The chapters 23 and 24 of the Book of Joshua give us the record of the final address of an aged servant of the Lord just before he leaves this scene. It’s a touching appeal addressed to God’s earthly people of old and is, at the same time, a challenge to all of us who belong to the Lord Jesus and want to follow Him. If we read it carefully, we’re reminded of the last words Paul addressed to the elders from Ephesus in Acts 20.
Among many other important aspects that mainly deal either with the grace of God or with our responsibility, I’d just like to highlight three vital points found in chapter 23.
-
Obedience
The first point is obedience. It is found in verse 6: “Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or the left.” As Christians, we’re no longer under the Law of Moses, but the entire Word of God (the Bible) has been given to us. It’s a wonderful blessing that the great God comes down into our very circumstances to let us know His will. We should be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9). But let’s remember that it’s one thing to know the will of God and another thing to love His Word and to do (or to practice) it. Both things are essential and imperative.
Joshua challenges us to keep and to do the will of God as we find it manifested in God’s Word. We’re unlikely to be faithful in keeping the Word of God if we don’t value it as important. And we can only practice something if we, first of all, know what to practice. That shows us the extreme importance of the Word of God in our lives (personally and collectively). James tells us not to be only “hearers” of the Word but “doers,” and he adds that someone who only hears and doesn’t practice what he hears is someone who deceives himself (James 1:22). Practicing the Word of God is obedience. The Word of God gives practical instructions for our different everyday situations, be it private (personal) life, family life, professional life, or church life. The simple question that remains is whether or not we obey.
Joshua adds that the people of God should by no means turn aside, neither to the right hand nor to the left. This means that we’re neither allowed to add something to the Word of God (our own opinion, our traditions, our self-made unwritten rules) nor to remove anything (e.g., things that we don’t like so much or things that we regard as no longer up to date). This danger is always an ongoing challenge. So, we should pay attention to keeping and doing the whole Word of God.
-
Perseverance
The second point is perseverance. This is expressed in verse 8: “You shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.” To cleave to someone means to cling to him and not let him go. In the language of the New Testament, it is dedication, devotion, and commitment to the Lord Jesus. A striking example is found in Acts 11 when Barnabas comes to Antioch and sees the work of divine grace in the comparatively young believers from the heathen world. In verse 23, we read: “Who, when
he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with the purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord.” To practice perseverance, it’s necessary to have a “purpose of heart.”
It’s the purpose that Daniel had when he came to Babylon as a young man, and he didn’t want to be influenced by all the strange things he saw in that sinful city full of idolatry. A purpose (an intention) normally has to do with our head. But here, it is said to be a purpose of heart. To cleave to the Lord has indeed to do with our will, but so much more with our heart (the center of our will). The heart is indeed the center of our decisions. Out of it are “the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). But it’s more than that. Our heart also speaks of our affections.
That brings us back to the three expressions I used: dedication, devotion, and commitment. It is with “head” and with “heart”. Our understanding is never excluded, but perseverance always includes our affections too.
Let’s just briefly notice that we’re exhorted to abide with “the Lord.” It is not just “Jesus,” but “the Lord.” To keep on going with “Jesus” (as our Savior) is comparatively easy. But to cleave to a Lord whose Lordship is widely rejected and ignored in this world (including the Christian world) is much more challenging. But it’s exactly what we should do!
-
Love
The third point is love. We can easily see that verse 11 speaks of this: “Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God.” Joshua underlines the personal responsibility we have and the importance of loving our Lord Jesus. We indeed like to be occupied with the divine love towards us. The fact that we are “beloved ones” (loved by the Father and the Son) is indeed something that surpasses every human understanding and imagination.
But the Bible speaks in the Old as well as in the New Testament of our love for God and the Lord Jesus. David put it in black and white one day when he made that wonderful love declaration: “I will love You, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1). Peter, after having been asked by the Lord Jesus Himself whether he loved Him (see John 21:15–17), speaks more than once about his love to the Lord Jesus and in his first epistle he writes: “whom having not seen you love” (1 Peter 1:8). Is there any child of God who wouldn’t love God the Father and the Lord Jesus?
Now, what does it mean to love the Lord? Does it simply mean to speak or sing about our love for Him and to praise Him? Is it a confession we make in prayer? All this is, of course, not excluded, but it’s not the main point. To love someone does not, first of all, mean to speak about it but much more to show it. To really love someone means loving to experience fellowship with him and to be at his disposal whenever needed, to offer one’s service. When God loved us, He proved His love by giving us His beloved Son. In His divine love, He didn’t spare Him. When the Lord Jesus loved us, He gave Himself for us. If we really love our Lord, this will be seen in what we do. The Apostle John puts it this way: “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
To love the Lord Jesus has to do with our service to Him. He Himself is the perfect Example. When here on earth, He declared: “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do” (John 14:31). True love is proved by obedience. And that brings us back to our first point. Christian obedience, in its true character, is motivated by love. That is the highest level of obedience.
Conclusion
May we all be encouraged and motivated by the call of Joshua to obey and to cling to the Lord and to love Him!
Comments (0)
No comments yet.