If you knew your earthly life was soon to come to an end, would you call your family members and friends together with a prepared speech?  And what would you say to them?

Today we have heard that when Joshua was very old, he summoned all Israel (well not literally all of Israel – but the leaders and elders and officials so they could pass on his message) with final words and exhortations as their leader.

(You may notice I have skipped over chapters 15-22 which basically speak of division and allotments of land)

We read of other key biblical figures in the O.T. taking the opportunity to leave parting words of wisdom and exhortation.  Jacob, Joseph and of course Moses…some say the whole of Deuteronomy are Moses’ farewell words.

In John’s gospel we read of Jesus’ farewell words to his disciples, covering chapters 14 – 17, after the last supper and before his arrest.

There are some similarities between Joshua’s and Jesus final words…but also a marked difference, a difference that is a great comfort to us, which we will look at later…

But firstly, to Joshua’s address.  He begins by acknowledging the greatness, goodness, and faithfulness of God.

Joshua had been a strong and courageous leader, but he doesn’t big note himself, he points to God.  All the amazing things that have happened since he took on the mantle of leadership from Moses, have been due to God who fought for them, God fulfilling his good promises.

Joshua does not seek to take any glory for himself.  How often have you been to a funeral and heard so many wonderful things about a person, that they are almost revered as heroes and their ordinariness or weaknesses are not mentioned!  Joshua wants to ensure before he dies that the Israelites know to give the glory to God and not to him.

He reminds them that they have seen for themselves everything the Lord, their God has done, that he has fought their battles.  They have had rest from their enemies for some time now, but as Rob reminded us of last week, not all the land had been possessed.  Joshua says the Lord will push the remaining enemies out as he has promised…but, he says, you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

He is not going to be around to continually remind them and exhort them, he is very old, and he knows he is going to die, he says I am about to go the way of all the earth.  So, he wants to ensure that after he has gone, the Israelites will continue to be faithful to God, as God has been faithful to them.

Joshua knows full well how fickle people can be.  He had to wander the desert for 40 years before crossing into the Jordan because the Israelites did not trust and obey God.  He has also seen the judgement and discipline God has handed out to those who disobey.  Even Moses did not get to the promised land and think of what happened to Achan and his family when he tried to deceive God.

He exhorts the Israelite leaders with these words…

⁶ “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. ⁷ Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.

The Lord had commanded Joshua himself with very similar words that we read in Joshua 1.  He told him to be very strong and courageous, to obey the law of Moses and meditate on it day and night, so that you will be careful to do everything written in it.

What was the law that Joshua meditated on?  We can read it in the book of Deuteronomy.  Summed up in chapter 6 after giving the 10 commandments Moses says this….

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Joshua had taken to heart these words of Moses and God’s command to meditate on the law.  And like a father to the Israelites, he impresses the laws on them, talking about them so they will not forget. They have now crossed over into the land flowing with milk and honey, and they must continue to obey the Lord.

The 10 commandments are all about loving God and loving others.  Jesus later sums these up as the two greatest commandments.

Joshua tells them to be very careful to love the Lord your God…

He knows the temptations of intermarriage with the Canaanites that are still in the land.  He tells them to flee from idols and the dangers of intermarriage.  We know that not all intermarriage is banned, as there are some amazing exceptions of intermarriage like Rahab and Ruth as they both end up in the genealogy of Jesus!  But these women converted to the Israelites faith, they acknowledged and pledged themselves to worship and follow the one true God.

However, there are many more examples where intermarriage has caused people swaying from wholehearted devotion to God and worshipping Baal and indulging in sexually immoral practices tied up with idol worship.  One obvious example is King Solomon who married countless numbers of wives and compromised his faith, let alone giving mixed messages to his subjects, not like Joshua who exhorted them to flee from idols and intermarriage.

In 1 Kings 11 we read:

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. ⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done…

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.

We too like Solomon (who started out a loyal follower of God) can be easily swayed by others and compromise our faith, or like Solomon be caught up idolizing material wealth and power.  Fortunately, it is illegal for us to marry multiple partners!  But the apostle Paul warns against being yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6).  If you are already married to an unbeliever, he says to stay married and pray that your faith and conduct may sway them to believe (1 Cor 7).  But it is not wise to knowingly marry an unbeliever, because there is great danger that they will pull you away from your faith.  I have seen this happen in my own family.

Joshua warns the Israelites that if they do not keep God’s commands then God’s anger will burn against them, and they will perish.  He longs for them to keep the covenant God made with Abraham, then God will bless them.  A covenant they have broken over and over again.

The good news is that with Jesus – we have a new covenant…written on our hearts.  Rob spoke about this when he preached on Joshua chapter 5 a few weeks ago as the Israelites recommitted themselves to God with the symbol of circumcision.  No longer do we need a physical circumcision, rather we are to circumcise our heart…Paul says in Romans 2 that circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not the letter.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant to come, in chapter 31 he writes “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”

In Jesus’ farewell speech, like Joshua, he tells the disciples to keep his commands, and that if they love him, they will do this – the commands to love God and to love one another.

But the major difference in the two speeches is that while Joshua ends on a warning, Jesus ends on a note of comfort.

Firstly, while Joshua will die and ‘go the way of all the earth’, Jesus will die but will rise again.  And while he may not be with them in an earthly bodily way, he promises to send the Holy Spirit.

We are not left as orphans says Jesus.  God, in the form of the Holy Spirit will live in us and guide us into all truth.  God’s word will be written on our hearts and the Spirit will lead us and comfort us and convict us. The Holy Spirit will help us keep God’s commands.

Joshua warns of destruction on the Israelites if they do not keep God’s commands.  But God knew we could not keep the old covenant, that we would always run after other small g gods and idols.  And so, he made a new covenant through the death of Jesus who took on the punishment for our sin.  On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took the cup and gave it to his disciples, saying that this was the cup of the new covenant.  It symbolised his blood, his death on the cross, the new covenant bringing forgiveness for all who turn to him.  When we repent, we are totally forgiven and restored into a full relationship with God forever, rather than being subject to destruction.

What comforting news is that!  Before Jesus ‘goes the way of the earth’ via the cross, he assures his disciples that even if the world does not see him anymore, they will see him.  He will defeat death, the Father will raise him from the dead and because he lives, they also will live and know God’s great love for them.

Because Jesus lives, we also live!  He lives in us, through the Holy Spirit.

We don’t have to wait to be on our death bed to share this good news with our friends and family.

Why do we find it so hard to share our faith?  Do we want our loved ones to know the love and forgiveness and presence of God in their lives?

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you opportunities to share and show God’s love.  Ask the Lord to help you to be strong and courageous, like Joshua, not just to follow him wholeheartedly yourself, but to tell others about the great blessings for those who love the Lord.

Let’s pray: Father God, we thank you for the message from Joshua exhorting us to flee from idols and to love and follow you.  Thank you for the new covenant we have in Jesus and for his words of comfort, for sending the Holy Spirit to live in us, to help us, so that we might have new and everlasting life in you.  Amen.