Joshua 23

Joshua 23 (take 3 minutes to read this passage)

    Have you ever had a friend who just couldn’t break free something or someone, even though he (or she) knew it was bad for them?  Maybe it was an addiction, or perhaps it was an ungodly friend or romantic relationship? Whatever it may have been, he (or she) knew it was spiritually harmful, but they just couldn't break free from it.

    

    In Joshua 23 we see how the Israelites were like this. We also see how important it is for us break free from these types of situations and to dedicate ourselves wholly to God.

    Verses 1-2 give us our context.  The Israelites have conquered much of the land, but there remains some occupied by various Canaanite people groups.  Meanwhile, Joshua is old and dying.  His days of leading the people in battle are over, so he calls the leaders together and he gives them a final charge.  This charge comprises the final two chapters of Joshua.  

    

    This charge includes three basic parts.  Firstly, he reminds them that God had been the One who drove out the nations from before them.  Moses constantly called the Israelites to remember this before they even approached the land.  Pride in taking the land would surely lead to losing it.  

    Secondly, Joshua exhorts them to finish the job.  If they failed to drive the evil nations out, they would intermix with them, which would, in turn, lead to idolatry.  If that happened, God would use those nations against them as a reminder of their disobedience.  We see exactly that scenario play out in the opening chapters of Judges.

    Thirdly, Joshua calls them to be diligent in loving God.  In Verse 8 he tells them to cleave (or grasp) to Him.  This was the only way that they would avoid idolatry.

    Now, you may be thinking, "What does this have to do with me?"  Well, we may not be called to fight physical wars, but we are called to spiritual warfare.  Ephesians 6 tells us that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the powers of spiritual darkness.  The Old Testament types are potent teaching tools that instruct us about spiritual warfare.  There are three basic lessons for us here.

    Firstly, God will help us to conquer our spiritual foes (Verse 5).  God has promised in the Old Testament and in the New that He will fight our battles for us.  He will do this both individually and corporately.  He helps us as individuals to fight our personal battles with sin and with those who are persecuting us because of Christ.  Corporately, He has promised that He will establish His Church and that not even the gates of hell will prevail against it!

    Secondly, God’s promises do not negate our need to fight our spiritual battles (Verses 6-10).  God's assurance of victory does not mean that we do not have to fight!  We see this in a couple of New Testament passages as well.

Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Ephesians 6:10-11: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

    The fact that God's promises to work in us and to be our strength does not mean that we do not have to pick up the armor of God and work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Sanctification is synergistic.  Everything that we do for God is a result of His work in us, but that doesn't mean that we sit back and do nothing.  As the old saying goes, He works in us, but not apart from us.

    Thirdly, if we compromise with our spiritual foes, God will use them against us (Verses 12-13).  If we get comfortable with our sins and refuse to drive them out, they will become "snares and traps...scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes."  If we prefer our sins to God, He will allow us to discover their vanity and darkness. 

Psalm 81:11-12: “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.”

    We see this also in Romans 1 where Paul twice speaks about God giving people up to their sins.  That is a horrible place to be, and, unfortunately, that's right where much of our nation and the Church is right now.

    As Christians who live in a relativistic, hedonistic culture, we need to be vigilant in our spiritual warfare.  We need to conquer our culture for Christ, starting with our own personal battles.  We do this by breaking free from the ways of the world and cleaving unto Yahweh our God (Verse 8).