Jos. 23: Joshua Bids Farewell

Joshua 23:16 "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."

Chapter 23 begins the epilogue to the book of Joshua. An old man, Joshua wants to pass on the same challenge Moses gave near the end of his life. To follow God only, to stick to his covenant...not to turn aside to the right or the left. To go straight on, and not to associate or intermarry with other nations, lest they lead Israel into idolatry and immorality...then breaking the covenant, and bringing down the wrath of God.

Verse 3 talks about what God did to these nations "for your sake," referring to Israel. Israel may have been special here, and Israel appears (at least in this passage) to be much more than simply God's hand of judgment on the rest of the world.

Verse 13 is pretty vivid...God will "no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you."

Seems simple enough.

God would turn his back on Israel if they turned away from him. What choice was there? How could God abide sin in his holiness?

Verse 14 sheds a little light on one happens at death. We learn that Joshua will "go the way of all the earth." He will die, which means all the earth will die. Even back then, life was a terminal condition. None in the earth would be perfect, and live forever. What hope was there then in life?

Another point of interest on our little tour through chapter 22 is where Joshua says that just as God's promises of good can come true, so can God's promise of evil. Evil. Done by God. Is there a distinction between evil and sin? If God is sinless, what then can be said about evil? Is evil merely destruction? Am I lost in the semantics of the word "evil?" Perhaps it can just as easily say "nasty stuff." At any rate, Israel was being challenged to be good. They did not want to bring forth the wrath of God.