Joshua 23: Passing the Torch
Theological Proposition/Focus: God seeks for each of his people to develop Godly character.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: Godly, character stems from faithfulness to God through a variety of situations. Therefore, Godly character cannot be evaluated in a moment but rather through the process of living life.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Image: No matter what happens, games are never won or lost in a single moment.
- 1.2 Need: We need to develop Godly character and look for Godly character in those we follow.
- 1.3 Preview: Today we are going to look at Godly character, not the sort of character that is defined in a moment but the sort of character that comes of a lifetime of service. We will see that Godly character remains faithful to God himself, regardless of the environment, and independent of the transition one finds themselves within.
- 1.4 Setting the Stage:
- 2 Body
- 2.1 Godly character remains faithful to God himself (6-8).
- 2.1.1 Remaining faithful to God means remaining faithful to his commands (6).
- 2.1.2 Remaining faithful to God means rejecting any false gods (7).
- 2.1.3 Remaining faithful to God means loyally binding oneself to God (8).
- 2.1.4 Image: We put a lot of faith in welds. The average car has 4,000 welds
- 2.1.5 MTR: Bind yourself to God by committing to him alone.
- 2.2 Godly character remains faithful in any environment (9-13).
- 2.2.1 Being faithful in any environment is rooted in recognizing God's past faithfulness (9-10).
- 2.2.1.1 Joshua noted that God:
- 2.2.1.1.1 Drove out the enemies.
- 2.2.1.1.2 Made Israel unstoppable.
- 2.2.1.1.3 Gave individuals super-human accomplishments.
- 2.2.1.1.4 Fights for Israel.
- 2.2.1.1.5 Fulfills His promises.
- 2.2.1.1.6 Godly character does not whimsically declare confidence in God but rather reflectively declares confidence in God.
- 2.2.1.1 Joshua noted that God:
- 2.2.2 Being faithful in any environment stems from loving God (11).
- 2.2.3 Being faithful in any environment requires recognizing the presence of temptations(12-13).
- 2.2.3.1 Joshua was real with the people, there were significant temptations.
- 2.2.3.2 We need to be real about the presence of temptations.
- 2.2.3.3 Joshua was real with the people, there would be consequences.
- 2.2.3.4 We need to be real about the consequences.
- 2.2.4 MTR: Consider the environment you are in today what do you need to recognize if you are to remain faithful?
- 2.2.1 Being faithful in any environment is rooted in recognizing God's past faithfulness (9-10).
- 2.3 Godly character remains faithful even in transition (14-16).
- 2.3.1 Faithfulness in the midst of transition recognizes the reality of transition (14).
- 2.3.2 Faithfulness in the midst of transition recognizes the primacy of God (14).
- 2.3.3 Faithfulness in the midst of transition is a must (15-16).
- 2.3.4 Image: A church in transition must put their focus on God
- 2.3.5 MTR: Determine to put your eyes on God and not any mere human.
- 2.1 Godly character remains faithful to God himself (6-8).
Introduction:
Image: No matter what happens, games are never won or lost in a single moment.
I really enjoy watching football. Sometimes there are great plays and sometimes there are terrible plays but something important to remember is that no matter what happens, a game is never won or lost in a single play. It may seem like a single play determines the game but in reality it does not. Victory is won by playing all four quarters.
Similarly, one's character is measured not in a single moment but over the course of a long period of time.
Need: We need to develop Godly character and look for Godly character in those we follow.
Preview: Today we are going to look at Godly character, not the sort of character that is defined in a moment but the sort of character that comes of a lifetime of service. We will see that Godly character remains faithful to God himself, regardless of the environment, and independent of the transition one finds themselves within.
Setting the Stage:
Godly character cannot be measured in a single moment in time.
Rather, Godly character is measured through long periods of time where an individual places their trust in God through varied environments and transitions. Joshua had consistently demonstrated Godly character and now he wanted to ensure that as he passed into the next stage of eternity the people who came behind him were prepared to themselves exercise Godly character.
Farewell from a great leader (1-5)
A lot had happened in many years, Joshua was 110 when he died, and Caleb was 85 when the events of Joshua took place. Hence, the long time of verse 1 is probably 25 years. Over the course of these years, the people had seen God's faithfulness and His Faithful Servant and God would continue to be faithful to the people. As a quick aside. You may wonder what is the relationship between chapters 23 and 24? Perhaps 23 is farewell to the leaders, 24 is farewell to the people.
Body
Godly character remains faithful to God himself (6-8).
Remaining faithful to God means remaining faithful to his commands (6).
Image: What is your secret to success?
Have you ever wondered what is the secret to someone's success? I have an uncle who is very interested in the stock market and trading. Several times a year he will come across an interview with Warren Buffet asking what is the secret to success. He often shares such interviews with me and my brothers. Wanting to know someone's secret to success is something most of us have probably experienced. Here in verse six Joshua is sharing the secret to success.
Notice the similarity between Joshua 23:6 and Joshua 1:7-8. Joshua had discovered the secret to success remaining faithful to God's commands. Tried and true, Joshua had experienced life and knew this to be true.
Remaining faithful to God means rejecting any false gods (7).
Although Israel had seen many victories, there were still people around who did not worship God. Joshua reminded the leaders that they must exercise care in their relationships with the surrounding people. Israel was to remain separate and
Separation from the surrounding culture involves two key steps.
Avoid placing any confidence in the false gods.
Avoid serving any false gods.
Remaining faithful to God means loyally binding oneself to God (8).
Have you ever heard of sandwiching a criticism between two positive statements? Well here Joshua has done something similar. Remaining faithful to God involves both Do's and Do Nots.
Instead of associating with Canaanite God's Israel is to תדבקו (hold fast)- which means to cling tightly.
The word carries the idea of to be stuck to.
In Isaiah 41:7 the root לדבק ִis used of soldering/welding two pieces of metal together on an anvil, an inseparable process.
Image: We put a lot of faith in welds. The average car has 4,000 welds
Consider that the next time you are barreling down the interstate at 75 MPH that there are about 4000 places where two pieces of metal have been brought together. Joshua called on the Israelites to join themselves to God.
MTR: Bind yourself to God by committing to him alone.
Godly character remains faithful in any environment (9-13).
There is a very real sense in which we could say that Joshua's statements become increasingly bold and strong as his speech continues.
Being faithful in any environment is rooted in recognizing God's past faithfulness (9-10).
Joshua noted that God:
Drove out the enemies.
Made Israel unstoppable.
Gave individuals super-human accomplishments.
Fights for Israel.
Fulfills His promises.
As we look at this we need to understand the significance of God's faithfulness for His people's faithfulness. God's people can be faithful to God no matter what because God's people have seen and heard about how God works. God is not asking for blind faith but rather God is asking that His people remain faithful because they have seen and experienced His faithfulness in the past.
Godly character does not whimsically declare confidence in God but rather reflectively declares confidence in God.
Being faithful in any environment stems from loving God (11).
What would you do for someone you loved?
Love is a powerful force that drives us to do many things. Here sandwiched between all sorts of descriptions of faithfulness is a profound fact. We should be faithful because of our love for God. I want you to understand how significant this is. God does not merely desire our obedience. God does not just want us to trust him. No, God wants us to love Him. God wants our actions to be rooted in love for Him. God's commands are not sterile harsh demands but rather steps toward developing a loving relationship with God.
Being faithful in any environment requires recognizing the presence of temptations(12-13).
Joshua was real with the people, there were significant temptations.
Temptations to ally oneself with non-believers.
Temptations to intermarry with non-believers.
Temptations to form close relationships with non-believers.
We need to be real about the presence of temptations.
Sex
Drugs and Alcohol
Materialism.
Addiction to devices.
Seriously, we face real temptations. If you don't believe me then just turn on the TV today during a football game and watch 30 seconds of commercials.
Joshua was real with the people, there would be consequences.
God would stop driving Israel's enemies out of the land.
Israel's enemies would become snares and traps.
Israel's enemies would become harsh masters.
Individuals would find themselves perishing in the good land.
The word for perish אבד is used 182 times in the OT and I see it as not just death but the idea of an early or really unpeaceful death.
The idea of perishing seems to be the idea of premature un-natural death that is not marked by peace but rather destruction.
We need to be real about the consequences.
Sexual sin destroys a person.
Addiction is a cruel master.
Materialism leads to covetousness that can never be satiated.
Sin in many cases leads to perishing
MTR: Consider the environment you are in today what do you need to recognize if you are to remain faithful?
Godly character remains faithful even in transition (14-16).
Faithfulness in the midst of transition recognizes the reality of transition (14).
God's plan involves transition. Joshua was moving on and he wanted the people to understand this on no uncertain terms they must remain faithful to God. God was the only one they could trust completely. It is worth noting that unlike Moses, Joshua does not seem to have placed any clear plan of succession but in reality that didn't matter. The point of Joshua has been that God is the one in charge and so the people need to follow God. Sometimes God works in clear plans of succession and sometimes he does not (Moses-Joshua, Elijah-Elisha).
Faithfulness in the midst of transition recognizes the primacy of God (14).
Joshua was leaving and there was no clear successor, but that also did not really matter. Joshua wanted the people to remember that God was the one who was in charge. Throughout the book of Joshua the theme has been that God is the real leader. Joshua was just in place to guide the people as they followed God. the people knew with all their heart and soul that God was the one who had guided them all along.
Faithfulness in the midst of transition is a must (15-16).
Joshua end his farewell address to the leaders of Israel by reminding them that God is a loving, gracious God but also that God demands obedience. Things were going to change, but that was part of God's plan. The key was to stay loyal to God.
