Reflections on Joshua 23

Joshua 23 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The LORD let Israel live in peace with its neighbors for a long time, and Joshua lived to a ripe old age.
   
2. One day he called a meeting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, including the old men, the judges, and the officials. Then he told them: I am now very old.
   
3. You have seen how the LORD your God fought for you and helped you defeat the nations who lived in this land.
   
4. There are still some nations left, but the LORD has promised you their land. So when you attack them, he will make them run away. I have already divided their land among your tribes, as I did with the land of the nations I defeated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
   
5. (SEE 23:4)
   
6. Be sure that you carefully obey everything written in The Book of the Law of Moses and do exactly what it says.
   
7. Don't have anything to do with the nations that live around you. Don't worship their gods or pray to their idols or make promises in the names of their gods.
   
8. Be as faithful to the LORD as you have always been.
   
9. When you attacked powerful nations, the LORD made them run away, and no one has ever been able to stand up to you.
   
10. Any one of you can defeat a thousand enemy soldiers, because the LORD God fights for you, just as he promised.
    
11. Be sure to always love the LORD your God.
    
12. Don't ever turn your backs on him by marrying people from the nations that are left in the land. Don't even make friends with them. I tell you that if you are friendly with those nations, the LORD won't chase them away when you attack. Instead, they'll be like a trap for your feet, a whip on your back, and thorns in your eyes. And finally, none of you will be left in this good land that the LORD has given you.
    
13. (SEE 23:12)
    
14. I will soon die, as everyone must. But deep in your hearts you know that the LORD has kept every promise he ever made to you. Not one of them has been broken.
    
15. Yes, when the LORD makes a promise, he does what he has promised. But when he makes a threat, he will also do what he has threatened. The LORD is our God. He gave us this wonderful land and made an agreement with us that we would worship only him. But if you worship other gods, it will make the LORD furious. He will start getting rid of you, and soon not one of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.
    
16. (SEE 23:15)
    

    ---

    Joshua's life and leadership of Israel were coming to a close. Also, Israel was at a point of transition from conquest of the land to prospering in the land. Joshua gathered the Israelite leaders to remind them of God's faithfulness and in turn to encourage and even warn them to complete their conquest of the land. This gathering of leaders took place some 10 to 20 years following the initial conquest and distribution of land to the tribes. It was beginning to appear as if Israel was content to coexist with the remaining Canaanite inhabitants. This was a dangerous course for them to take. It was dangerous because it was disobedience to the Lord's instructions to them and dangerous because it left them exposed to the influences of the pagan Canaanites.
    
    It is one thing to coexist with pagans and remain resist to their influence while living in obedience to God, doing what He has given one to do. He often calls His people to be missionaries among pagan peoples. But it is altogether different to live among pagans and remain resistant to their influence while settling for disobedience to the Lord's instructions. They were, no doubt, telling themselves that it was not really a problem to allow the few Canaanites to remain in the land. What harm would it do? This is very dangerous reasoning that is invariably the prelude to a fall.
    
    Joshua's message to the Israelite leaders was a three-point message:
    
    
    • You have seen for yourselves everything the LORD your God did to all these nations on your account. (23:3)
      
    • The LORD your God will force them back (the remaining Canaanites) on your account and drive them out before you. (23:5)
      
    • Be very strong, and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses. (23:6)
    He concluded with a warning of what the outcome would be if they didn't fully clear the land of the Canaanites: "If you break the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods, and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land He has given you." (23:16)