Joshua gives his final message before he inherits his heavenly Canaan.
Joshua 23: Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders
1 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.
9 For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day.
10 One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.
11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God.
12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
13 know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.
14 "And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, 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.
15 But 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,
16 if 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 be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you."
Joshua 24: The Covenant Renewal at Shechem
1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.
3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.
4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.
6 "'Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
7 And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.
9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you,
10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.
13 I gave you a land on which you had not laboured and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'
Choose Whom You Will Serve
14 "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods,
17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18 And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
19 But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good."
21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD."
22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey."
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God."
28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
Joshua's Death and Burial
29 After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 years old.
30 And they buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.
32 As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Things to think about…
1. Josh 23:1 says that “the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies”, yet there were still other nations that still needed to be conquered in the land of Canaan. Joshua had been fighting his whole life and now his earthly fight was over. Our wrestle against sin will continue until our last breath as we lay aside every weight of sin that clings so closely to us, Heb 12:1. A vital role and function of the church is to encourage others in the fight and to see victory in taking spiritual ground from Satan, firstly in our own lives and then in the lives of our church and community.
2. Joshua reminds them to ‘love the Lord your God’, Josh 23:11 and to allow the Lord to fight for them, vs 5. Loving the Lord means that we will see His victory and the spiritual strongholds of our land fall under His hand.
3. Joshua’s counsel seems prophetic when he says the Lord will not allow them to keep the land if they serve other gods, Josh 23:15, 16. We know they were led into captivity and lost the land to the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Churches lose ground because they embrace the world’s idols of materialism and ambition. Christ calls us to die to self and conform to his image John 3:3-7, Rom 6:6, Rom 8:29.
4. History is important. Joshua speaks about the history of what God had done from Abraham through to Moses right up to the present day where the land was taken as part of the revealed promises of God to His people, Josh 24:1-13. Church history is also important. We need to hear what the Lord has used in the past to grow the church, but also what has happened in the past that has come against the church. Study history with the understanding that God never changes and that he is faithful to His word.
5. “Who will you serve?” Joshua says that he and his house will serve the Lord, Josh 24:15. The people said they will also serve the Lord, vs 18. But Joshua bluntly tells them that they cannot because they have idols and God is holy, vss 19,20. He tells them to put away their idols, vs 23. They say they will serve the Lord and obey His voice and they made a covenant and set up a witness stone, Josh 24:25-28. It is important to regularly spent time in both personal and corporate reflection. We need to consider where we are following the Lord faithfully and in what areas we need to repent and recommit to the Lord. This is where mentoring and personal accountability is so important in the church. We will continue to promote this through life groups at CBC especially as the church grows.
6. The promise is fulfilled to Joseph that his bones would not remain in Egypt, Josh 24:32, cf Gen 50:24, 25. Even though he was a mighty leader for the Egyptians, his heart was with and for Israel. His identity remained with the God of Israel. The same is true for us. While we live in this world and have some influence over secular activities, our hearts are owned and directed by our Lord Jesus Christ. We have testified with our baptism that we are dead to sin, and resurrected in new life with Him.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson group Wednesday night 6:30pm.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group looking at “what is a cult” Sunday week.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for those Australians and others who were part of this terrible turbulence event this week. One English man lost his life having a heart attack. Pray for all those who are injured and recovering in Bangkok.
2. Pray about the boldness to live for Christ knowing we have full assurance in our faith.
3. Keep praying for Anna and the Playgroup, pray for more families to be reached.
4. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
5. Church finances to cover all expenses. Budget presently not being met.
6. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:00pm in the church cafe. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Great message and worship time on Sunday. Pray for new visitors to CBC.
2. Great discussion on the antichrist with the young adults. A few joined from tic tok.
3. Praise the Lord for new mums at Playgroup. Pray it grows each week.
4. Tad’s health getting better all the time.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Playgroup 9:30-11am on Friday.
2. Members meeting 26th May after church.
3. Young Adults study after church Sunday week – “What is a cult?”.
4. Monday evening prayer with Mathys on the café 5:30-6pm
5. Life Groups Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
6. Kids@Church every Sunday.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 20. How do you know that you have a soul? A. Because the Bible tells me so.
