Joshua 21-24: Joshua's Final Address (LSFAB S13E031)

[TEASER - 0:00]
When you love someone your motivation comes from a positive place.

[INTRO S13E031 - 0:11]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we'll read through the entire Bible in a year. Welcome. Are you having a good day? Today's History Tuesday. We'll complete the book of Joshua with the reading of chapters 21 through 24, and I'm calling today's episode "Joshua's Final Address". Before we read, let's pray.

[OPENING PRAYER - 0:39]
Our heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this time around your Word and we pray that you will bless the reading of your Word, and that you would teach us. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, let's begin.

[JOSHUA 21 (HCSB) - 0:52]
Joshua, chapter 21.

(1) The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. (2) At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.” (3) So the Israelites, by the Lord’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.

(4) The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. (5) The remaining descendants of Kohath received 10 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

(6) Gershon’s descendants received 13 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

(7) Merari’s descendants received 12 cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. (8) The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

(9) The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon (10) to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the lot first. (11) They gave them Kiriath-arba  (that is, Hebron) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak. (12) But they gave the fields and villages of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

(13) They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest:

Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, (14) Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, (15) Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, (16) Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands — nine cities from these two tribes.

(17) From the tribe of Benjamin they gave:
Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, (18) Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands — four cities. (19) All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

(20) The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath’s descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim. (21) The Israelites gave them:

Shechem,  the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, (22) Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands — four cities.

(23) From the tribe of Dan they gave:
Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, (24) Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands — four cities.

(25) From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave:
Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon  with its pasturelands — two cities.

(26) All 10 cities with their pasturelands were for the clans of Kohath’s other descendants.

(27) From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon, who were one of the Levite clans:

Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands — two cities.

(28) From the tribe of Issachar they gave:
Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, (29) Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands — four cities.

(30) From the tribe of Asher they gave:
Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, (31) Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands — four cities.

(32) From the tribe of Naphtali they gave:
Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands — three cities.

(33) All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.

(34) From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari,  who were the remaining Levites:

Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, (35) Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands — four cities.

(36) From the tribe of Reuben they gave:
Bezer  with its pasturelands, Jahzah  with its pasturelands, (37) Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands — four cities.
 
(38) From the tribe of Gad they gave:
Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, (39) Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands — four cities in all. (40) All 12 cities were allotted to the clans of Merari’s descendants, the remaining Levite clans.

(41) Within the Israelite possession there were 48 cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.  (42) Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

(43) So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. (44) The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. (45) None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled. 

[JOSHUA 22 (HCSB) - 6:43]
Joshua, chapter 22.

(1) Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh (2) and told them, “You have done everything Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you  and have obeyed me in everything I commanded you. (3) You have not deserted your brothers even once this whole time but have carried out the requirement of the command of the Lord your God. (4) Now that He has given your brothers rest, just as He promised them, return to your homes in your own land that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you across the Jordan. (5) Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you: to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, keep His commands, remain faithful to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

(6) Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes. (7) Moses had given territory to half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, but Joshua had given territory to the other half,  with their brothers, on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them to their homes and blessed them, (8) he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 

(9) The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead,  which they took possession of according to the Lord’s command through Moses. (10) When they came to the region of  the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large, impressive altar there by the Jordan.

(11) Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side.” (12) When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.

(13) The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead. (14) They sent 10 leaders with him — one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their families among the clans of Israel. (15) They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them, (16) “This is what the Lord’s entire community says: ‘What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the Lord today? (17) Wasn’t the sin of Peor, which brought a plague on the Lord’s community, enough for us, so that we have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day, (18) and now, you would turn away from the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the entire community of Israel. (19) But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the Lord possesses where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. (20) Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his sin.’”
 
(21) The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans, (22) “Yahweh is the God of gods! Yahweh is the God of gods! He knows, and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against the Lord (23) that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him. May the Lord Himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it. (24) We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord, the God of Israel? (25) For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in the Lord!’ So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the Lord.

(26) “Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice. (27) Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the Lord!’ (28) We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you. (29) We would never rebel against the Lord or turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God, which is in front of His tabernacle.”

(30) When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans who were with him, heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. (31) Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Him. As a result, you have delivered the Israelites from the Lord’s power.”

(32) Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report to them. (33) The Israelites were pleased with the report, and they praised God. They spoke no more about going to war against them to ravage the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived. (34) So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar: It is a witness between us that the Lord is God. 

[JOSHUA 23 (ESV) - 12:40]
Joshua, chapter 23.

(1) A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, (2) Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. (3) And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. (4) Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. (5) The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. (6) Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, (7) that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, (8) but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. (9) For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. (10) One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. (11)Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. (12) For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, (13) know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

(14) “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. (15) But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, (16) if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
 
[JOSHUA 24 (ESV) - 15:24]
Joshua, chapter 24.

(1) Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. (3) Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. (4) And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. (5) And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.

(6) “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. (7) And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. (8) Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. (9) Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, (10) but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. (11) And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. (12) And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. (13) I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

(14) “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (15) And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

(16) Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, (17) for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. (18) And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

(19) But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. (20) If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (21) And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” (22) Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” (23) He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (24) And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” (25) So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. (26) And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. (27) And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” (28) So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

(29) After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. (30) And they buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

(31) Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

(32) As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

(33) And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

[COMMENTARY - 20:51]
Well, let's talk a little bit about Joshua 23 and 24. In these two closing chapters of the book of Joshua, we see two different times that the aging leader called the entire nation to hear him because he knew that his life was drawing to a close and he wanted to leave them with a final message.

The first gathering is recorded in chapter 23, when he reminds them of all that God had done for them. And it was the Lord that fought for them and delivered the land that they now held and enjoyed, and as he had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He told him to be very careful to love the Lord and to continue to obey His commands so that His blessings would continue to be on them. And he told them if they failed to do that, they would suffer grave consequences.

Notice that he started the warning with the words, "Love the Lord your God". Now, if we love someone, we don't find it difficult to do the things that please them, do we? I don't treat my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn with respect and do the things that I know will bring a smile to her face, because I'm afraid she'll make my life miserable if I don't. I treat LeeAnn in a loving way because I love her. I find it easy to not behave badly towards her. I don't have to keep reminding myself not to be mean to her or to be unfaithful to her or any number of things that would break her heart. When you love someone, your motivation comes from a positive place.

And that was what Joshua wanted for the children of Israel.

But he knew that some of the people did not love the Lord and were in fact unfaithful to him. Some were worshipping the gods and idols of the Canaanites and the other people who were in the land before they arrived. So Joshua warned them of the consequences of their idolatry.

And this is what caused him in chapter 24, to say to them, "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." He let them know that he and God were aware of their double-mindedness. So he set the decision before them, and he let them know in no uncertain terms where he stood, "But as for me, in my house, we will serve the Lord."

It's never a good thing to flirt with anything that would draw you away from a loving relationship with God. Flirtation leads down a disastrous path. Choose. And once the choice is made, commit to the decision and follow through with actions that will only strengthen the relationship.

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE - 23:23]
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai