Joshua called for the elders, leaders who represented the entire nation, as successors to the seventy men chosen by Moses (cf. Ex. 18:13-26). He delivers two farewell speeches, one each in Chapters 23 and 24. Joshua took the opportunity to address the national leaders at a time when he was getting up in years, not knowing how much time he had left to live. The second speech, Chapter 24, is extraordinary in that the leaders now gather to say farewell to the talented and noble leader, listening to his last words of encouragement and admonition. Joshua, like his predecessor, Moses, had labored long and hard to lead the people of God, and now the time of his sojourn is nearing the end. But he remains zealous for God and for the faithfulness of the people. In both speeches, with authority from God, “Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel . . . and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God” (Josh. 24:11).
Joshua began by calling upon the elders as witnesses of God’s grace to their nation throughout the past. “You have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you” (Josh. 23:3). The words “because of you” cannot fail to grab our attention. Moses, Joshua’s predecessor, had been most explicit. The command against the wicked Canaanites was clear: “When the Lord your God shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you; And when the Lord your God shall deliver them before you; you shall smite them, and utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shall you make marriages with them: your daughter you shall not give unto his son, nor his daughter shall you take unto your son. For they shall turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy you suddenly. But thus shall you deal with them; you shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn the graven images with fire” (cf. Deut. 7:1-5).
Moses’ warnings and instruction were unmistakable: “Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life: but teach them to your sons, and your sons’ sons; . . . Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord your God has forbidden you. . . Then beware lest you forget the Lord, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage . . . Beware that you forget not the Lord your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes. Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and dwell therein; And then your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (cf. Deut. 4:9,23; 6:12; 8:11-14).
The elders were to derive strength and protection by observing and performing all that was written in the law of Moses, and so, with tender warmth, Joshua now reasons with these elders of Israel and reminds them as to why they should cleave to God’s law and love the Lord. “Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, [from which we have just read] that you turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; That you come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto the Lord your God, as you have done unto this day” (cf. Josh. 23:6-8). The Lord demanded the supreme place in the hearts of his people, especially in the hearts of the elders among his people. “Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that you love the Lord your God” (cf. Josh. 23:11). Joshua insists upon such loyalty and love to God because he is only too aware of the propensities of the human heart. “Else if you do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go into unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you” (cf. Josh. 23:12-13).
There is only one deterrent from this proneness to wander away from God, and that is occupation with God and his word. The Psalmist understood this when he wrote: “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11). God is ever faithful to his promises. How could they possibly depart from him and resort to the vain idols of the heathen remnants? Joshua declared: “You know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (Josh. 23:14).
In Chapter 24, Joshua follows a usual method by giving a detailed review of Israel’s history to remind them of God’s promise and determination to implant his people, Israel, as a nation in Canaan. The Psalmist, in like manner, examines the details of Israel’s history as proof of God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises (cf. Ps. 78). What tremendous lessons may be learned from history: lessons of God’s faithfulness and lessons of man’s complete failure!
How solemn were the words of Joshua to these elders! His second and final address now finished, we read: “So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance” (24:28). And then follows this postscript: “And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old” (24:29). And then how gratifying to read of the people and their elders. “And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and which had known all the works if the Lord that he had done for Israel” (Josh. 24:31). God’s mercy and God’s faithfulness were in full evidence because of his almighty power. How beautiful those words:
“All are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (24:14). What he had promised, he was also able to perform. How could they possibly turn their backs upon God? Sadly, beloved, this is not the end of the story. There is a sequel and that, too, we must relate. “And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed others gods, the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves” (cf. Judges 2:6-12; 3:7).
The Church of God might well learn from this sad history! How telling and how typical. They forgot! They did not remember! After Joshua and the entire older generation died, a new generation arose, a generation that had not experienced the wars and victories of the Lord under Joshua. The Israelites of this generation no longer looked upon the Canaanites as enemies because they no longer recognized the Canaanites as enemies of the Lord. When they looked for ways to associate with the Canaanites and get closer to them, they not only made a covenant with the Canaanites but even intermarried with them. Before long, the Israelites took over their idol worship. Oh, the Lord was still their God, but he was now one among many who must compete with all the rest. No longer were they a separate people. God’s people looked like the rest of the world!
For some specific examples of what happened soon after the death of the elders that outlived Joshua, we must skip to the last five chapters of the book of Judges, where we find repeatedly that infamous description of the period. “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Jud. 17:6). In these chapters, we see the terrible spiritual condition of the covenant people of God. Significantly, it focuses on two Levites, from the tribe of men who were specifically consecrated to God to reveal his grace in Israel and be her spiritual leaders. The story begins with a man named Micah, who was a thief and an idolater. Through the instigation of his mother, Micah erected an image and appointed his own son to serve as priest so they could worship God as they saw fit. That’s the way the Canaanites did it! Then this wandering Levite shows up (he should have stayed in one of the cities that was assigned to the Levites), and Micah immediately installs him as his priest. After all, he’s the real thing and what could be better than to have your own Levite as a priest! Surely this would please the Lord! Sometime later, men of the tribe of Dan, passing through in search of more land, learn that Micah has a Levite priest. They convince the Levite that he would be of greater service and much better off by becoming their priest. So this Levite takes the images, the tools of the trade, and takes off with these Danites. He was a Levite for hire, offering his services to the highest bidder and making a name for himself!
The second Levite takes to himself a concubine in addition to his wife. The concubine plays the harlot. In his efforts to get her back, the Levite finds himself involved in the abominable sin of Sodom which had now also infected God’s people. In fact, the entire tribe of Benjamin comes to the defense of this sin!
“Now all these things happened unto them [Israel] for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. . . . to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” (1 Cor. 10:11, 6). Examples imply that these things continue to happen. So, what can, or better what must, we learn from these examples? What happened that that next generation failed so miserably, and so soon forgot or did not remember the Lord and what he had done for them? Before Israel had crossed the frontier of Canaan, Moses had said: “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, . . . Gather the people to me, and I will let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children. . . . And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. . . . And these words which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: You shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates” (Deut. 4:9,10,14; 6:6-9). What happened? Why did they fail? I think the answer is pretty obvious and we all know it. They didn’t teach their children. They got lazy and careless!
When God’s people, the church, forget what God has done and what he commands, and is no longer diligent to teach it to the next generation, anything goes. Think of what passes for worship in much of the church today. It has turned to entertainment. It’s like going to the theater or a rock concert with all the amenities thrown in! Think, too, how the church, right along with the world, has come out for homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle. Anything that appeals to the lusts of the flesh is being re-examined. It need not be wrong if it’s done in the name of love! “But that’s the liberal, apostate church,” you say, “and not us.” Yes, but how did they become so liberal? They twisted and mutilated God’s word so it said what they wanted it to say, or they simply dismissed it as no longer applicable. Next, because the creeds and confessions were accurate summaries of that word, they were either re-written or abandoned. The result? They had nothing left to teach the next generation except to simply let them do whatever was right in their own eyes! Whatever appealed to the depraved and wicked heart! God’s people, the Church, ends up one with the world!
Beloved, that’s how it goes. If we don’t watch out, it can happen to us. It did once before! We must never forget what God has done for us and what he commands. Our creeds and confessions continue to be accurate summaries of God’s word. How diligent are we in teaching and passing them on to our children? The complaints are already present.
“The Catechism is too hard for our children to memorize. The Belgic Confession and Canons of Dort are too much for people to comprehend. Why can’t we try something different?” So it goes, and before you know it, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10b).
The purpose of Joshua in calling this council together, in certain aspects, corresponds to the intentions of the aged Peter when he wrote to the churches of the saints. “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always in of these things, though you know them, and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Pet. 1:12-15). That, beloved, must be my purpose and that of the elders as well. To “put you in remembrance of these things.”
This farewell address also calls to mind the apostle Paul’s discourse before the elders of Ephesus. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them . . . And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:28-32). As elders, we must constantly be on our guard. From within the Reformed camp, we hear voices who would teach some new thing: a different account of creation; a different way of justification. From childhood, I learned that “in six days God made heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day” (Ex. 20:11). That a day meant a day. I learned about justification in catechism class, especially H.C. 60, 61 and 62. I trust all of us know these questions and answers. There is no better definition of justification. Our children, the next generation, can know these things too, if we remember and teach them.
Beloved, Joshua is also addressing us. Will we heed? Aware of the weakness of the human heart and the people’s propensity toward idolatry and worldliness, Joshua brings his address to a close with a challenge, and so he challenges us. “Choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). As Israel was admonished to put away all strange gods, and to fear and serve the Lord alone, so the Christian is responsible to rid from his heart all carnal, idolatrous love and to keep himself from idols (cf. I Jn. 5:21), to be separate from the world (cf. 2 Cor. 6:17), and to remain in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life (cf. Jude 21).
And then, finally, let us remember these comforting and assuring words from the Psalmist: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandments to do them” (Ps. 103:17,18). Amen.
Rev. Vern Pollema,
Bakersfield, CA