Joshua: Servant of the Lord - Lesson 9
Overview
Joshua's Farewell: Hold Fast to the Lord
Roughly twenty years after the conquest, an aged Joshua gathers Israel's leaders for a final charge Joshua 23. His message centers on remembering what God has done and clinging to His promises. He calls Israel to be steadfast in the law of Moses, neither turning to the right nor the left, and warns against five dangers: mixing with unbelieving nations, naming their gods, swearing by them, serving them, or bowing down to them. The positive command is simple and weighty: "hold fast to the Lord your God."
Joshua's warning against syncretism still confronts us. There are many roads that lead to destruction, but Jesus says, "Enter through the narrow gate" Matthew 7:13, and "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6. The church must never trade the way for a way. The guarantor of Christianity's truth is not our cleverness but the risen Christ Himself—every other religion's founder remains in the grave; Jesus is alive.
"Choose This Day": Letting Scripture Interpret Scripture
In Joshua 24, Joshua rehearses God's salvation history and then issues the famous call: "choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (24:15). This verse is often misread as an appeal to human decision-making power. Other Scriptures correct that misunderstanding. Jesus says plainly, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" John 15:16. By nature "the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God... it cannot" submit to Him Romans 8:7. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" 1 Corinthians 12:3. And we are saved "by grace... through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8-9.
Augustine likened faith to falling in love: not a willed decision struck on a particular day, but the awakening of a heart that has been changed. So when Joshua says "choose," he speaks to a people whose stony hearts God has already turned toward Him. Notice their answer: they don't talk about their own resolve but about what God has done—bringing them out of Egypt, protecting them, driving out their enemies (24:16-18). Then Joshua presses harder: "You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God" (24:19). He is dismantling every shred of self-reliance, exposing that faithfulness will never come from their own strength.
Law, Gospel, and the Comfort of God's Decision
This distinction matters pastorally. The law speaks in if/then: "if you do this, then God will accept you." The gospel speaks in because/therefore: because Christ has died and risen, therefore you are forgiven and belong to Him. When "make your decision for Jesus" becomes the message, the gospel quietly turns back into law—one more work to perform, and one more reason to doubt whether we performed it sincerely enough. Luther himself was tormented by such questions.
To a believer who fears, "I don't know if I really believe," the answer is not "try harder to believe." That is like telling a drowning person to swim. The answer is the gospel: in your baptism God made His decision about you; He called you His own, and nothing will snatch you from His hand. Faith is generated and sustained by the proclamation of what Christ has done, not by introspection about the strength of our choosing.
God Keeps His Promises
The book closes with the burials of Joshua, Joseph's bones, and Eleazar (24:29-33)—faithful servants laid to rest in the land God promised. Our lives, too, are a vapor; none of us walked the earth a century ago, and the work we do for Christ will be carried on by others until He returns. Wherever God has placed you—your home, workplace, neighborhood, relationships—that is your altar, the place to proclaim Christ and live by grace.
The overarching theme of Joshua is this: God keeps His promises. He gave the land He had pledged to Abraham. On that same soil a wooden cross was planted, where the new Joshua—Jesus—died for our sins and rose again. As children of Abraham through faith in Him, we now look forward to the greater promised land: the new heaven and the new earth.
Transcript
Good morning. 6s
Let's pray together. 8s
Holy God, we give you thanks for this time in your word, your word is truth. 10s
We ask for your blessing upon all the classes that are occurring now this hour to your glory 15s
and to your praise. 22s
In Jesus' name, amen. 23s
Well, last week we took a look of the blessings that the Lord had granted during the conquest 26s
and we drew the comparison with regard to the blessings that are received through the Lord Jesus. 33s
We also took a look at the building of an altar by the people of Ruben Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh 40s
that had been misinterpreted and we delved into that. 48s
Well, today in our concluding session here on this study of Joshua, let's turn to Joshua 23. 52s
Joshua 23. 60s
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and then Joshua. 64s
Joshua chapter 23. 76s
And as we come to the 23rd chapter, about 20 years have passed since the battles of the conquest. 80s
And we see in the 23rd chapter that Joshua calls a meeting. 90s
So we'll pick up in verse 1. 96s
A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, 98s
in Joshua's old and well-advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, 105s
their judges and officers and said to them, I'm now old and well-advanced in years. 113s
And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, 119s
for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 125s
I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, 128s
along with all the nations that I have already cut off from the Jordan to the great sea in the west. 135s
The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, 142s
and you shall possess the land as the Lord your God promised you. 148s
Joshua here in his old age, he wants to make sure that the people remember a God and God in his promises, 156s
and their specific instructions beginning with verse 6. 164s
And therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, 169s
turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, 177s
so that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, 181s
or may make mention of the names of their gods, 186s
or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them, 190s
but hold fast to the Lord your God as you have done to this day. 196s
Five things, then, that they were not to do. 204s
They were not to mix with the unbelieving nations. 208s
They were to not to mention the false gods. 211s
They were not to swear in the names of false gods. 213s
They were not to serve them. 216s
They were not to bow down to them. 218s
There are many ways to hell. 224s
There is only one way unto God. 226s
And that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. 229s
Take a look over in Matthew chapter 7, 233s
Matthew chapter 7, verse 13. 237s
Matthew 7, verse 13. 250s
Enter through the narrow gate. 253s
For the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, 256s
and there are many who take it. 260s
For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, 262s
and there are few who find it. 267s
Let's go over to John, the 14th chapter. 270s
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John. 273s
John chapter 14, verse 6. 276s
Jesus said to him, 292s
I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me. 293s
Christ is the only way unto salvation. 302s
So that begs the question then of how do we know the Christianity is right? 306s
You've heard the old jokes, there's not humor in them, 312s
but the old jokes, the person who just kind of prays to all the gods 317s
because he or she wants to have their bases covered in the end. 320s
Well, no. 325s
Scripture tells us there is the way, the truth, and the life, and that is Jesus. 326s
So how do we know that Christianity is right? 332s
The guarantor of the rightness of Christianity is the Lord Jesus. 335s
The guarantor that the Bible is true is the one who is truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. 340s
And so one asks then how did Jesus regard the Scriptures? 348s
So it is Jesus who is the guaranty. 354s
The originator of every other religion is dead. 358s
Jesus is alive. 366s
Jesus is the guarantor. 368s
We live in it in a day in which there's increasingly the belief that it doesn't matter 370s
the God that you believe in as long as you believe in that God sincerely. 377s
That's really a dangerous statement, isn't it? 383s
The church must never compromise on Christ being the only way unto salvation, 387s
the way in the truth and the life. 393s
If the definitive article changes to A way, A truth and the life, A life, 396s
we would have swirved dramatically off of the truth. 403s
Christ is the only way unto salvation. 407s
Joshua is lifting up here the danger of mixing with unbelieving nations, 412s
of falling into idolatry, of serving them and bowing down to them. 418s
What are the things that should be done back to Joshua chapter 23 again, 425s
echoing in verse 6, 432s
therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that's written in the book of the law of Moses, 434s
turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, 441s
obeying God and obeying his word, holding it fast down into verse 8 again, 445s
but hold fast to the Lord your God as you have done to this day. 451s
Joshua reminds the people of a particular command that Moses had given, 458s
a warning that they were not to intermarry, that they were not to worship false gods, 466s
because if there was a intermarriage here of different religions, 472s
the danger of the purity of God's word increases substantially, 480s
and then there can be this kind of melding of the two religions. 487s
So there was a warning that came from Moses and it is echoed here from Joshua. 493s
Joshua then finishes here with a review of God's salvation history, that's in chapter 24, 501s
beginning with verse 2, second parts of verse 13, it's really a nice, it's a 30,000-foot look, 509s
but it's a very, very nice overview of God's salvation history. 515s
And then we come to Joshua chapter 24 verse 15. 522s
And there in that verse in 24 verse 15 is a verse that is very, very popular. 529s
I remember growing up, right as you entered into our home there in California, 538s
there was this little plaque and it had this verse on the plaque, 543s
so you couldn't enter through the front door without seeing that plaque. 547s
Let's go to verse 14 of chapter 24 and then we'll get into 15. 551s
Now therefore, revere the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. 557s
Put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. 563s
Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, 571s
whether the gods of your ancestors served in the region beyond the river of the gods or the gods 577s
of the Emirates in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 583s
This is a beautiful, beautiful portion of scripture, popular portion of scripture, 592s
and often misunderstood portion of scripture. And other portions of scripture help us to understand 597s
this mandate. As you remember, you let scripture interpret scripture, you let scripture talk 605s
to scripture when you're getting a correct interpretation. And so when you see in verse 15, 612s
where Joshua says, choose this day whom you will serve, how do we bring around the other 622s
texts there to give us a proper interpretation here of this choosing that is going on. 631s
So let's go to John chapter 15, John chapter 15, verse 16, 638s
John 15, verse 16. 646s
And here Jesus says, you did not choose me, but I chose you. But Joshua says, choose this day 656s
whom you will serve and Jesus says, you didn't choose me. I chose you. Let's go to Romans, 668s
the eighth chapter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans, Romans chapter 8, verse 7. 675s
For this reason, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. 694s
Indeed it cannot. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. That is who we are by nature. 703s
We are absolutely in rebellion to God. We want nothing to do with God. There's not a spark in us 714s
that wants anything by nature to do with God. There's no inclination towards God in us as a 721s
manifestation of the reality of our sinfulness. Back in verse 7 again, with this reason, the mind 731s
that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. Catch the words, 738s
indeed it cannot. It cannot. We by nature don't choose God. We are in rebellion against God. We 745s
want nothing to do with God. Let's go to 1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 755s
Acts, and Romans, and then 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 3. 764s
And therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the spirit of God ever says 778s
let Jesus be cursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 785s
Let's go to Ephesians, the 2nd chapter, verse 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and then Ephesians. Ephesians 797s
for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of 816s
God. By God's grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift 827s
of God. We can only respond in faith based upon God's choosing of us. Augustan, early church 837s
father, used the example of love in terms of with faith. And the example here is, yeah there are 850s
some things that you can choose in terms of love to express your love. There's kind of a choice 863s
in there. But the actual falling in love, it's not that you all of a sudden just decide one day 870s
to be in love. I'll use Denise here. I didn't wake up one day in my seminary dorm room and say, 880s
yep, today is the day. I decide to love her. I decide to love her. Today is the day. I have made my 889s
decision for Denise. And now I love her. No. It was that common process where you meet and 900s
got them with the first date and go, she's nice. You know, and like her, you date some more. And 913s
I think I really like her. And then you keep dating and that kind of stuff. And you go, 920s
you know, I wonder if I'm falling in love with her. And then one day you just realize you are. 928s
You are. It's not a decision that you make. Augustan said that falling in love is the best 933s
analogy to faith. Because it's that sense of with Jesus, all of a sudden you realize that you're 943s
in love with Jesus. In love with Jesus. And why? Because Jesus has come and he comes with his 950s
word and he transforms our stony hearts into lovers of him. That's why Jesus says, you didn't choose 959s
me. I chose you. The difference is between monogism and synergism. Synergism is cooperation. 969s
Monogism is the act of God and God only. And so where we look at Scripture, do we see synergism? 979s
Do we see synergism where there's an emphasis on make your decision for Jesus? Or do you see in 990s
Scripture monogism, which is God's action, God's transforming of the heart? This is what God does 1000s
to where all of a sudden you realize that you are in love. See? That's why the emphasis isn't on 1007s
make your decision for you. Have you made your decision for Jesus? That emphasis isn't in the 1017s
Lutheran Church because that starts to mix then law and gospel. 1024s
Laws in the categories of if then, gospels in the categories is because they're four. 1040s
And so if it's framed, if you accept what Jesus did on the cross, then you will be saved. That's 1046s
categories of love. That puts it in the law. That puts it in. This is what you must do in order to be 1053s
saved. You must choose Jesus. You must make your decision for Jesus. Gospels in the categories of 1061s
because therefore, because Christ has died for you, because Christ has taken the victory of the 1069s
cross and the empty tomb and put it with a water and washed it in the word therefore, you are 1076s
forgiven. You belong to Him. You see, that's a whole different way of talking. 1083s
The Scriptures revealed to us that the gospel is because they're four language, not if you do this, 1089s
then this will happen. Because then you get into the bondage of what Luther had when Luther said, 1097s
how do I know if I believe? Maybe I think I believe, maybe I don't believe. 1102s
And then you start going, well, when I made my decision for Jesus Christ, maybe that was just an 1107s
emotional kind of thing at the moment. Maybe I don't really believe in Jesus Christ. 1112s
And I look at my life and I see that I'm falling short of what Christ wants me to be and Satan 1119s
starts whispering, huh? And saying, you're not a follower of Jesus Christ and all of that. 1125s
Now that's not, don't interpret that as an analogy there. That's not an audible voice, okay? 1133s
But there's that understanding there where we can then doubt our own faith. The gospel is because 1138s
therefore, type of language. It gives all the credit and all the glory for your faith, for your 1144s
salvation to God and God alone. It's not put in categories of, as sometimes some people will say, 1151s
God does 99.9% of the work and now all you have to do is, you see what just happened? 1158s
The gospel message just got turned into the only law that you have to do is believe. And scripture 1165s
says that we are saved by grace through faith and then what does it say? And this is what? This is 1173s
not your own doing. And so that's why you hear in the Lutheran Church. You don't hear altercals 1179s
in Orthodox Lutheran churches to come and make your decision for Jesus. What you hear is gospel 1188s
proclamation that in your baptism, God has made his decision about you. You can preach a whole 1194s
entire sermon about faith and never mention faith because you are preaching the pure gospel that 1203s
God uses to generate faith and to strengthen faith and to keep us in the faith. 1214s
So if somebody comes and says, you know, I don't know if I believe. I mean, I find myself 1225s
doubting a lot. I mean, I don't know if I believe. The last thing that they need is to, well, 1232s
yeah, were you better believe? Because if you don't believe, you're not saved. So believe. 1240s
That's like telling a drowning person, swim, right? You know that they make any sense, right? 1249s
What generates faith, but it's that proclamation of the gospel that God uses to transform the heart. 1257s
And so instead you say, well, God made his decision about you and your baptism. God called you his own. 1264s
And nothing's going to snatch you out of his grasp and his hand. Instead of, okay, here's the 1274s
eight things you better do so you don't become an unbeliever. No, proclaim the gospel to the 1282s
person. That's the beauty of expression of biblical monogamy. It's the beauty of that expression of 1290s
this is who God is. This is what God has done. And that's why you continually hear in Orthodox 1298s
Lutheran sermons, you'll hear law, which shows us our sin and you'll show us the gospel, which shows us 1305s
our Savior. And you don't mix those two together because once you mix those two together, 1311s
then then you've got Luther called it a muddy mess. You got a mess on your hands. 1317s
So when Joshua says, choose this day whom you will serve, you let Scripture talk to Scripture and 1325s
you understand that the only way that that choice could be made was because their hearts were 1334s
transformed into lovers of Jesus. Right? To where you say, well, what are their choices which you make? 1341s
Kind of like, you know, if someone tells me, you know, you need to decide to love Denise. 1352s
Huh? No, I love her. I love her. Now, will I make out of that love decisions to care for that love? 1361s
Sure. Sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. But to be in love with her is not a decision. It's a 1372s
faith is love. When the people responded here in Joshua, let's go back to Genesis 24. 1388s
When the people responded here, that's just an indication that they understood here of the 1401s
Jesus choosing that God had done for them. So back to Joshua 24 verse 16. 1411s
Then the people answered, far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. 1422s
For it's the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt out of the 1428s
house of slavery who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we 1434s
went and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the 1440s
peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we will also serve the Lord for he is our 1446s
God. That's people that are saying, I'm in love with God. And then notice the focus, not on 1452s
their own subjective understanding of their love. It's directed outward into what God has done. 1464s
That's what you see in Scripture as God continues to turn us away from ourselves and toward the 1474s
promises of God. Because as he turns us away from ourselves to him, that's faith generating. We 1482s
start looking at ourselves and we can get ourselves in a whole bunch of mental loops, right? Because 1490s
of the reality of our sin. God continues to point us away from ourselves. But then Joshua gives 1498s
a really interesting response. Joshua 24 verse 19. But Joshua said to the people, you cannot serve 1506s
the Lord for he is a holy God. He's a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your 1516s
sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume 1521s
you after having done you good. What? What kind of response is that, Joshua? What kind of response 1528s
is that? I'm reminded of a church sign that I would pass sometimes many years ago. And I always wondered 1538s
what kind of mood the pastor was in, assuming the pastor was the one that gave the message for the 1549s
sign because sometimes those signs, they would sear the hair off the top of your head. 1557s
I mean, I mean, it kind of like that Sunday not go well yesterday or something or something like that. 1562s
This is one of those verses, right? That if you saw this on a church sign, you kind of go, 1569s
whoa, you know, what is this about here? What's the people's response? And the people said to Joshua, 1573s
no, we will serve the Lord. What Joshua is doing in those verses, he's breaking down all ideas 1584s
that Israel can remain loyal by its own power. He's absolutely breaking it down. He's breaking down 1594s
self-reliance. The people have just said, this is what God has done, what God has done, and Joshua 1601s
comes at it and says, but if you come in on a self-reliant type of way, that is tragic. 1607s
To spiritual matters. And the response of the people is beautiful and the people, 1614s
121, and the people said to Joshua, no, we will serve the Lord. Lastly, let's go to verses 29 to 33. 1620s
After these things, Joshua, son of none, the servant of the Lord died being 110 years old. 1635s
They buried him in his own inheritance and Timnath Sarah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, 1643s
north of Mount Gash. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders, 1649s
who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel. The bones of Joseph, 1657s
which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the portion of the ground 1664s
that Jacob had brought from the children of Hamar, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money, 1669s
became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph. Elisar, son of Aaron, died, and they buried him at 1676s
Gibbeth, the town of his son Phineas, which have been given him in the hill country of Ephraim. 1683s
It ends here by focusing on death of faithful servants, and indeed God would raise them up. 1693s
You know, we all see ourselves in a station of life. You know, sometimes I look around, 1704s
especially in a crowded and busy place, and I look around and I said, you know, 1713s
nobody, none of us walking around here, was alive 100 years ago. 1721s
You know, we are here, as the Scripture says, it's just a wisp, it's just a moment of time, 1730s
and we are here with the purpose to bring glory to God, and we bring glory to God by proclaiming 1738s
Christ. Wherever he puts us, whatever workplace or neighborhood or relationships he put us, 1745s
that's the ministry area. That's where to borrow an image of a pastor, I heard one time on 1753s
summer vacation, it was a beautiful image, and he said, that's where your altar is. That's where 1760s
your altar is. You know, that's where you serve him. And if the Lord continues to tarry in coming 1765s
again, there's going to be a whole bunch of people after us. And so what we do then is we, 1772s
we, by God's grace, be faithful to the one who has redeemed us, thankful for the faith that he 1780s
has given us and sustains in us. And we cast the seed, and one day the Lord will take us home. 1787s
And the work that we did, it'll be built on, and it will, it will go on, it'll go on. But we 1797s
understand all of ourselves as we're here for just a vapor of time, just a vapor of time. 1805s
That helps us to put into perspective, doesn't it? What it is that God calls us to do? What is it 1814s
that he desires of us? Right? To bring him glory and praise in the confidence that he will 1820s
raise us up on that last day. The book of Joshua confirms that God keeps his promises. 1830s
That's the whole point. If you're a Bible writer, I'd suggest that you put right in the very 1842s
first page of Joshua. Here's a theme. God keeps his promises. He delivered the land he had promised 1847s
long ago to Abraham. A wooden cross of the Savior was sunk in the soil of that land as it raised 1856s
the Lord Jesus Christ. To die for our sins and to be raised out of the tomb. And as children of 1865s
Abraham through faith in the new Joshua, Jesus Christ, we look forward to the new promised land, 1873s
the new heaven and the new earth. God keeps his promises. Well, thanks for our time together in 1882s
Joshua. Pastor Maloneck here is going to start a class next Sunday here for the adult hour. 1890s
She's going to take a look at the topic of confession. What a really good topic. She's going to explore 1897s
why confession is such a gift to the church. She's going to explore what does it mean to have a 1903s
contrite heart, those and other subjects. So I commend that class and that begins with her next Sunday. 1909s