Last Words to a Nation's Leader, Part 1

Joshua chapter 23 is where we're at this evening. Joshua chapter 23. These are the last words of Joshua. In chapter 23, he addresses the leaders of Israel. In chapter 24, he addresses the whole nation. You know, it's something interesting about the last words of godly men, the last words of great men. They seem to, in a nutshell, speak about the important things of life. When you go back and you read about Joseph's last words in Genesis chapter 50, talking about how God will take care of his people.

Words ring true even to this very day because what he said was the word of God. You go back and study Deuteronomy chapter 32 and the last words of Moses and begin to understand the impact and power of his words. How they, in a nutshell, summarize the essence of life. And then you look at the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20 as he spoke those last words to the leaders there in Ephesus.

And help them understand what was important for them to remember. And then in 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 to 8, giving us a 52-word summary of his life. Those are powerful words because they summarize the essence. Of what those men's lives were about. Joshua is no different. He's the man of victory. And we have been studying this man for many, many weeks. And we have seen how God has used him in a great and mighty way. And now he's somewhere between 100 and 110 years of age. He's kind of way, way up there.

And yet he's got some words that once we begin to understand will ch the way we live. Our lives. He talks about what are the basis for blessing in the life of an individual. He addresses, first of all, the leaders because the leaders need to exemplify a blessed life.

Because that will motivate the people to follow and live that blessed life. So he addresses the leaders first, talks about the basis for blessing, and then he gives us the consequences.

Compromise because he wants you to understand that if you compromise the word of God, it always will bring about not blessing. But cursing. And he was concerned about compromise creeping in to the nation. We need to be concerned about that, don't we? We need to be on guard against compromise in our church. We need to be on guard against compromise in our families. And we need to understand what the word of the Lord say. It 's been 20 years. Since Israel embarked on the land of Canaan in Joshua chapter 1, a lot has happened in those 2 years.

And now he wants to be able to address the leaders and the people, the people in chapter 24, about what are the essentials for them to remember.

As they seek to live for their great God. You know, I guess it would be great to be there. I mean, we can read what Joshua said, but to see the man speak. This man was a warrior. He was a soldier. He was a victorious warrior. He went 20 years and lost one battle in 20 years. Just one. He understands why he lost, and he wants to make sure that we never lose our battles, and so he gives us words of guidance. But could you imagine sitting there among the elders, among the officers of Israel, listening, listening to this man speak?

He was a man of great integrity. You could bank on what he said. He didn't live a life of duplicity. He wasn't the kind of guy that you listened to and thought, well, you know, I'm not sure whether or not what Joshua was saying is really going to apply to me or not. He lived. The principles he's going to give. He lived them out. And now he wants to remind them once again of what they are. And so his words aren't necessarily new words. Their words to stir up by way of remembrance what it is they need to be doing.

A lot like Peter said way back in 2 Peter chapter 1, when Peter said these words in verse number 12. He said, Therefore, I shall always be Ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you. And I consider it right. As long as I am in this. earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of remind, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling imminent as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me and I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind Peter says, it's not so much important that I be creative, but that I be repetitive.

That I repeat constantly those things that you need to know. And really, that's what the life of the leader is all about. It's not coming up with new innovative ideas or new creative ways to do things. It's making sure people know what the basics are and can do them properly, right? And so that's basically what Joshua says in Joshua chapter 23 in 16 verses. And in these 16 verses, he stirs up by way of reminder what Israel needs to know. Understand. Let me read them to you and then we'll discuss them together.

Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that Joshua called for all Israel for their enemies. Elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in years, and you have seen all that the Lord your God. Has done to all these nations because of you. For the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. See, I have apportioned to you these nations, which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations, which I have cut off, from the Jordan, even to the great sea, toward the setting of the sun.

And the Lord your God, he shall thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you, and you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, in order that you may not associate with these nations. these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make any one swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them, but you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.

For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you, and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. One of your men puts to flight a thousand. For the Lord your God is he who fights for you, just as he promised you. So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from.

Before you, but you shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. Now, behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed. All have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. And it shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon all the threats.

until he has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land. Which he has given you. I find it interesting that Joshua begins with the positive and ends with the negative. He ends with, you know what? If you don't do it right, you're going to perish off the good land which God's given to you.

That's how he leaves it with the leaders. He begins with all the good things, the basis for blessing, and then he ends with the consequences. The consequences of compromise. Because he wants it to ring in their ears. He wants them to walk from his presence. Remembering there are grave consequences for not obeying the word of the Lord. Joshua summarizes in five principles what it is. That are the key to blessing in your life. None of them are new, they're all old. Nothing's going to strike you by way of wow, I have never ever heard that before, I have never seen that before, because he's just reminding them of what he's already done with them for the last 20 years.

He's about to die. He says there first of all must be a remembrance of the ways of God. A remembrance of the ways of God. He says this. He begins by reminding them of what God has already done. He said in verse 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations. Because of you. For the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. Verse 5. And the Lord your God, He shall thrust them out from before you. And he ends with, just as the Lord your God promised you. He begins by taking them back.

And he says, I want you to remember what the Lord your God has already done. When he drove out all these nations before you, he's already said that when one of you goes to battle, a thousand flee Can you imagine? One guy going to battle. Battle taking on a thousand people, and they all run away. I mean, I want to be a part of that army, that's amazing. And so, he says, you know, God's already done this for you, you can't ever forget that. You can't forget that it's the Lord your God who has fought for you all these years.

See, we tend to forget that. We tend to think that it's us who does the fighting. We tend to think that it's our battle to face. But Joshua reminds them: it's the Lord your God who has fought for you, He has driven out these nations from before you. The Lord your God who has done this because of you, and so he wants them to remember the ways of God, how God works in the life of his people. Now think back, way back when they crossed the Jordan and the waters were part. Think back when they went to battle at Jericho and the walls came tumbling down and they never even had to lift a hand.

Go back and think about the day the sun stood still, and think about the day the hailstones came down only upon the enemy, not the good guys, just the bad guys. Think about how God has delivered them into your hands. Think back about all that's taken place because you must never forget what God has done. Folks, we have a problem here because we tend to forget what God has done. We tend to forget, don't we? So Joshua begins. With, you know, what you cannot afford to for. Remember, way back in Exodus chapter 14?

When Joshua was under the leadership of Moses, and he heard Moses say these words at the Red Sea. He said, Do not fear. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians, whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. And Joshua picks up on that and says, The Lord has been fighting for you all these years. And remember what Moses says in Exodus chapter 13. Exodus chapter 13, verse number 3, and Moses said to the people, Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery.

For by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place, and nothing leavened shall be eaten. Moses says, You know what? You need to remember this day. You need to remember what God has done in your life to deliver you from your bondage. He's brought you out with a powerful hand. They get to the Red Sea, and Moses says, You need to stand still and watch and see how the Lord's going to deliver you. Joshua picks up on that and says, You know what? You cannot forget what God has done. It's God who has delivered us, it's God who has driven out the enemy, it's God who is in charge of all things.

You must never forget the way of God. And what did Moses have? Moses had a bunch of slaves that would go to war. What did Joshua have? He had a bunch of shepherds who would go to war. And God Himself would go before them and drive out The enemy. You see, Joshua knew what most of us have already forgotten. And that is, if at any time you begin to forget what God has done, And how God fights your battles, how God removes the enemy, you will begin to lose because you will begin to compromise. You will begin to work in the flesh because you have forgotten your God.

And so we need to ask ourselves: do we remember? When God subdued our enemy? Do we remember when God supplied our needs? Do we remember when God satisfies our thirst? Do we remember when God stabilized our emotions? Do we remember the work of God in our lives? You see, we are so prone to forget. Remember, way back in Revelation, the church of Ephesus, the Spirit of God said, Remember from where you have fallen. See, the church of Ephesus had lost their first love.

And because they had lost their first love, the counsel from Almighty God was to remember from where you have fallen.

Remember how it all began. You need to rekindle the relationship. You need to go back to the beginning because that's what you have forgotten. Paul told Timothy, you need to remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from the dead. Even a pastor tends to forget about the work of Jesus Christ. And you know, Israel was constantly reminded, and yet they always forgot what God had done? Remember Psalm 78? Psalm 78, verse number 40, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert, and again and again they tempted God and pained the Holy One of Israel.

They did not remember his power, the day when he redeemed them from the adversary, when he performed his signs in Egypt, and his marvels in the field of Zoan. The reason they rebelled against the Holy One of God is because they did not remember how God had delivered them from the hand of the adversary. Folks, the reason we tend to rebel against God is because we have forgotten how God has delivered us from our bondage. And when we begin to remember what God has done to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, we are less proud.

Prone to rebel against his authority. And the nation of Israel was constantly reminded: do not forget what God has done, remember the way in which he has brought you. Remember how he has taken you and worked in your life. Remember Psalm 106. Psalm 106, verse number 6. We have sinned like our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand thy wonders. They did not remember thine abund kindness. We are doing just what our fathers did. And what was that?

We have forgotten what God has done. We did not remember what God did. You see, the basis of compromise comes when we for. The basis of blessing comes when we rem what God has done. Folks, it is so important for you and I to remember the ways of Almighty God, to remember his work in and among our lives. People tend to think that I harp a lot on going to church. That's because I do. People tend to think I harp a lot about. Studying your Bible and memorizing your Bible and reading what's there. I do.

I do. You know why? Because if you don't, you're going to forget. And if you forget, what are you going to do? You going to compromise God's Word. You see, the more you hear, the more you listen.

The more you listen, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you love. And the more you love, the more you live for God. It's just that sim It not that hard. It's pretty basic. But once you stop coming, stop listening, stop learning, you stop loving. And you forget all that God has done. That's why we partake of the Lord's table the first Sunday of every month.

We don want you to forget. Can't afford to forget the work of Christ on Calvary's cross. You need to remember.

Because remembrance is a great blessing to the child of God. See, Joshua never forgot. He always remembered. And as long as he remembered, he won. He won battle after battle after battle. He says to leaders, You can't afford to forget. Don't forget what God's done. I'm going to die. I'm not going to be here to remind you. So, what you have to do is to make sure you don't forget. And whatever you got to do to make sure that doesn't happen, do it because I'm not going to be here to remind you. Because they're going to be on their own because Joshua is going to die.

He knows that. There needs to be a remembrance of his ways. Number two, there needs to be obedience to his word.

O to His Word. Say, oh, I've heard that before. That's nothing new. Really? Really? Well, the basis of blessing comes because you've remembered the ways of God. And those who remember the ways of God live in obedience to the Word of God. They do. Listen to verse number 6. Be very firm or be very courageous then to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left. If you're going to be obedient to the Word of God, you must be obedient to Him completely.

All. That the law of Moses states. And if you are obedient completely, you will be obedient courageously. You will stand strong for God. You will live for God. And these are words that Moses heard 20 years ago in Joshua chapter 1, verses 7 to 9, when God spoke to Moses, to Joshua, excuse me, and said to Joshua and Joshua 1 to 9. You be strong and courageous. You observe to do all that is written in the law of God. Don 't turn to the left, don't turn to the right. You observe my law. You obey my law.

You completely follow what my lawyer Word says, and you will have good success. You only be strong and you be courageous. And as you go through the book of Joshua and you read Joshua chapter 1, verses 13 to 18, Joshua chapter 8, verses 30 to 3 Five Joshua Lev Verse number 12, verse number 15, Joshua 24, verses 26 to 27. It's all the same thing. You got to obey what God says.

You got to be strong and courageous. You got to follow what God says in His Word. Joshua says you need to be ob, not so that you win the battle. Listen carefully. You're not obedient because you want to win. You're obedient because you want to know your God. And upon knowing your God, you win. You see, we need to understand it's never enough to know the word of God. You must know the God of the Word. Big difference. The demons know the word of God, right? But they don't know the God of the Word. We need to know the God of the word, and that was Joshua's passion, that was his motivation.

He wanted to know his God, he hungered for him. And that's why in Hosea chapter 6, verse number 6, our Lord says, For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offer. I want you to know me. That's why Paul would say at the end of his life, oh, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. And here was a man who wrote 13 epistles in the New Testament, and he didn't get enough of God. Yet, because he knew that there was more of God to know.

So, there's a great passion about the Apostle Paul as well to know as God. That he might live for his God. Remember what Moses said in Deuter 32 when he was about to die. He said these words, verse 44. Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he with Joshua the son of Nun. When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law, for it is not an idle word for you For you, indeed, it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.

These words, my friend, are your life. Without them, you will die. They sustain you. They feed you. They enable you to live for God. And that's why there needs to be obedience to the word of God. Be strong, be very firm, be courageous. These leaders were to derive their strength from the word of God. When you're a person of the word, you become a very strong person. We become very weak when we do not know the God of the Word. When you know God, the Almighty One, you become very, very strong in the things of God.

Acts 20:3, what did Paul say to the Ephesian elders? I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all the saints. I'm going to leave you guys. I got one thing to come in to you, and that's the word of His grace. That's what's going to build you. That's what's going to stabilize you, strengthen you, sustain you. It's the Word of God that's going to do that. You must maintain your commitment to the Word of God and the connection between the command to obey.

And the previously stated fact that God had done great things for his people is very important. Because as you obey the word of God, God blesses tremendously.