JOSHUA 24 POWER FOR SERVICE The gathering of the children of God at Shechem was extremely significant because it was there between the two mountains the tribes "presented themselves before God," in the presence of God. It was there the old general reviewed the life of the nation for the benefit of the people who only had the faintest memories of where the journey of Israel began. It began when Abraham was called from the other side of the flood. Joshua would have known personally what it was like to have been in slavery in Egypt and delivered the night of the Passover. The Red Sea, Mount Sinai and the wilderness experiences before the crossing the Jordan River and the conquest of the land were all reviewed to remind the new generation of the covenant the Lord had made with His people. To fear the Lord, serve the Lord and have nothing to do with the gods of the land was his charge to the people. New leaders were needed to help the people of God make the right choices and respond in the right way to the Lord. Theirs was a solemn responsibility to fulfill.
Every revelation of truth that leads to a deeper Christian life, leads to a new and greater ability for service. Service can be drudgery if it is not founded on the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit of God. The book of Joshua unfolds the revelation of God to His people. Between v.2 and v.13, the divine personal pronouns occur 17 times; “I took… I gave…I sent…I brought you out… I destroyed… I delivered…” It was revealed to them they owed everything to the intervention and power of God. The same teaching is in Ephesians 2 for us in the Church. Our salvation is the working of God. He has an over-all plan for us. He is working in us by the Holy Spirit. His plan is to present us perfect in position, perfect and mature in experience, and accepted in Christ Jesus.
Every revelation of truth leads to new and personal service for God based on the word of God and will be a privilege and delight to us. In our experience in life we must make a choice for service, v.15. We may respond to His claim with enthusiasm but find ourselves powerless to perform what we promised. We cannot fulfill the works of God in the flesh. We need more than union with God; we need communion with Him. We are in a position by virtue of what the Lord did on Calvary, to fulfill the service to which He calls us, only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christian experience depends on revelation or else it is false. If revelation does not lead to experience, we become cold. We may serve but never succeed. There can be life without health; movement without progress. Don’t be satisfied with less than vital experiences with God. When we chose to be controlled by the Spirit of God, we will have to reaffirm our commitment quite often in our service.
Joshua's public stand for the Lord displayed his spiritual leadership. “Incline your hearts unto the Lord God…” [v.23]. To serve, we must surrender. To overcome, we must obey. Our character must be a reflection of His purity. Our approach to God must be in holiness. Our victory can be only by His power. To live an abundant life, everything must be done out of love for Christ. Our faith must be brightened by our view of Calvary. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” When our service for God is based on the Word of God, it is a privilege and delight to us. Truth when it grips our hearts is an overflow of our hearts. We think of what the Lord has done for us and our position in Christ, we are motivated to serve because of His goodness. We have experienced His kindness by grace and want to glorify Him. If we serve, we must surrender to the Lordship of Christ. To overcome we must obey Him and translate faith into experience.
Jacob had come to this old oak or monument of Shechem and buried his household goods. In the same place, Israel had set up the law (Shechem lies between the two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim). Here they come again at the close of Joshua’s life, and promise obedience to the Lord. We all have our times too, when our hearts are stirred and we have honestly longed to be all we can for God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Joshua wrote everything down there so there could be no mistake as to God’s ways and words. But he also put the stone there beside the tabernacle as a witness to them every time they would come to offer at the altar, that they had heard the word of the Lord. It is not a light thing to have heard and known, God’s word and will. We can spend so much time on the means that we forget the end – the main purpose of our lives. That is to glorify God. It is possible to put so much focus into a building or a method that we forget why we are here.
In the covenant we have entered, the Lord not only promises to forgive us and love us, but enables us to serve Him here on earth. We are able naturally to worship Him properly, but the work of our High Priest gives us acceptance. We must take every precaution lest anything is allowed in our lives that would ever compromise the victorious life God intends us to live. Joseph and Joshua were great deliverers in their lives. Eleazar was a deliverer in his death because at his death, those who had fled to the cities of refuge were set free [20:6].
The leader Joshua died but not before laying before the people the fundamentals of what it means to have faith in God. We are to fear and serve the Lord alone [v.14]. This is based on choice, the choice to obey Him instead of following other gods. Our Captain has gone into heaven and will soon call us to be with Him. The shepherd, Joseph had his bones laid with his ancestors. The one who had provided for his own in Egypt is now laid with the bones of his father Jacob after all those years. The covenant made requires us to renounce all the principles and practices of the culture around us that are hostile to God’s plan. The priest, Eleazar also died. These three men were all buried in the allotment give to Joseph’s sons. We have a Great High Priest by whom we have continual access into God’s presence.
What is acceptable to God in family life? Is it enough to love a person? Is it enough for that person to be a Christian? There comes a time when we must decide whether we are willing to obey the Lord who has proven Himself trustworthy or obey the local gods. Man-made idols or ideas of life and love are very easy to slip into and accommodate to. Really, this means that we set up ourselves as the leader of our life rather than the Lord. When we go about our lives in our own way, we are choosing who or what will control us. Will it be God, our own limited personality or another imperfect substitute? The choice is yours. Once we make the choice to be directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit, we have to daily reaffirm that choice. We have to go further – we must make sure there is nothing that even implies that it is claiming a place of leading in my life. Prejudice, greed, wrong priorities, jealousy all are things that can challenge my family’s future.
When Joshua made a definite public stand for the Lord, he displayed his spiritual leadership. Others now had a living example of living by that decision. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to serving God. Talk is cheap. It is easy to say we will follow God but it is much more important to live it. The nation followed God through Joshua’s lifetime. That is a great tribute to his faith in God and his powerful leadership.