"After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, summoned all Israel---their elders, leaders, judges and officials---and said to them: 'I am very old.'" (Joshua 23:1-2) We will be told in the next chapter that Joshua passes away at the age of 110. He knows he will not be on earth much longer so he summons the officials from every district within every tribe to come and receive instructions to pass along to all the citizens of Israel.
Joshua mentions his advanced age both because he wants to prepare the people for his death and also to speak of all the things he has seen the Lord do for the nation. Joshua is old enough recall living under the oppression of Egypt, for the Bible told us that he and his friend Caleb are the only two men who were over the age of twenty at the time of the exodus who entered the promised land. He witnessed the exodus, the Red Sea crossing, the manna in the wilderness, and the water from the rock. He took part in many battles for the promised land. He has seen the Lord's mighty hand at work time and time again on behalf of Israel. The men he is addressing are not as old as he is but they too have seen the Lord do great things on behalf of Israel; they've seen Him give victory over nations who were stronger than they were and who possessed more advanced weaponry than they did. "You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you." (Joshua 23:3) They could not have won these victories without the Lord. It could be these officials are wondering how the nation will fare after Joshua's demise, but he is quick to remind them that the soldiers of Israel have been victorious not because he was their army general but because the Lord fought on the side of Israel. If they remain faithful to the Lord, they will be just fine even without Joshua's strong leadership.
Within the allotments given to each tribe, there are still some Canaanites dwelling in the land. The Lord instructed the Israelites to eradicate them and Joshua reminds them of their duty to do so. Some of these pagan tribes and clans are quite fierce and live in heavily fortified areas but the God who caused the walls of Jericho to fall is able to give every inch of the promised land to the Israelites if they will trust and obey Him. "Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain---the nations I conquered---between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you." (Joshua 23:4-5) Joshua isn't saying the Israelites can sit back and let the Lord do all the work. Just as in the other battles for the land, they must boldly advance against these settlements. The Lord isn't going to make these Canaanites simply disappear or decide to move out of the territory on their own. He will "drive them out before you", meaning the Israelites are to be in pursuit of them.
We will soon arrive at the book of Judges and there we'll learn that within each tribe there were pockets of Canaanites that were allowed to remain. They were not driven out but instead were subjected to forced labor. That is in direct opposition to the Lord's instructions and to these instructions from Joshua: "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now." (Joshua 23:6-8) Joshua knows what the Lord said would happen if the Israelites allow the heathen tribes of Canaan to live among them: "Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." (Exodus 23:33) And again the Lord warned, "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you." (Exodus 34:12) Because this warning bears repeating time and time again, the Lord said, "You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you." (Deuteronomy 7:16)
If idolaters are allowed to remain in the land, the Israelites will mingle with them. They'll live and work among them. They'll intermarry with them. The idolatry of the Canaanites will creep into the congregation of Israel. Heathen rituals will become mixed with the religious rites prescribed by the Lord. Worse yet, some will forsake the Lord entirely in favor of pagan gods. Leaving any of these people within the borders of their land will cause many citizens to fall into a trap (the snare the Lord warned them about). And as the priest Phinehas pointed out in yesterday's passage, the sins of a few are capable of affecting the lives of many, not just because a few can lure many into sin but also because the Lord does not have to bless a nation into which idolatry has wormed its way. A person's sins don't affect only himself; they affect others as well. We do not live in a bubble, or as the saying goes, "No man is an island."
God has already given Israel victory over all the major cities and towns in the land. He is more than able to help Israel finish the job. "The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as He promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God." (Joshua 23:9-11) Joshua says, "Love the Lord your God because of all that He has done for you. Love Him because of all that He is going to do for you. Display your love for Him by being obedient to Him."
Jesus said the same thing about the evidence of our love, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) The proof of our love for the Lord is that we do what He tells us to do. If we have no interest in keeping the Lord's commandments, we do not love Him. When we love a person we naturally want to do what pleases them. Joshua is saying to the people of Israel: "If you love the Lord you will do as the Lord has commanded. You will rid your land of the idolaters and their idols so you will not be tempted to be unfaithful to the Lord your God. If you do what He has commanded you to do, He will do what He has promised to do. He will give you victory over all these nations and He will give you peace and prosperity in this good land."
Join us tomorrow as Joshua speaks of what will happen if the Israelites do not obey the Lord.
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