Joshua 23:1 – 16
“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, summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 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. 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. 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.
“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. 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. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
“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, 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.
“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. 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. 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 knows that his time is limited, and he’s going to die quite soon. Joshua also has no illusions regarding the character of the Israelites; they are as fickle as the sheep that Moses used to herd. But words spoken by an elder at the end of his life still hold great significance in this culture, so Joshua is doing his best to instruct, encourage, and warn the Israelites one last time. What are Joshua’s messages to his people?
- It is the Lord who has fought for the Israelites and who has empowered Joshua to accomplish the things he has done.
- The Israelites need to follow God’s commands given to Moses explicitly, not joking with them or attempting to modify them.
- The Israelites must be extremely careful to avoid all the practices of the Canaanites; if they are stupid enough to embrace Canaanite practices, God will destroy them and they will perish from the land!
APPLICATION: Few things are scarier than having to turn over an organization, an institution, or a business, to one’s successors. You might have begun with the most sterling of values and the highest of motives; however, unless you succeed in getting others to catch your vision, the whole focus can change once you are out of the picture.
Here Joshua is doing his best to advise the Israelites and to warn them. But it’s possible that even as Joshua is saying these words, there are already young men standing at the back of the crowd, just waiting for him to be gone so that they can take over and do things the way they want. Although Moses mentored Joshua, there is no record of Joshua mentoring any one person. Who knows? It’s quite possible that Joshua may have made several attempts to find someone to serve as his assistant and his trainee, only to be disappointed. When all men can think of is loot, their ideas of leadership narrow down to how much larger their shares might be if they were leaders. Even though Joshua has gathered all the elders, leaders, judges, and officials together, there is nothing to indicate that any of them will be capable of succeeding Joshua. It’s likely that Joshua realizes that God is the only One who can develop a successor.
SERVANTHOOD LEADERSHIP! Jesus Christ gave us the best example of a servant/leader. Matthew 20:28 says, “the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus came into the world, already knowing that he would die for the sins of those around him. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he washed the feet of all the disciples, including those of Judas Iscariot, who was just waiting to run to the high priests so he could earn his thirty pieces of silver.
As we are winding up our studies in Joshua, let’s remember that Joshua’s name could equally be spelled “Jesus.” There is no record of Joshua amassing large amounts of loot; the only town Joshua wanted was Timnath Serah. Throughout Joshua’s life, he did what was necessary, facing overwhelming odds and discouragement. And yet, Joshua is one of the finest men portrayed in the Bible. If Joshua’s battle accounts may have made things seem a bit rosier than they actually were, he was only following the common practices of that day.
Each of us has a choice: we can be Joshua and Jesus – style leaders, or we can take advantage of our situations to amass as much wealth and power as possible. But remember what Proverbs 27:23 – 24 tells us. “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.”
Psalms 90:12 tells us, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Joshua lived out his days with a heart of wisdom. May all of us follow his sterling example!
PRAYER: Father God, help us to realize that You are the most important possession we can have and that the knowledge of You is better than any wealth. Help all in authority to be servant leaders and not tyrants. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
March 13, 2022 at 4:48 pm
Trustworthy in small trustworthy in large. Joshua had quite a few that served him well, maybe battle burnout and the reality of the rebelliousness of the Israelites put applicants off the task. Well said and I like how you ponder what Joshua did or didn’t do to fine a successor. God seems to pick one per generation, but they do not always meet like Elijah and Elisha