Joshua 14

Chapter 14. Warnings and CounselsJoshua 22-24These chapters contain the parting charges of Joshua to Israel at Shechem. He reviews the faithfulness of God, and all His gracious promises and leadings, and then solemnly pledges them to fidelity to Him and His holy covenant. And when they respond to His appeal and promise to serve the Lord with faithfulness, he reminds them that they are unable to serve Him in their own strength, and then reiterates his own determination for him and his household to serve the Lord, whatsoever others may do. The chapter closes with a very humbling statement that the children of Israel served the Lord faithfully during all the days of Joshua and the elders who survived him, and the generation that had known the works of the Lord in Canaan, but we learn from the later book of Judges, that before the third generation they were sunk in apostasy and captivity, and the glory of their early victories had been exchanged for a declension and degradation far more terrible than the story of Israel’s wanderings for 40 years in the wilderness. For us there is the solemn lesson that, notwithstanding all the promises of the gospel and the abundant grace of Christ, there is need of the humblest vigilance and the closest abiding, even in the highest places of our Christian life. The greater the height, the greater the fall and the deeper the degradation. Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness after they came out of Egypt lasted only 40 years, but Israel’s declension and degradation, under the Judges, lasted over 400 years. For an ordinary Christian to go back from God is a very serious thing; but for one who has known Him in all the fullness of His grace, to turn aside from the higher pathway of a life of consecration, is a far more serious and dangerous thing; and the Word of God is full of the most faithful and solemn warnings and admonitions to even those who have entered into the fullness of Jesus, to watch and stand fast, lest, being led away by the error of the wicked, they fall from their own steadfastness. While on the one hand, we have the most gracious promises of our Father keeping us, yet at the same time, we have the most faithful warnings to abide and obey. The echoes of this chapter ring through the New Testament, and especially those chapters that speak of our higher Christian life. When John tells us, “The anointing you received from him remains in you” (1 John 2:27), he also adds, “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28). While Paul says, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12); yet he also adds, “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Timothy 1:14). While in one breath, the Spirit says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man…. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). He also adds, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). God’s Word is not a castiron system of theology, proclaiming infallible security for any man, irrespective of his own attitude. But it is the wise and loving touch of a mother’s hand, on the side of our spiritual life that needs adjustment, whether it be encouragement to lift us up, or admonition and warning to hold us back from presumption and disobedience. It would have been as cruel and unwise to encourage David, in the time of his disobedience, as to have discouraged Simon Peter, when his heart was breaking with remorse and sorrow. The one needed stern rebuke, to let him see his sin, and the other needed hope and comfort, to reveal to him his Savior’s mercy. Therefore, let us not think it strange, if at one time we hear the Holy Scriptures saying, “They shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28); and at another time, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers” (John 15:6). The very warning is designed to prevent the peril to which it refers. What were some of the causes of Israel’s declension? Dependence On Others

1. The first was, perhaps, their undue dependence upon Joshua and the fathers who had brought them into the land. “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel” (Joshua 24:31). But when these had passed away and they were thrown upon their own strength, resources and character, they did not have those elements of stability, principle and permanence which were sufficient to preserve them from the unholy influence of the surrounding nations, and so they gradually sank back again into heathenism. There are many persons whose religious character is a reflection of the influence of others. Like young Joash, who served the Lord during the days of Jehoiada, his adopted father, and turned back to evil when he was gone, so these persons manifest much sympathetic goodness under the influence of favorite teachers and high examples, and in seasons of deep religious excitement, they may even seem to pass through an experience of great spiritual life, exhibiting many of its emotions and some of its fruits; but when these influences are withdrawn, it becomes evident that there was no real conviction of purpose and will, and no radical transformation of character. The test will come to all such souls; they will find these favorable influences withdrawn, and these helpful surroundings changed, and they will be compelled to fall back on their own resources and their own direct knowledge of God and His sustaining grace. And when no longer pressed forward by stronger spirits and upheld by helpful hands, but met by opposition, misunderstanding, uncongenial associations, and, perhaps, direct persecution, they will soon find whether their purpose is rooted in God, and their spirit united to the living Christ and whether they are abiding in Him as the source of their strength and service. If this, indeed, be so, they will continue even in isolation and opposition, and Jeremiah’s picture of the man “whose confidence is in [the Lord]” (Jeremiah 17:7) shall be gloriously fulfilled in them. “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8). The secret of Joshua’s victory was that he had long before this learned to stand alone. To him the day had come, more than half a century before, when the unfaithful spies and the whole congregation turned against him, refusing to follow him, and even threatening to destroy him, while he and his faithful companion stood fast to their principles at Kadesh Barnea. His purpose was not affected by the failure of the multitude to follow him. It was not much more affected by the enthusiasm of the second generation to enter with him the Land of Promise. And even now, as he stood on the height and glorious elevation of an accomplished and victorious life, he was still as ready as ever to stand alone, and his lofty independence expresses itself in the heroic words: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). This must ever be the secret of steadfastness in the consecrated life. You must know the truth of the Lord for yourself, and commit yourself to it and to Him, even if you have to stand alone. You must be so persuaded of it that you cannot surrender it even if you die. And you must know the Lord so definitely for yourself, and not for another, that even if all the Christians in the world should fail, and all your friends forsake you, you must still stand and exclaim like Martin Luther, “Here I stand; I can do no other, so help me God.” Stronger than all the power of Babylon is the spirit of the men who stand in the fiery furnace, and say, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). Imperfect Work
2. The second cause of Israel’s declension was their failure to do thorough work, especially in separating from and exterminating their enemies. We read in the beginning of the book of Judges of many of the tribes of Canaan, whom they should have thoroughly subjugated, that the children of Judah could not drive out of the valley (Judges 1:19); and that the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem (Judges 1:21); nor did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shan and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in the land (Judges 1:27); nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them, and so of many of the other tribes. Not only so, but Israel, in some cases, put the Canaanites to tribute (Judges 1:28-30), making it even a profitable business, and a source of income to have them remain, when the Lord had commanded their utter extermination. And still worse, we find them even entering into forbidden alliances with them, and also intermarrying among their sons and daughters (Judges 3:5-6). God’s command to them had been, “You shall break down their altars” (Judges 2:2). “When… you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons” (Deuteronomy 7:2-3). But here we read, “The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods” (Judges 3:5-6). Israel had become content with the victories which had subdued their more formidable foes, and given them the chief strongholds of the land, but in a thousand little places the enemy still lurked and lingered, and gradually became tolerated, the danger of their continuance did not seem very great, and the trouble and cost of their extermination seemed greater than the courage and patience of Israel. Thus they were suffered to remain, half conquered, and for the time, wholly subordinate. In a little while it became a source of profit to collect tribute from these bold giants, and so, many of them were made tributary to Israel, contrary to the divine command. A little later, relations of friendship and fellowship began to be established, and before long they were intermarrying with the tribes of Israel and raising a mongrel race in which the true seed would soon be wholly extinguished. Then to crown all, they naturally began to serve the idols of their heathen friends, and to mingle in all the abominations of their unholy religion, thus becoming in the end, really apostate from the worship of the true God altogether. This is the sad story of the development of evil in many a life which once seemed wholly consecrated. Little sins are left unsubdued. Like Saul they destroy the Amalekites, but they spare Agag, their king, for some good purpose, as they suppose, and keep the best of the spoil with the idea that they are going to sacrifice it unto the Lord. They have not the courage to deal bravely and firmly with evil. After awhile they begin to turn it to profitable account and tolerate certain forms of sin and worldliness because of advantage. Their business interests would be ruined by too rigid a conscientiousness, for some of their investments are not wholly separated from forbidden associations; the profits, at least, will be divided with the Lord, and the end will sanctify the means. A thousand specious and plausible excuses are made for things that ought to be thoroughly put aside and which, like the Canaanites, they put under tribute, and try to justify because of some advantage that can be brought out of them. By and by, the social element is introduced. Families that were separated from unholy friendships and ungodly alliances become mixed with the world in social reception, the promiscuous dance, or perhaps, in the milder form of the church entertainment. The old people still retain their separation, yet they let their sons and daughters mingle with the Canaanites. They do not shrink from even permitting the marriage of a Christian girl with the godless man, or receiving into this consecrated home, as the bride of a son, devoted in infancy to God, some bright and fascinating daughter of fashion, who soon succeeds in subverting all the separation to God that has been left, until it is not far now to the last step of the worship of idolatry, the unrestrained career of worldly amusement, covetousness which is idolatry, and the carnival of godless selfishness and pleasure. Dr. Livingstone tells of a singular creature which he found in Africa, called the ant lion. It attacked and destroyed the strongest victims by a masterful piece of strategy. Excavating a little pit in the form of an inverted cone, running to a point at the bottom, it sits down at the base of its little pitfall and waits for some unsuspecting beetle or insect to tread too near the edge of the crumbling sand. The unhappy victim at last approaches, and perhaps prompted by curiosity, looks over the edge of this strange excavation, and lo! in a moment it has lost its balance and rolls down the side of the little pit where the ant lion waits for its prey. Not, however, directly and instantly does the destroyer attack its victim; this might be too unequal a contest for the little strategist, but it suddenly opens its sharp little mouth, formed like a pair of powerful scissors, and with one quick movement it cuts off a limb from the unsuspecting victim and then disappears out of sight. Slowly the mutilated creature recovers itself, and climbs up the slippery side of the pit; but just as it reaches the summit its footing slips again and it tumbles once more into the jaws of the little monster. Another quick movement and another limb is gone; and again the wounded insect gathers up its remaining strength and makes another ascent of the side of this death trap, but the result is the same as before; again it sinks to receive a fresh blow, and the process is repeated until at length it is so dismembered that it has not strength enough even to attempt to escape, but sinks, a bleeding, suffering mass, into the hands of its enemy, who devours at leisure the antagonist that it would not have dared to approach directly. This, alas, is the story of many a defeated and ruined life. Some little adversary that was not even dreaded has been the final destroyer, not only by one bold attack, but by a thousand little wounds that, at last, have left the victim helpless to resist or to return. Saul’s career is a sad example of a noble beginning, ending in mournful disaster; and the saddest part of it is the very smallness of the cause where the pathway of declension and ruin began. It was simply in this very thing of refusing to deal firmly with the enemies of God. The reason of his failure was because of his deeper fear to deal firmly with the sin and self-will of his own heart. Saul’s failure to slay Agag and his soft dealing with the Amalekite chief, were but the outward type of his tolerance of a greater giant in his own heart, even his own self-will, and the spirit of disobedience which, Samuel tells him, was expressed by his conduct in this case, and was the ground of his rejection and the secret of his final ruin. But not all at once did Saul go down. For nearly 10 years did he still sit upon Israel’s throne and work out the dreadful proceeds of sin’s development, leading from step to step, until at last a branded murderer, a slave of blind and furious passion, and an awful instrument of Satan’s very possession, he closed his wretched life in tragedy almost as dark as the story of Judas. Oh, let us beware how we tolerate a single sin, how we leave an enemy in the land, how we make terms with any forbidden thing, how we enter into alliance with the world, or let its spirit touch our fondest affections. “You cannot serve God and Money” (Matthew 6:24). We cannot compromise with any evil thing and remain in the Land of Promise. We cannot abide in His love without keeping His commandments. “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). Self-Confidence
3. Perhaps the most serious cause of their failure was their inability to understand their own weakness. It was the spirit of self-sufficiency and self-confidence that brought about their ruin. There was a deep meaning in the words of Joshua which they could not understand. “You are not able to serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:19), said their faithful leader. He knew better than they the weakness of their own hearts. They were ready enough to promise and to purpose, but they knew not how certain they were to go back again to the forbidden sin. Their fathers at Sinai had been as ready to answer, under the terrors of the mount, “We will do everything the Lord has said” (Exodus 19:8), but before the month was ended they were dancing around the golden calf. Peter was ready enough to promise, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will,” (Matthew 26:33), and yet, before the next noonday, Peter was among the enemies of his Lord, a blaspheming, brokenhearted man. The deepest need of our spiritual life is to know our utter helplessness, weakness and liability to err. Then we shall lean on His stronger arm, and in self-distrust abide in Him, knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing. This was the great lesson of the Old Testament discipline. “For the law made nothing perfect” but, praise the Lord, “a better hope is introduced” (Hebrews 7:19). “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4). “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16). The secret of victory is the profound consciousness of our utter inability and helpless nothingness. Our insufficiency is measured by His all-sufficiency, and as we decrease, He must increase. Most of our failures are meant to teach us our inability and worthlessness, that we may learn that apart from Him we can do nothing. God’s Faithfulness
4. The review of God’s faithfulness and grace is fitted to establish us and encourage us in fidelity and steadfastness. Joshua led them back over the history of the past, and recalled to their mind the marvelous dealings of Jehovah with them and their fathers. Then he reminded them of the good land into which He had brought them, and all the blessings with which He had surrounded them. By all these considerations He called them and bound them to remember their covenant obligations, and be true to their faithful God. And so, God holds us to Himself by the memory of His grace and love. What marvelous promises He has given us, and how vast are the prospects and the recompenses that He has in store for us! By all these things, let us be true to our covenant and faithful to our heavenly Friend. God would awaken us to a sense of our true dignity and our glorious future, that we might “live a life worthy of the calling [we] have received” (Ephesians 4:1). Behind us there lies a high and heavenly calling and a past full of His faithful love. Before us is a kingdom of incomparable and everlasting glory, and both are calling us to “stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).