December 18, 2009 (Joshua 16-24)

Joshua chapters 16-21 is all pretty much about the land being conquered and allocated to the different tribes. At the end of this section was the verse "None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. All of the good promises that the Lord had given Israel came true."

After that Joshua called all the people together and said this to them:

^{Joshua 22:1} Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ² He told them, “You have done as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and you have obeyed every order I have given you. ³ During all this time you have not deserted the other tribes. You have been careful to obey the commands of the Lord your God right up to the present day. ⁴ And now the Lord your God has given the other tribes rest, as he promised them. So go back home to the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you as your possession on the east side of the Jordan River. ⁵ But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home.

The thing that struck me about this was that they were "so good". They obeyed "every order". I was trying to figure out why? Maybe it's for two reasons. (1.) They had a job to do and so it kept them out of trouble. (2.) They had seen the punishment that God had inflicted upon their disobedience in the past, and it made them want to walk in obedience.

Joshua chapter 22 tells of how the people who were given land west of the Jordan river built an altar there. The people who had settled east of the Jordan river "freaked out" when they found out. They went to confront them as to why they built an altar other than the one "true" altar. As they confronted them, they recounted all the times they had sinned in the past and how God had killed so many because of that. And they didn't want that to happen again. The people in the west explained that they were not going to use it for sacrifices, but as a memorial to remind the people that even though a river separated them, they had a right to worship at the true altar. God's punishment in the past definitely got their attention.

I know some may disagree with me on this following point, pointing out that God is a God of love, but I have definitely seen His hand of "punishment" at times in my life. He does that to get our attention. "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept thy law." (That's somewhere in psalms...). And also: ^{Hebrews 5:7} While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. ⁸ Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. ⁹ In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

It's just like we, as parents, must do. If we let our children do whatever they want, with no regard for our "rules", we do them no favors. I hope Cooper learns obedience through learning to obey and be submissive to Chris and my authority. If he is not submissive to us, he will not be submissive to God.

And now we come to Joshua's final words. If I were on my death bed, my final words would be very important to me and to whom I was communicating with.

^{Joshua 23:6} “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. ⁷ Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them. ⁸ Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.

⁹ “For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. ¹⁰ Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them, ¹³ then know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! ¹⁵ But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. ¹⁶If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

For this next verse, I think of our military men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. I know God is able to keep them safe.

¹¹ “When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you... But I gave you victory over them. ¹² And I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory.

^{And again, we come back to the "choice" question - we all have a choice to make as to whom we will serve.}

^{Joshua 24:14} “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

²⁹ After this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. ³⁰ They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

³¹ The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel.

There is something to be said about having a personal relationship with God....about personally witnessing His miracles. But what about the kids? What about those who didn't personally witness the miracles, but heard stories from their parents and grandparents? Will they take them to heart, or will they be like Thomas after Jesus' resurrection? He wouldn't believe the reports of the other apostles but said “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” And here was Jesus' response: Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!

I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this verse as I continue reading, because I'm sure there will be plenty more disobedience to follow.