Joshua’s Charge to Israel’s Leaders
23 A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.
“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
(ESV)
Joshua 23 Commentary
Joshua 23 recounts Joshua’s farewell address to Israel as he nears the end of his life. He reminds the people that the Lord has given them rest from their enemies and fulfilled His promises by driving out the ungodly nations and allotting Israel’s land as an inheritance. Joshua urges Israel to remain strong and obedient to the law of Moses, avoiding any association with the remaining nations or their gods.
He warns that disloyalty to the Lord through alliances, intermarriage, or idolatry will lead to severe consequences, including (but not limited to) the loss of the land God has given them. Joshua emphasizes that not one of God’s promises has failed, but if the covenant is broken, God’s anger will bring judgment, and Israel will be removed from the land.
Joshua’s Instruction
Joshua’s leadership was coming to an end, and while he likely felt satisfaction in fulfilling God’s plans, he was concerned about Israel’s future. Joshua gives the people lots of encouragement but also many warnings. He knows that if they are obedient, the Lord will fight for them, but if they are not, He will fight against them. The promises and power of God are amazing, but the temptation and struggle of Israel to go back on their responsibility was too much. Unfortunately, we will see the fulfillment of Joshua’s concern unfold throughout Israel’s history.
If you do not keep the covenant which the LORD your God commanded you to keep and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you, and soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.”
Joshua 23:16 GNB
Love for God is an exclusive thing; it is a conscious devotion to him, based on what he has done for Israel. It has for its corollary the hating of evil. This love is enjoined here again upon Israel. The words translated take good care therefore read [literally] “take care for your very souls” (cf. Deut.4:15). . . . The Israelites are to love for their life’s sake.
Marten H. Woudstra
I love this thought. Love God like your life depends on it!
God gave Israel victory over powerful enemies. Israel achieved incredible and miraculous victories, but only as they walked in step with the Lord their God. However, if they wandered from the Lord’s ways, they would forfeit His presence. God would hand them over to their desires. This sounds familiar…
“And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. [29] They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.”
Romans 1:28-31 CSB
“The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, [10] and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. [11] For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, [12] so that all will be condemned—those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 CSB
God’s Word
I cannot help but notice how Joshua brings Israel’s attention back to God’s Word (Jos 23:6, Jos 23:14). His promises spoken over Israel did not fail. They were trustworthy. Joshua knew that temptation would come, and in those moments, the plea was to remember God’s faithfulness to His Word. The sad reality for Israel is that by the time of 2 Kings (~800 years later), God would allow Babylon to conquer Judah and the people would be ejected from their land. Within the chapters in between, we see Israel flirt continuously with the Canaanite gods.
The point is clear. Though Joshua was a strong leader, a determined and loyal warrior, and a constant presence drawing Israel back to the Lord, ultimately, he could not force them to do anything. In the end, it would be their own path that they stubbornly pursued. What we can take from this today is that the law does not and will not change hearts. The law is good and just, but it has no saving power. Thank God for His Son Jesus, who by grace through faith alone is more than enough to conquer the depraved human heart condition.
