January 13, 2018
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Reading along with us in Joshua? Here’s today’s reading:
Joshua 23 (ESV)
A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day.....Continue Reading
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that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, 16if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them
Final advice to stay faithful
What a fitting farewell and a fitting tribute to this great leader in Israel. He was not without error, but certainly very faithful in the position God called Him to. And he leaves Israel in a good place. The land is secured for the most part and the land inheritance of each tribe is given with some work still to do. It is interesting that he gives many of the same words that were given to him. Be strong and make sure you continue to seek God and follow His word. Joshua knows that he and they are nothing without Him and He gives God the praise and recognition for all that He has done to give Joshua and the people success. I was struck by verses 14-16 as well Melanie. Along with the promise of good things that come with obedience to the Lord, is the warning of punishment for going against God. It is a common theme in Scripture that makes sense. God condones what comes from Him and blesses it and frowns against those things that are not from Him and curses it. It is what any good parent does and even more fitting for a sovereign God who knows exactly what is good and true what will destroy and is a lie.