Joshua 22 – Transjordan Tribes Return Home
Joshua
told the Eastern tribes of Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh
that they had done all Moses had commanded and had obeyed Joshua in every
way. Now they could go home to be with
their families. They would not be living
in the Promised Land, but living near their enemies. He warned them to be careful to keep the
commandment and the law that Moses gave them. They were to continue to walk in all the
Lord’s ways, obey his commands, hold fast to him and serve Him with all their
heart and soul. Joshua blessed them and
sent them on their way. (Joshua 22:1-9)
We live
near enemies today. They are all around
us. We need to continue to walk in God’s
ways. We need to obey His commands. We need to hold fast and stand firm and not
let the world’s ways influence us. We
are to love and serve God with all our heart, soul, and mind. So stay on our knees and stay in the Word
daily. Go to Him in every situation, big
or small. He will fight your battles as
He did for Joshua. Remember God is
always with us and will never leave.
How can
you stand firm and hold fast to God and His ways?
Do you
take every circumstance to Him?
Also if
we want to have peace in the religious world today we must recognize God’s
Word, the Bible, as the only authority for religious practices today. We must respect God’s knowledge and always
present the truth.
When
the Eastern tribes came near the Jordan, they build an altar to show they still
belonged to Israel and still worshipped the Lord. Some of Western tribes didn’t understand why
they built this altar. They became angry
and wanted to fight. They thought the Eastern
tribes built the altar to honor themselves and not God. (Joshua
22:10-12)
Anger
can be dangerous. When we jump to
conclusions without knowing the whole story, it can cause arguments and even
wars. We do foolish things when we are
angry. Israel’s leaders made a wise
decision before they went to war. They
sent men to talk to the Eastern tribes and reminded them of their history. But the Eastern tribes explained that the
altar was built so their children would worship with the rest of Israel. They didn’t want to rest of Israel to say in
the future that they had no part with the Lord since they were on the east side
of the Jordan. (Joshua 22:13-25)
They were
at peace again and decided to build another altar to be a witness for all
generations that they all will worship the Lord and will offer offerings. This pleased everyone and there was no more
talk of war. (Joshua 22:26-34)
When
have you jumped to conclusions before you knew the facts?
What
was the result?
Principle: Loyalty to God brings unity among His people.
Joshua 23 – Farewell and Warnings
Joshua
spoke to the leaders and reminded the Israelites to recognize what God had done
for them. God was to one to fought for
them and gave them the land that He promised.
He will continue to work for them and will keep all His promises. He challenged them to be strong and to obey
all that was written in the Book of the Law of Moses. He warned them not associate with any of
these nations that remained, not
intermarry, and not to serve their gods.
If they did then God would no longer be with them to drive out the
remainder of the nations.
He
addressed the leaders, because there were too many people to address them
all. It was more practical to talk with
the leaders. Then the leaders could
share with the others. That is way it is
very important to have godly leaders, because they set the examples and they
lead and guide the people.
We
should remember God is on our side. He’s
working for us and will keep all His promises. We too should be strong and obey
God’s instructions. We should not become
friends with God’s enemies and should not worship false gods. We should not marry non Christians. God will not be happy and they will hurt you
in the end. Christians must be
careful. God will not forget us if we do
evil things, but our evil actions will spoil our fellowship with God. He wants us to be loyal to Him.
Principle:
Believers take God’s commands and warnings seriously
Do you
take God seriously?
Do you
teach your kids to do the same?
Joshua
warns about having idols. How do you
identify idols? There are many forms
of idols. We can rely on family,
investments, and even church in place of God.
Anything we put our hope in other than God is idolatry. In every generation, idols appeal to our
sinful desires. They are everything we
magnify or make more of, than God created them to be. Many things dominate our lives and can become
idols. It’s what’s in your heart. It’s how you spend most of your time. If it isn’t Jesus, it’s an idol. Replacing Him with idols produces emptiness
and destruction.
Joshua 24 – Renewed Covenant and Leaders
Buried
Joshua
reminded the people about Abraham and what God had done in the past. Joshua and Israelites made a covenant with
God. He again told the people what they
must do. They were to give honor to the
Lord, serve Him, only do what God says, and not worship false gods. They had a choice to make. To serve God who brought them out of Egypt or
serve other gods, the gods of Canaan. It
was their choice. Joshua and his family
chose to serve only the Lord.
Joshua
knew their history and all their disobedience.
Israel is still struggling today to get their land back. Joshua knows his failures. God is forgiving, but not to be served
lightly. We have a choice, too. We can sever God or the false gods of
ambition, entertainment, career, etc. All
these false gods can stop us from serving the real God. Joshua said, “as for
me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15
The
people promised the serve the Lord because it He brought them out of Egypt and
saved them from slavery. We must serve
and worship God, because of has freed us from our sin. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for
us. That is why we must worship only
Him.
Joshua
says that God is a jealous God. What
does that mean? Jealousy is like a
man married to his wife. When she has an
affair, He is grieved. That is like the
Lord married to the church. When we take
His name in vain and worship other gods He has the right to be jealous. He wants our loyalty. He wants our undivided love and attention.
What in
your life cause God to be jealous? Our time and possessions belong to God. When we think it is our own, it causes pride,
selfishness and ingratitude. He created
us and intended for us to spend eternity with Him. His jealous love is unfailing and ending.
At
the end of the chapter we see the death of Joshua and Caleb. Joshua had been a great leader. He had great faith and knew God would keep
all His promises. He was a living,
historic picture of Jesus as he called God’s people to obedience, dealt with
their sin and led them into the promised land to receive their full
inheritance. God urges us all be like
Joshua. “Be
strong and courageous. Do not be
terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
Principle: Our choices reflect what we truly value.
Next
week we will study Ruth. See you here.
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