W. The last instructions of Joshua: Part 2 – Towards
all the people (chapter 24).
Besides exhorting the heads and
judges of Israel,
Joshua also gathered all the people and counted the blessings of God with them,
exhorting them to serve the Lord whole-heartedly. He also established a
covenant with the people.
1. Counted
the blessings of God (1-13).
a.
Choosing of Abraham (2-4).
(a)
Forefather Abraham was chosen; he came from the
other side of the river and walked throughout the land
of Canaan, where the promises of God
were fulfilled. He had many descendants and received the land
of Canaan as inheritance.
b.
Israelites led out of Egypt
(5-7).
(a)
The descendants of Jacob went down to Egypt
due to a famine; through Moses and Aaron, God led the people out of Egypt.
God performed great miracles in Egypt
and enabled the Israelites to cross the Red Sea smoothly
and successfully.
c.
Victorious over the Amorites who were on the
other side of Jordan
(8-10).
(a)
Victorious over the king of the Amorites;
captured the land as inheritance; ruined Balaam’s ploy, turning the curses on
the Israelites into blessings.
d.
Entry into Canaan (11, 12).
(a)
It was God who helped the people gain victory in
the wars, they did not triumph by relying on the sword and bow.
e.
Residing in a strong city, a beautiful land (13).
(a)
“I have given you a land for which you did not
labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of
the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
(b)
*All blessings come from God (Jas ).
2.
Exhorted the people to serve God (14-22).
a.
Fear the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly (14).
(a)
This is the whole duty of man (Eccl ).
b.
Choose God whom we should worship.
(a)
If you feel that it is not good to worship the
true God, you can choose to worship: 1) the god of the Chaldeans; 2) god of the
Egyptians; 3) god of the Amorites.
(b)
“As for me and my household, we shall serve and
worship the true God in heaven.”
c.
The reply of the people (16-18).
(a)
Far be it from us that we should forsake the
Lord to serve other gods for:
·
He shall take us out of the house of bondage in Egypt.
·
He has performed great signs before us.
·
He preserved us in all the ways that we went and
among all the people through whom we passed.
·
He drove the Amorites out and gave the land to
us.
(b)
Because we have experienced the protection and
great grace of God, therefore we shall serve the Lord, for He is our God.
d.
Joshua reminded the people once again (19-22).
(a)
God is a holy and jealous God. If they were to
do evil as they served God, harm would come upon them and they would be consumed.
To serve God, they must be holy in every aspect, and this was difficult for the
Israelites.
(b)
The people replied, “No, but we will serve the
Lord!”
(c)
So Joshua replied, “You are witnesses against
yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
(d)
The people replied, “We are witnesses!”
3.
Joshua established a covenant with the people
(23-28).
a.
Joshua established a covenant with the people. Before
he established the covenant, he reiterated to the people that they must:
(a)
Put away foreign gods, and incline their heart
to the Lord God of Israel.
(b)
The people agreed saying, “The Lord our God we
will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
b.
Joshua established a covenant with the people on
that day.
(a)
Joshua made for them a statute and an ordinance
in Shechem.
(b)
He wrote these words in the Book of the Law of
God.
(c)
A large stone was set up under the oak that was
by the sanctuary of the Lord as a testimony.
(d)
This stone would be a witness that the people
had heard all the words of the Lord and were willing to abide by them. If they
were to depart from God and go against His teachings, God would seek them to
account for their sins of rebellion.
c.
After establishing the covenant, the people all
returned to their own homes.
*Unfortunately not long after the
elaborate and solemn establishment of the covenant, after Joshua and the elders
had passed away, the Israelites departed from God.
4.
An epilogue to the book of Joshua (29-33).
d.
The death of Joshua (29-37).
(a)
Joshua was a faithful servant of the Lord, a
successful leader, and successor. He led the people in victorious battles and
captured the land as inheritance. He lived to the age of 110 years and departed
peacefully from this world. He trusted in the Lord steadfastly and faithfully,
served the Lord all his life, and can indeed be considered a model servant of
God.
e.
The bones of Joseph (32).
(a)
Out of faith, Joseph left instructions with
regards to his bones, instructing the Israelites to take his bones to the
promised land of Canaan. When Moses departed from Egypt,
he obeyed these instructions and took Joseph’s bones out of Egypt
and finally buried them in Shechem. This was a beautiful testimony of the
Israelites receiving the promises of God, and how they were bestowed the
beautiful land (Gen 50:25; Ex ).
f.
The death of Eleazar (33).
(a)
Eleazar the son of Aaron succeeded to the office
of the high priest, served the Lord together with Joshua, and carried out the
work of land distribution. After his death, he was buried in the mountains of
Ephraim.
(b)
At the end of the battles, the promises of God
came to pass, and the servants of God were able to enjoy rest from their labor.
These leaders in faith have indeed left behind wonderful examples.
