. But how we apply this principle in our daily walk with God.

The apostle Paul in the New Testament visits and reinforces this same principle in 2 Corinthians 6. 

In it Paul warns us; “Not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion has light with darkness? In other words, Paul is addressing the issue of idolatry in modern everyday real-world relationships.

In the following verse, he explains that a believer should not have any part with an unbeliever. The implication is clear: God has been faithful to you. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have experienced God’s faithfulness right where you are today. Your response should be to remain faithful to the Lord.

Some of you listening might be single, and part of your application of faithfulness  you need to make is a commitment not to be married to an unbeliever, this is explicitly clear in the teaching of Paul and the words of Jesus himself.. 

There’s a progression here, and it’s no coincidence that Scripture advises against marrying an unbeliever. Such a union, as seen evidences in the story of Solomon, can lead you away from the Lord. 

The message is simple: because God has been faithful to you, you must be equally faithful to Him. If you remain single, do so in the will of God; if you marry, ensure that your partner is also a believer, someone who desires to walk with Jesus Christ, all the final detail of that denomination, etc are secondary to that core principle.

But there’s more help. Paul also warns against idolatry in Colossians, when speaking of covetousness, which is the danger of desiring something to the point where it takes over your life. 

When you mention an idol’s name, swear by it, or serve it, even if you don’t bow down to it, you risk letting it become the object of your life.

In other words, when you hold on to anything other than the Lord, you’re slowly drifting away from Him. Joshua’s point is consistent with that: God has been faithful, so remain faithful to Him which means avoiding any form of idolatry.

Joshua then moves to a second point in verses 9 through 13. 

9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God. 12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

(Joshua 23: 9-13)

He reminds the leaders that “the Lord has driven out from before them great and strong nations, and no one has been able to stand against them to this day. 

Here again, the message is clear: God’s faithfulness is not just a promise for the past but a guarantee for the future. The odds may seem overwhelming at time (one man after a thousand is the example used). But with the Lord fighting for you, the numbers no longer matter. It’s not your strength alone that brings victory; it is the Lord who has done the fighting, and it is He who delivers the victory.

Romans 8:31 tell us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” That verse is a constant reminder that if God is still on your side, no opposition can prevail. 

This is exactly what Joshua is saying: God has fought for you. He is on your side, empowering you to overcome even the most insurmountable odds. 

But in the bigger story we also saw that when sin crept into the camp, God’s presence receded, and defeat followed. 

But as long as the people remained in step with the Lord, victory after victory was assured.

This is the essence of faithfulness: because God has been faithful to fulfill His promises, your response must be to hold fast to Him, reject all forms of idolatry, and remain united with fellow believers.

I find that message powerfully reassuring. It reminds me that every battle I face is one I share with the Lord. Just as Joshua reminded the leaders that the soldiers may have swung their swords and entered the fray, but it was God who delivered the victory. 

Building on that truth, Joshua again then makes another direct application. In verse 11, he exhorts the leaders: “Take diligent attention to love the Lord your God…” 

In other words, be fervent in your commitment to Him. If you allow yourselves to cling to the remnants of the nations around, you, in other words if you intermarry or align yourselves with them you risk drifting away from the Lord. Joshua warns that such alliances can become dangerous.

He drives the point home in verse 13 by declaring that if you intermix with these nations, the Lord will no longer drive them out from before you. Instead, they will become snares, and whips to their backs, and thorns in your eyes to the point that they could die out and loose the good land the Lord has given you. 

This vivid imagery reminds us that forsaking the Lord has painful consequences.

The message is clear: God’s faithfulness is a two-edged sword. When we remain faithful to Him, He blesses and protects us. But if we stray, if we allow ourselves to be drawn away by false influences or compromise our devotion then God will faithfully chasten us. 

Instead of receiving His victory, you will find yourself overpowered by those you once sought to avoid.

To put it in modern terms, think of it like this: if you forsake the Lord for the allure of worldly values or relationships that don’t honor Him, you’re setting yourself up for defeat. If you compromise your faith to fit in with worldly culture, you risk being rejected by both God and ironically those you are trying to please.

When we have just enough of God in us to set us apart from the world but not enough to truly please Him, we suffer on both sides. 

Joshua reminds us, "God has been faithful to you." Yet if we forsake Him, the very things we pursue will become a scourge at our side and a thorn in our eye.

14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

(Joshua 23: 14-16)

In verse 14, Joshua declares, "Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth." This ancient expression signifies his journey into eternity.

Throughout this passage, Joshua drives home one simple truth—repeated three times—that God is faithful. In verse 15, he steps up the rhetoric and warns that if you transgress the covenant by serving other gods or bowing down to them, the also the anger of the Lord will burn against you. 

God will allow harmful things to come upon you until you are driven from the good land He has given you. In short, if you forsake the faithful God, He will remain faithful but that faithfulness can also be experienced in his chastisement, and His judgment.

This is a call to be both faithful and fearful. A dual reminder that while God blesses those who love and obey Him, He also disciplines those who stray. 

As James teaches, those who honor the Lord are blessed in their deeds. The promises of Scripture are certain. God has promised salvation through Jesus Christ, and He assures us that if we abide in Him, our prayers will be answered.

But think also of the loving discipline of a true faithful father. A good father delights in his children’s joy, spends time with them, and plays with them. Yet, he also knows that part of true faithfulness is setting boundaries and correcting behavior when necessary. Just as a devoted father uses discipline to guide his children back on track, so too will our faithful father God bring discipline into our lives when we turn away from Him.

The message remains clear: God is faithful. If you love and follow Him, He will fulfill every promise and bless you abundantly. But if you forsake Him, the very pursuits you chase will eventually turn against you, inflicting the painful consequences of judgment.

So that the wisdom in the passage today and I hope that these truths sink deep into your heart. 

Friends, choose to walk with the Lord every day, embrace both His blessings and His loving discipline. In doing so, you will experience the profound joy of a life fully committed to Him, and you will avoid the misery that comes from being only partially devoted. 

Remember always: God's faithfulness calls us to be equally faithful, and to awestruck by Him in every part of our lives.

I say to you, God is faithful. That means we too ought to be faithful and we ought to be fearful, every day.