Choose This Day! - 250413

Speaker A Hello, I'm Mike Browning. Welcome to Let God Speak. Life is full of big choices. There's our career, where we live, our marriage partner. It's never ending. But there is one choice more important than any other, and that is which God will we worship and follow? Today, we'll study the final call that Joshua made to Israel to faithfully follow their God. And there's a message in this for us. Also. Speaker A On our panel today, folks, we have Kate Simpson and John Kosmeier. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate your input today. We'd like to invite everyone to join us with prayer. Father in heaven, we just thank you so much for the opportunity of opening the scripture and reading these amazing stories of your work and the life of your people, Israel. May your holy Spirit guide us today as we do that. Please, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Speaker B Amen. Speaker A Well, folks, the story so far. Joshua has faithfully led Israel into the promised land. He's seen them all settle in their new homes. And now Joshua himself is getting old. He knows his time as leader of Israel is almost over. And he talks about that in Joshua 23, verse 1. So if you'd like to turn to that with me. Joshua 23:1, this is what it says now. It came to pass a long time after the Lord had given to Israel rest from all the enemies round about that Joshua was old, advanced in age. So he's old and he knows his time is very short. So what's on his mind, Kate? Speaker C Well, can you just say Joshua, what a man, what an inspiration he is. He's at the end of his life here and he's deeply concerned about Israel's future here. He can sort of see them losing their spiritual energy. Joshua himself has lived a long and courageous life, but he's coming to the end of his time as a leader and he sees that something must be done, something big. He's got to pass something on before he passes. Speaker A That's right. Yes. It's very deep in his heart, isn't it? So what does Joshua do, John? What to deal with that. Speaker B Joshua was a very good leader. And here in Joshua 23:2, he did what leaders do. Good leaders. Yes, verse two. And I'm reading from the new King James Version. And Joshua called for all Israel for their elders, for their heads, for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in age. And here he called all the leaders of Israel together. And he needed to give them words of hope and of warning and to. Speaker A Build up their courage. He was doing that too, wasn't he? Speaker B And so he begins with the leaders. Speaker A And that's a really good point. What did he actually say to them? Kate, that's very important. Speaker C All right, we'll jump down to verse 6 and 7 in the same chapter, Joshua 23. It says, Be therefore very courageous. To keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses. That ye 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 down unto them. So Joshua is talking here. He's calling to be faithful, stay obedient. Don't become tainted with idolatry. Beware of it. It exists in the land. It has tainted some of the Israelites already. But he's calling them to, you know, stand your ground, make a commitment, and we'll see that as we go through the lesson today. Speaker A Okay, thanks, Kate. That's good. So then what did Joshua do after that? He addressed the leaders. Speaker B Now what according to Joshua, chapter 24 and verse one, and I'm reading. Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and he called for the elders of Israel and for their heads, for their judges, and for the officers. The same people again he called a second time. But this time all Israel was called for him to give his last message of hope and of warning. Speaker A And they presented themselves before the Lord. I just love that description. So they're all there on mass. It was amazing. And they gathered at Shechem. So what was the significance of Shechem? Because there was. It was a very important place, wasn't it? Speaker C Yeah, Shechem is a very interesting place. It's actually where Abraham built the altar for God when he first arrived in the land. And God met Abraham here at Shechem and promised him this land, like so many years ago. And this is at the same place now that God called Israel to renew their covenant, to again make those promises, to stay faithful to him. So it's kind of come full circle. And it's really cool that we're back here in Shechem in the same place. Speaker A They have come full circle, haven't they? Because Abraham made his big response of commitment to the Lord. And now here's Israel doing the same. It's fantastic. Okay, so what was Joshua's main message to Israel then? Speaker B It's interesting that his final message is recorded. And there are three main points. One of them is found in verse eight. And I brought you. Speaker B Into the land of the Amorites, who dwell on the other side of the Jordan. And they fought with you, but I gave them into your hand that you might possess their land and destroy them before you. So point number one was that it was God who had brought them into the land. The second point is found in verse 10. But I would not listen to Balaam. Therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. Added to the I have brought you. He now says, I have delivered you. Speaker A Yeah. Speaker B And then verse 13. 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. And here God had prepared a land for them, using others, and now he handed it to them and said, you are the true owners of this. And so. Speaker B They had not earned what God had given them. Speaker A There's a great message of grace in that, isn't there, really, when you think about it, this was all unearned. It was a gift from God. And I absolutely love that, the way he's made that so clear. Look, Kate, Joshua didn't just stop with rehearsing God's acts on behalf of Israel. That wasn't the only thing he wanted to tell the people, was it? Speaker C No, it wasn't. So we find in 2414. Just going to read this verse here. It says, now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. Again, Joshua is very direct with his words, and I love that. Serve ye the Lord. And so, yeah, Joshua is following his message, just as John was talking about with making a call for full surrender to God. This is the God that has done everything for them. There's to be no divide between loyalty to God and idols. God's a jealous God. And Joshua is encouraging them, like, give 100% of your surrender to God. Give it all. Serve the Lord. Speaker A You know, it's a call, total loyalty. That's what the call is, isn't it? To be totally loyal to God 100%. In verse 15, in chapter 24, it says goes on to say this, what Joshua's talking. He says, if it seems evil to you and to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. What is Joshua doing here, John? What's his point? Speaker B His point is that I, together with my family, we have chosen God and to serve him. And this is where he said, because we've done that, you are asked to do the same, to make a choice. Speaker A And they have to do something about it. They can't just stand there and be neutral. That's the point, isn't it? Speaker B Yes, very much so. Speaker A They have to make a choice. What do you think of that? Those famous words of Joshua there at the end of that verse 15, there, where it says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Speaker C You just love these words. You know, we've probably all heard them, we've said them. They're just such an encouragement. And it makes me think that good leaders lead by example. Joshua is setting his ground. He's saying, me and my house, we will serve the Lord. It's kind of like, you know, you do whatever you want to do, but, you know, I'm serving the Lord. If you want to come serve the Lord, he's making his decision. And again, you know, Joshua is an inspiration. Inspiration to all of us. Speaker A It is an inspiration. I really agree with that. Thank you for that. Yeah, moving on. There's a very interesting comment, actually moving back to verse 14. Speaker A Where it says, now therefore fear the Lord. I think we just should talk about what it means to fear the Lord. John, what is he talking about here? Speaker B When you go to the book of Hebrews. Speaker B It takes away. Speaker B Running away because you're fearful. And here in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. Speaker B Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly. In other words, don't run away confidently, isn't it? Speaker B Come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And so we have a reverence for God. Speaker B Which doesn't. Speaker B Take away the fact that, okay, we might be a bit fearful, but it's not a crippling one. It's one where we have an awe of what God really is. I mean, he is the creator of the universe and he's the one that had given to his people these cities that others had built and so on. Okay, well, you don't run away from a God like that. You hang around because you don't know what else you're going to get. Speaker A No, you're safe. That's good. Thanks, John, for that. Kate, what would be a practical outcome of fearing God in this manner that we've discussed. Speaker C Well, the answer is actually right here in verse 14, Joshua 24:14. Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth. We've read this verse before, but I'll just rephrase. Put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. Speaker C Serving God in sincerity and truth generally means like, constancy and stability. And it refers to God's character of faithfulness. Joshua is saying, don't just give outward service to God. It has to come from the heart. It has to be an inward, sincere service to God. Yeah. And to reflect gratefulness to God for what he's done. Be sincere about it. Be honest. Like, don't just do it because I'm doing it. Don't just do it because everyone else is doing it. But make sure it's a personal commitment to God. Speaker A Yes. And the desire, when you do make that commitment and Jesus comes into your life, you want to serve him, don't you? You want to do something for him. And that's what they're saying here. Really encouraging. You know, when we were reading this before, I thought of Isaiah, the young man, Isaiah, when God calls him to follow him. And Isaiah. Speaker A Comes before God and God tells him his sins are forgiven and washed away. And then God said, well, I've got a job that needs doing. And Isaiah says, oh, well, what about me? I'll go. And I think, well, that is so nice. That's a natural result of surrendering your life, as we've been saying here today, surrendering your life to God. You just want to serve him as a result of that. So thanks for that. Now, look, a related question to this, John, is this. We're talking about being faithful in law. How would you describe a faithful person? Speaker B A person who is faithful. Speaker B Is one whose loyalty to you and to other people for that matter, is. Speaker B It's total. Speaker A Yes. Speaker B It's undivided. And this is where you can always depend upon them. And that's the way God had been to the children of Israel. Now he said, I'm like that. I want you to be the same way. Speaker A Okay, now, thank you for that. Speaker B Be faithful, be loyal, be dependable. Speaker A Be a person of integrity. Now that's really good. I like that. Thank you, John. Speaker A So how did the people respond? Joshua makes all these appeals. There's not just one, there's three appeals. How did the people respond to Joshua's appeal? Speaker C All right, they're time to talk, so we'll read again in 24, chapter 24, verse 16. I'm going to read a little bit of 17 and the last bit of 18 as well. The people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up, brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. And the end of verse 18, therefore, we will also serve the Lord, for He is our God. The people promise to serve God. They acknowledge him as the God of the patriarchs. You know, he's the God that's done everything for them. He's brought them out of the land. And they say, we will serve God just like Joshua is serving him. It's 100% a positive commitment here. And yeah, that's their answer to all of Joshua's appeals. Like, we will do it. We're going to serve God. Speaker A Yes. And it was exciting when you think about it as one person. They all said that, no, we're going to be faithful. We're going to do that. And I'm sure they meant it. And. Speaker A But Joshua goes on, as we'll see in a moment, despite that. But look, Joshua now tests their resolve and he gives them a severe warning. John, this is something to consider. I'm going to read chapter 24 still in verse 19 and 20 here, and I need us to deliberate over these verses here. Joshua said to the people, verse 19, you cannot serve the Lord, for he's a holy God. He's a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins. Then he goes on to say, now that sounds pretty scary, but he's trying to give them a warning. Look, don't mess up. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after he has done you good, which he's done. So why does he give them such a. This is very strong stuff, isn't it, John? Speaker B Well, we've got to remember that Joshua had been with them for 40 years, wandering in the wilderness, where God had provided food, he had provided water. Wherever they went, the water was there. Speaker B He covered them by day with a cloud to protect them from the heat, and at night he gave them light. Speaker B And despite all that, they argued and complained and went to stone Moses and Aaron when things didn't go right. And here, Joshua knew that if they didn't have a good leader, that those people would go back to whinging, complaining and doing all that over again. And he was saying to them, now I want to remind you that things have been good, but if you depart from God. Speaker B Don'T mess with him. Speaker A That's right. Speaker B Because he is a God who can also take away his blessings and then you're on your own. Speaker A Yes, that's good. Thanks John, for that. Speaker A He had certain concerns which you've been sharing. Just outline the main points for us there, please, Kate. Those are the main concerns that he had. Speaker C There's two main concerns that seem to be obvious here. Joshua is saying the decision to serve God is. It's a serious decision. You can't just make it light hearted. You have to understand the conditions, understand the history. Speaker A Yeah. Speaker C Like truly know what decision you're making. Kind of, oh, we're going to serve the Lord. You have to make sure you know what you're doing. And the second concern is that the decision must come from their own hearts. They can't just be following a leader as we see in the Israelites history. They're a little bit, they kind of float around a little bit sometimes. They're not very determined and decided on which direction they're going to take. And so he's saying, you know, you have to make this decision from your own heart. You can't just be doing it because I'm doing it. You can't just be following people. Speaker A That is such a good point, Kate. Speaker C Yeah. And it sounds like the people here a little bit, you know, following Joshua because that's what they should do. I think we can do this in our own lives as well. It's easy to follow people that have influence and power and are like, oh, that's what they're doing. I'm going to do that as well. But we can't do that. We have to make our own decision. And Joshua's concerned about this. He's like, he's about to leave. They of course are going to say like, we're going to serve him. Like why would they say we're not going to serve him? But he's testing them, as John was saying, to make sure that. Are you actually making this decision for yourself? Speaker A Now? God is a personal God and he wants to relate to us personally, individually. And I think that's a very good point that's being made here. Okay, thanks for that. Still looking at Joshua 24:22. Now after the people said in verse 21, no, but we will serve the Lord. Then in verse 22, Joshua said to the people, you are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves to serve Him. And they said, we are witnesses. And then this is what he said. Now therefore, he said, put away the foreign gods which are among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel. It's very interesting, isn't it? Why do you think Joshua needed to, or felt the need to appeal to the people to put away the idols? Again, you say anything, why do you think he felt the need to do that, John? Speaker B Well, you think that after 40 years of being with God and then entering into Israel and take over the country there. Speaker B Worshiping idols, they still were. And this is where, when you read verse. Speaker B 24, and the people said to Joshua, the Lord our God, we will serve, and his voice, we will obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, a contract, and made for them a statue and an ordinance in Shechem. And here is a agreement between God and the people that they wrote out. And then verse 26, Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law, and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. Speaker A We'll come back to that in a minute too, because that's a very important point, John. Thanks for that. Speaker A What did the people finally say? What was their final response? Remember, this is the third one, Kate. What would they finally say there? Speaker C Well, yeah, John, just read it in verse 24, that the people said, the Lord our God, we will serve, and his voice, will we obey? They'd made their commitment to be faithful. And what's actually interesting to note here, this is actually the third time that they'd answered. Joshua has asked this question three times or said, serve the Lord. And the people say, we will serve the Lord. Serve the Lord? Yes, we'll serve the Lord. And the third time they say, we will serve the Lord. And it actually reminded me of how Jesus asked Peter three times, you know, will you love me, don't deny me. And, you know, unfortunately, we all know the history of what happened there, but it's interesting to note this is again, three times where the people have verbally said, we will serve the Lord. It's quite interesting to note that. Speaker A Okay. And I think it's important that we get the importance of the repetition. He doesn't just ask them and they made a casual response. No, think it through. Seriously, what he's really saying to them. And that's exactly what Jesus did with Peter. Exactly. He was saying to Peter, this is very serious and you need to think it through very carefully. And so he did do that. Let's look at verse 25 now of Joshua 24, it says, Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and an ordinance there in Shechem. So what's Joshua's point? What's he doing here, John? Speaker B He is. Speaker B Putting into solid evidence. Speaker B What the people have just said. And the Solomon. Speaker B Evidence was that it was written down, okay? When God gave the ten Commandments, it was written down by God's own finger. And now Joshua is doing what God did on Mount Sinai. They hear the message from God. They say, we will do this. Joshua said, good, now let's write it down. And one of the reasons is, it's because not only our generation, it's those who were to come when they could read that their forebears, their fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers and others, they had made an agreement with God. Here it was in writing. And when it's in writing, you can't change it. Speaker A No. And isn't it interesting? Here we are reading it today, you know, several thousand years later, we're still reading this story. And this reminder of the commitment and the decision that they made. Speaker B And that was put inside the ark. Speaker B With the tablets of stone, the ten Commandments. Speaker A That'll be the side of the ark, John. Speaker B And it was in the portion of the ark where the writings of Moses were put in there for the ceremonial laws and so on. And so it became a very important day. Speaker A Yeah, it was. And so it was recorded. And we need to keep records of our commitment. I think that's a good thing to do, actually. Make a note of the time when you made your big commitments, because we make levels of commitments, don't we, throughout our life, and it's good to keep a record of those things. And I think this is what's been done here now. That's really good. Thanks for that. In verse 26 there, it talks about what you're saying, John, about writing the commitment they made into the law of God, the scripture. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the. The oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And you mentioned this earlier. What was the purpose of the stone, Kate? Speaker C Yeah. Joshua answers this. In verse 27 of chapter 4, Joshua said unto all the people, behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us. It shall be, therefore, a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So it's a solid thing. It's not moving anywhere. And yeah, what I was thinking is that all. So far, it's all been verbal commitments. But like you were saying before, it's important to make a record of the things that we commit to. And Joshua is making it visible here. He's like, look at this stone. It's solid. It's unmovable. There's so many similarities. You could make. Like your commitment needs to be like this stone. It needs to be. Be solid, unmovable. It's not going to wear away. And it's something that they could look at and remind them of the covenant that made with God. They could. Speaker A Every time they walked past and saw the stone. Speaker C Yeah. They're going to see it's not going anywhere. Speaker A That's right. They'd remember. It must have been a big stone. Speaker B Mike, I find it interesting that when you go into the sanctuary, which was built eventually, and you go into the sanctuary into the most holy place, there we have. Speaker B In stone, surrounded by wood. And here Joshua. Speaker B Was something that was. Speaker B Remembered by the stone, surrounded by not as the Bible says here, the. The oak, but the stone and the wood was there. Speaker A Okay, no, thank you for that. Speaker B Because one day, Jesus, who's the Rock of Ages, he was going to be hung on an oak. Speaker A Yeah, good point. Thank you for that. Okay, what else happened at Shechem here? We've just got running out of time a little bit. Let's keep going. What else happened here at Shechem, John? Speaker B They fulfilled a promise that Israel had made many years, hundreds of years before. Because Joseph. Speaker B He said, bury me where my heart is, and that's in the promised land. And that's what they did. Speaker A Yes. And it was very symbolic, wasn't it? A very powerful symbolism that they carried his bones at his request, by the way, back to. Back to the promised land. And a kind of like. It was an assurance. His grave in Egypt was an assurance that they were going to go back. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A The promised land as a people, which they did. And they took his bones and they buried them there. And I'm very touched by that. Very touched indeed. And it's interesting that the last request that Joseph made before he died those years before was that they do this. Keep my bones, take them back, and it'll be a guarantee that God will take you back one day to be in the promised land. What a wonderful picture it was. Well, folks, we're going to finish up there. Speaker A Joshua's life, folks, it was a true inspiration. He was faithful to God's call to him right through to the end of his life. His love and his care for his people never wavered this final act in calling God's people to deliberately choose to serve God. And that still rings true to each one of us today. His famous words still impact us. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord well. We're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember all our past programs plus teacher's notes, all available on our website 3abnaustralia.org au. You can email us on lgsabnaustralia.org join us again. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.