Good morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Occasionally in history words are spoken which become ‘defining moments’ for those involved and historical markers which are significant in tracing the history of a people or a place. The horrific turmoil in the middle east over the past 6 weeks has riveted our attention on Israel, the Gaza Strip, the ‘West Bank’, Hamas, Hezbollah and the very complex relationships of the histories of Arabs, Palestinians, Israelites, Muslims, Jews and Christians.
At the same time in our “Walking with Jesus” journey, I’ve been attempting to lead you on a Biblical journey which began with Abraham in Genesis 12, to help us see WHY the Jews feel this region of the world is their ‘God given homeland’. We began in about the year 2000bc with God’s call to Abram to leave his homeland in Ur, which is modern day Iraq, and we followed Abram’s move to a land God promised would be his new homeland, for he and Sarah and their descendants for many generations. We’ve followed the generational journey of God repeating His Covenant with Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac, and grandson Jacob, and Jacob’s sons. (Gen. 17-50)
We’ve reviewed WHY the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, found themselves enslaved in Egypt and how God’s miraculous rescue of them defined the Passover annual celebration for Jews worldwide. (Exodus 12) We reviewed WHY those who escaped Egypt wandered for 40 years in the desert until that generation all died, (Numbers 13,14) and how their children, ‘the next generation’, finally entered into the land of God’s Promise with Joshua, crossing the miraculously dried up Jordan river. (Joshua 4) We’ve looked at how God led Joshua and the tribal leaders of Israel in dividing up the land of God’s Promise as their inheritance, while at the same time about 1 million Israelites assimilated into a region of the world already populated by many other people who had lived there for centuries!
Now today we come to Joshua’s final farewell and his statement which has become one of those historic ‘defining moments’ for Israel as a nation of God’s people.
Joshua 24 begins: “Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel and they presented themselves before God.” This event may be a continuation of Joshua’s ‘end of life speech’ to these same leaders, which we looked at yesterday in Joshua 23. In that chapter we are not told exactly where they had gathered, but here we find them at Shechem. Even though it says ALL the tribes were gathered, we believe the gathering of leaders from all twelve Israelite tribes is representative of all those alive at that time who were Israelites no matter where they had settled in that region of the world.
Did you see Joshua identified the place of this, his final words to the Israelites? Shechem. You may recall this is a historic place for the Israelites. It is here Jacob led his family to stop and purchase some land and set up an altar of worship, as he was first returning from being away 20 years, to now live again in his homeland near his father Isaac. (Genesis 33:18-20) Jacob had reconciled with his brother Esau (Gen. 33) so Shechem became a place of ‘new beginnings’ for Jacob and his family.
Now, about 300 years later, Joshua gathers the leaders of Israel as his life mission is nearing completion. Look at Joshua, probably standing up on a platform built so he can see and speak to these many leaders, probably several hundred men. Joshua had a message from God for these leaders, a message calling them to REMEMBER their heritage and God’s faithfulness to their ancestors and to them going all the way back to Abraham.
Joshua’s record of this moment says: “Joshua said to all the people: ‘This is what the LORD the God of Israel says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from that land and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants…” I wonder if you see something very interesting my friends. It would have been significant for Joshua to tell the story of the history of this people, but he didn’t do that.
Joshua reported to the people what God was saying to Joshua. God Himself was telling the story of what God Himself had done for this, His people, over a period of more than 5 centuries of time! I can imagine Joshua’s words held the people in rapt attention and as Joshua watched them, the people nodded in their agreement and their recollection of their history. Perhaps the people occasionally raised their arms in thanksgiving to God for all He had done in their story. Truely, they were a unique people in the world, so greatly blessed by God.
Joshua drew this powerful message to a close with these words from God: “I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13) And Joshua paused… his eyes roaming across the faces of these hundreds of leaders, representing more than one million Israelites who had settled in this land of God’s Promise! Tears streamed down some faces as they were overwhelmed with gratitude to God. Joshua paused waiting for more words from God to be spoken, none came.
So, Joshua spoke from his overflowing heart: “Now I call you to fear the LORD and serve HIM with all your faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD God. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves THIS DAY whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!” (Joshua 24:14,15) We have those words on a plaque on the wall of our home, maybe you do also!
Friends, do you see the challenge? This was a line of demarcation. Joshua called them to acknowledge there was a time in their history that their ancestors worshiped idols, before God called them to leave their homeland and follow Him, getting to know the true and living Almighty God. Also, they were now living in a land occupied by many other idol worshiping peoples and it would require great effort to remain faithful in worshiping only the God of the Israelites, the God who had led them on this long journey from Egypt bondage to freedom in their land of inheritance. Do you see Joshua declaring his decision for himself and his entire household?
Their response is very powerful: “The people answered: ‘far be it from us to forsake the LORD and serve other gods! It was the LORD our God Himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from the land of slavery… He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we have traveled… We too will serve the LORD, because He is our God.” (Joshua 24:16-18) Sounds wonderful doesn’t it my friends?
But Joshua knew their hearts and their tendency to drift or even turn away from God, just like you and me and every other person. So, Joshua challenged them, and they responded again with their determination to be faithful to God. Joshua even challenged them to take action, to clean out of their houses any old idols or anything else which might lead them away from God. Watch that my friends. Words are important but it’s the actions that validate our words that are most important, right?
Then Joshua took action: “On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people there at Shechem, and reaffirmed for them the decrees and laws of God… Then Joshua took a large stone and set it up near the holy place of the LORD. ‘See’, Joshua said, ‘This stone will be a witness against us…if we are untrue to our God.’ Then Joshua dismissed the people each to their own inheritance.” (Joshua 24:25-28) I wonder if this place Joshua calls ‘the holy place of the LORD’ was perhaps that old altar of worship Jacob had set up in this place Shechem several centuries before? (Gen. 33:20)
The closing verses of the book of Joshua tell us Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried there in the town of his inheritance. And then this summary statement: “Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel. And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the tract of land Jacob had purchased...” (Joshua 24:31,32)
Do you see the declaration of the people of Israel remaining faithful to God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and his fellow leaders? Oh my friends, is that a picture of our influence, our impact on our families?
And then finally, the burial of that old Egyptian coffin which carried the body of Joseph. You’ll recall Joseph’s body had been embalmed by those Egyptian physicians nearly 300 years before. (Gen. 50:26) How appropriate that Joseph is buried at this place Shechem where Joshua called the people to make their public declaration of allegiance to Almighty God who had fulfilled His Abrahamic Covenant promise of both a Land and a People of God.
Let’s pause here and thank God for His faithfulness to His Promises through the centuries, with this very powerful worship song!
Today’s Scripture is Joshua 24.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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