Joshua 23: Joshua's Farewell
GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE us to obey God. We depend on their encouragement and their example. But what happens when such leaders are no longer around? About twenty years elapsed between the end of the war and Joshua's death. During that time, Joshua's influence kept Israel loyal to God. Now Joshua knows that he is about to die, and he is concerned that Israel's loyalty to God might not continue in his absence. Therefore, he calls the Israelites together to hear a farewell message of challenge and warning.
Warming Up to God
If you were giving a farewell address, what words of thanks would you offer to God?
Read Joshua 23. »
Discovering the Word
- How does Joshua exalt God in his farewell address?
- What promises and commands does Joshua give to Israel (vv. 5-11)?
- What does it mean for us to "hold fast to the LORD" and "to love the LORD"? (vv. 8, 11)?
- Why weren't the Israelites allowed to associate with the nations around them (vv. 7-8, 12-13)?
- Joshua warns that the Lord is faithful not only to his promises but also to his threats (vv. 14-16). What threats had the Lord made to Israel (vv. 15-16)?
Applying the Word
- Today, what aspects of non-Christian culture can become snares, traps, whips on our backs and thorns in our eyes?
- We obviously cannot and should not avoid non-Christians today. How then can we resist the temptation to live like them?
- How does Joshua's farewell address motivate you to be faithful to the Lord?
Responding in Prayer
Ask God to make you faithful. Pray that your pastor and the leaders of your church would be faithful as well.
For Further Study
Becoming Good by David W. Gill