Years, since Joshua had sent the tribes to their territories to clean out the rest of the pagan population in their respective regions. They had broken the military strength of their enemies; all that was left was to clear the rest of the folks out.
Joshua was now an old, old man. He and Caleb were the only guys over 60 years old when they crossed the Jordan, all those years before, and he knows his time to depart is near. He called in all the elders, leaders, judges and officials to him and reminded them of what they had lived through since they crossed the Jordan.
"I am old and well advanced in years. You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain -- the nations I conquered -- between the Jordan and the Great Sea. The LORD your God will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, asl the LORD your God promised you." - 23:2a - 5
Then, he solemnly charges the leaders what to do after he's gone:
1) Be strong and courageous and live by the Law given by Moses (v.6)
2) Do not in any way serve or honor the gods of the pagans left among you (v. 7)
3) Do not associate with the people who do not honor God (v.7)
4) Hold fast to the LORD your God (v. 8)
He reminded them again, that it was the LORD who drove out their enemies; it was the LORD who made one man able to defeat a thousand enemies; they had not done it in their own strength.
'So be very careful to love the LORD your God.' (v.11)
He continues with a warning of what will happen if they fail to follow those instructions. And it's interesting to note what constituted failure: making alliances with the foreigners, intermarrying with them and socializing with them. And this wasn't about racial differences...it was about belief systems. Because fraternizing with people whose beliefs are fundamentally opposed to the worship of God is a huge trap. It began with the serpent in the Garden and it remains the same even today. The arguments sound reasonable, even. What could it hurt? One bite? One bit of incense? A few little wooden images? Is it really that big of a deal?
Yes. Because it always leads to death. And what was the choice Moses gave them back in Deuteronomy 30? 'This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live...' (Deut. 30:19) That was no random selection of words...the pagan cultures ALL practiced child sacrifice. Choosing the culture of death would literally kill their offspring.
Look at words of the warning: 'If you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them, then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.' (Josh. 23:12-13)
It was a big deal.
And, just in case the message hadn't gotten through, he repeats it for emphasis, because, just as God has been faithful to keep His promises, He will also be faithful to execute His judgment.
'You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises that the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.' - (vs. 14b -16)
It is a big deal.
Of course, we all know the rest of the story; that the people of Israel repeatedly fell into the patterns of the people around them and repeatedly suffered for it, until the Babylonians finally destroyed their capital city and place of worship and drug all the leaders and their households off to exile. Not because they refused to serve God, but because they kept trying to mix the worship of God with the worship of the gods of the unbelievers. Because it was what the folks around them were doing.
Not this generation, or even the one after, but eventually...a generation grew up that didn't really believe what they'd been taught about what God had done and said.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Next week...Joshua's last words to the nation.
How much of the ungodly culture am I allowing to influence my worship? How can I remove the influences of the culture from my worship and still remain relevant enough to be an influence on folks who just don't get the whole One True God thing?
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