The Faithfulness of the Covenant Lord

Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left . . . You are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Joshua 23:6, 8

All Men Die

Throughout the Bible we see God’s people getting old and dying. Joshua is described as a young man in Exodus 33:11, but now he is old. Verse 1 tells us, “After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years. . . .” And in verse 14 Joshua said, “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.” He was probably about one hundred and ten years of age at this time. In the same way Paul is introduced as a young man in Acts 7:58, but he speaks of himself as an aged man in Philemon 9.

As a result of original sin, all people die, whether rich or poor, mighty or weak. Even Methuselah, who lived to 969 years, died. Enoch and Elijah escaped death, but only by divine intervention. Those saints who are alive at the coming of the Lord will also escape physical death.

Romans 5:12 tells us, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. . . .” So the problem of suffering must be seen in the light of the fall of man. The world that we see is not the world that God created. Because of Adam’s fall, now we experience suffering, terror, war, sickness, hatred, and death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, and his final words are recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. Now Joshua is also about to die, and we would do well to pay careful attention to his last words. Joshua’s Final Words: “Look to the Lord!”

Verse 2 says that Joshua summoned all the leaders of Israel, possibly at Shiloh, to exhort them even as he himself had been exhorted by the Lord after the death of Moses. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9).

Joshua had the right to give such counsel, for he had lived an obedient, holy life. As a slave in Egypt, he was an eyewitness to all the miracles God did there. He saw the ten plagues in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. He saw the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire guiding Israel. He drank of the sweet waters of Marah and Elim and the water from the flinty rock, and ate manna for forty years. He also saw his fellow Israelites die in the desert as God executed his judgment on them. Throughout all this, Joshua obeyed the Lord fully, never murmuring against him. When the other spies discouraged the people, Joshua gave a good report. He fought valiantly against the Amalekites and Amorites in the desert, and, conquered Canaan after crossing the Jordan. At his prayer, the sun stood still, and later he divided the land to all the tribes, all in obedience to God’s command.

Even Moses failed to enter Canaan because of his own sin, but Joshua lived a life of full obedience, choosing always to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. Joshua had a different spirit-the Holy Spirit-and was commended by the Lord as a good and faithful servant. It is wise to heed the counsel of such a faithful servant of the Lord.

What counsel did Joshua give? First, he pointed the people to God. In the sixteen verses of Joshua 23, Joshua cites the name of the Lord seventeen times. He was saying, “Don’t look to me, for I am old and dying. And do not look to anyone else. Look to the Lord of the covenant and follow him, for he alone is the undying, everlasting one.” This is the counsel God himself gives us in Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (KJV).

Who is this Yahweh Joshua mentions seventeen times? He is the self-existing God, unchanging in his being and relationship with his people. Yahweh is the gracious God, the covenant Lord and Savior who saves his people by his mighty deeds. He is the Sovereign Lord who controls all history and the universe. And this Yahweh demands total loyalty of his people. To disobey him is to court disaster, but to obey him is to enjoy great salvation.

As Israel’s counselor, Joshua now reminds the people of Yahweh’s dealings with them in the past, calls attention to Yahweh’s faithfulness in the present, and assures them of Yahweh’s faithfulness in the future. Yes, Joshua must die. But the Lord will live forever and will lead his people, not only to a rest in Canaan, but into the eternal rest of heaven.

The Lord’s Faithfulness in the Past

Joshua told the people, “You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done . . . .” (v. 2). To appreciate God’s faithfulness, we must review salvation history as the elderly Joshua did with the people of Israel.

God entered into a covenant with Abraham to give him children and a country, as recorded in Genesis 15, and spoke about this covenant to his children as he grew old. In Genesis 48 we see another old man, Abraham’s grandson Jacob, telling his offspring about the covenant: “Some time later Joseph was told, ‘Your father is ill.'” (v. 1). “Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers'” (v. 21). In Genesis 50:24 we read the words of Joseph when it was his turn to die: “Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'” Later, after several hundred years, the Lord of the covenant appeared to Moses in the burning bush and commissioned him to deliver Israel from her Egyptian slavery. The Lord brought his people out of Egypt by his mighty deeds, leading them, feeding them, keeping them, and finally bringing them into the promised land of Canaan. There the Lord himself fought for his people, conquering the land, and giving it to them as an inheritance. And we are told in Joshua 23:1, “After a long time had passed . . . the Lord [gave] his people rest from all their enemies around them.”

Thus, God was faithful to his people in the past, giving them the land of Canaan with its cities to live in (vv. 13, 15, 16). This points to the truth that salvation is always a gift from God; it is never earned or merited. Israel was to reflect on God’s past faithfulness so that they could trust in him alone in the present. Thus, Joshua emphasizes several points regarding the Lord’s faithfulness:

1. God gave them rest as he promised. Joshua 21:44 says, “The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them.” Joshua told the people, “You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done” (23:3). They were eyewitnesses to the Lord’s vast, saving deeds.

2. God fought for them. Joshua reminded the people in verse 3, “It was the Lord your God who fought for you.” In other words, “You did not give yourself rest; it was a result of God fighting for you! And he who fought for you in the past will fight for you in the present and the future.”

In Joshua 5:13-15 the Lord appears as a soldier: “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'” And in Joshua 10:11 we read, “As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” The Lord fought, the Lord fights, and the Lord will fight in our behalf.

3. The Lord drove out their enemies. Joshua told the people, “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day, no one has been able to withstand you” (23:9). He wanted to assure the people that their God was greater than the Egyptians, Amalekites, and Amorites and all other nations and their gods together.

4. The Lord was faithful to all his promises. Joshua 21:45 says, “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” In 1 Samuel 15:29 we are told, “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind” (cp. Numbers 23:19). What God promises, he fulfills. Therefore Joshua declares, “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” (Joshua 23:14).

Paul tells us the same thing in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Of course, we must understand that God’s promises are conditional. Salvation is by grace through faith.

This, then, is the first part of Joshua’s farewell counsel: Look back and see the faithfulness of God, and know that God will do what he promised. He has done so in the past, he is doing so now, and he will do it in the future.

The Lord’s Faithfulness in the Present

We cannot change the past, nor can we do much to control the future, but we can focus our attention on the present. We must do the will of God now, knowing that he is with us. So Joshua said a number of things to the leaders of Israel about the faithfulness of God in the present:

1. God will fight for us. As Joshua was commanded by the Lord, now he commands those around him: “Be very strong” (23:6). As we think about God’s faithfulness to his covenant in the past, we will be strengthened and encouraged in the present. We need not fear our enemies, for we know the Sovereign Lord is for us. He who fought our past battles will continue to fight in our behalf.

   Verse 3 speaks of the past: “It was the Lord your God who fought for you,” while verse 10 speaks of the present: “One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.” God fought and God fights. The examples of his faithfulness in the past are written down for our encouragement in the present.

   Never think that we are fighting by ourselves. Yes, we are to fight, but we do so in conjunction with the Lord. Verse 10 says, “One of you routs a thousand,” and Leviticus 26:8 says, “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.” We are strengthened and energized to fight, but we must not take the credit to ourselves. We are able to do these things because the Lord himself fights for us.

   James 4:7 tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The devil is a superhuman, angelic being of greater strength than ours. But if we resist him in the name of Jesus Christ, he will flee from us. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, KJV).

2. We must obey the Scriptures. In verse 6 we are told, “Be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.” We are the people of the Scriptures, and in the present we must read it, study it, meditate upon it, and do what it says. We cannot say that God will fight for us, whether we obey him or not. As Sovereign Lord, our God demands complete loyalty and obedience from his people.

   At the death of Moses, the Bible consisted of five books; when Joshua died, there were six. The canon gradually increased until, by the end of the first century A.D., it was complete. No more books are going to be added to it, for there are no more apostles who can speak and write infallibly. So we have God’s complete word to us, and we even have it in our own language, that we may study it and do what it says. It is written by eyewitnesses of God’s mighty deeds; therefore, we know it is true and trustworthy.

3. We must be separate. God commands his people to separate themselves from the pagan world. We are to be in the world but not of the world, for we are the light of the world. So Joshua tells the people, “Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them” (23:7), for that is idolatry. God left some of the nations within Canaan to test his people, to see whether they would demonstrate their love for him by serving him and worshiping him only.

   In verses 12-13 Joshua warns, “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you.” What was the problem of Solomon? He rejected the biblical mandate to be separate and holy; instead, he became fascinated with pagans. (PGM) Even earlier at Baal Peor, the Israelites were seduced by foreign women who invited them to worship their foreign gods (Numbers 25). Twenty-four thousand Israelites were killed by God himself for their idolatry. We must be careful not to associate with paganism, whether the outright paganism of the world or the more subtle paganism found in many of today’s evangelical churches where the emphasis is more on entertainment than the word of God.

   In Numbers 23:9 we see Balaam, though a pagan, prophesying the truth about God’s people: “From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.” This is divine apartheid! Christians are to be in the world but not of the world. “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” says the Lord.

   In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Paul exhorts, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” This applies to unbelievers in the world as well as unbelievers in the church. Then he asks, “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” What is the expected answer? Nothing! “Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” None! “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” None! “What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” Nothing, except for our responsibility to declare the gospel to them. “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” None! “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from 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.'” In Romans 12:2 we are commanded, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” God’s people are to be separate.

4. We must hold fast to the Lord. Joshua 23:8 says, “But you are to hold fast to the Lord.” The word for “hold fast” is also used in Genesis 2:24 in reference to marriage: one must leave one’s father and mother and cleave to, or be joined to, or cling to, one’s spouse. It is the language of marriage, intimacy, and communion, the language of exclusive love. In verse 11 Joshua says, “So be very careful to love the Lord your God.” As Jesus said in John 15, we must abide in Christ, as a branch abides in the vine. This is vital union with Christ. We must be joined to and hold fast to the covenant Lord. He is our husband and we are his wife, and there must be no adultery and no idolatry. Our covenant Lord delivered us from Egypt, and we must have no other gods before him.

   Joshua 22:5 gives a clear definition of what it means to hold fast to and love God: “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” In other words, love is keeping God’s commandments. Jesus Christ said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). We must get rid of the worldly definition that love is only a feeling. To love God means to keep his commandments.

   Why do we love God? Because he first loved us. Deuteronomy 7:7-8 tells us, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Because God first loved us, he saved us, redeemed us, fought for us, and gave us rest. No other god or man did these things. The Sovereign Lord alone did these things for us, and so we must love him.

The Lord’s Faithfulness in the Future

Finally, Joshua speaks about the future. As humans, we tend to be fearful and anxious about what will happen to us. But if we do what is right and live for God in the present, we need not worry about the future. The Lord who fought for us in the past and who fights for us in the present will surely fight for us in the future. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved.

In verse 3, Joshua spoke about the past and in verse 10 he spoke about the present. Now, in verse 5, Joshua addresses the future: “The Lord your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.” If we trust in God, he will drive out all our enemies.

In Joshua 1:5 the Lord told Joshua, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Our God is not just the God of the past or the present, but he is also the God of the future. Jesus Christ himself told us, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He will be with us even at the moment of our death, giving us strength to die in hope.

So those who are obedient to God have nothing to fear. As they experience covenant blessings from their covenant Lord, their future shall be glorious. But those who are disobedient should fear, for they will experience divine curse and divine judgment unless they repent. In verse 16 Joshua warns, “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.” Notice, God’s anger will burn, not against the pagans, but against his own people, if they do not obey him. This truth is expressed in verses 7, 12 and 13 as well.

In Joshua 23:12-13 the Holy Spirit specifies those consequences: “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them. . .” That is how it happens. Pagans say, “Just come and mix with us. You are too exclusive. You are not open-minded. Come! Let’s have fun together.” But read on: “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 backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.” God’s judgment is sure.

When God’s people turn away from him, they heap upon themselves suffering after suffering-snares, traps, whips on the back, thorns in the eyes-until they perish. This happened to the nation of Israel. The Israelites came under the cruel domination of their neighbors and eventually ceased to be a nation because of their disobedience. Northern Israel went into slavery and exile in 721 B.C. Then Judah went into exile in 587 B.C. Finally, in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was conquered by Rome and the temple was destroyed.

This is serious business! The vast majority of people in churches today are antinomian. They would say, “It is perfectly all right for a Christian to mix with the world and live like a pagan.” The popular notion is that when a person says he accepts Jesus, he is then eternally saved despite his living in sin. Such ideas are quite acceptable in the pagan world. Even the devil is not worried about such a gospel. But be warned-the God who is faithful to his promises is also faithful in his threatenings. The Lord himself killed 603,548 Israelites in the desert.

Jesus Christ, the Greater Joshua

In God’s plan, Joshua brought Israel to the rest of Canaan. But he could not bring anyone to the rest of being forgiven, justified, and at peace with a holy God. Joshua son of Nun could not make atonement for the sins of Israel, because he himself was a sinner in need of salvation. To receive the rest of forgiveness and restoration of communion with God, we must look to another Joshua-one who is greater than Joshua the son of Nun, one who is greater than Moses, one who is greater than Solomon and the temple. We must look to Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, the son of David, the son of Mary, the son of God.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who has taken away our sins by his death on our behalf. Now he calls to all sinners, Jew and Gentile alike, saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). He says, “Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

The Lord, the Shepherd of Israel, the undying eternal One, died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He alone gives rest to our souls. He does so the moment we trust in him, and he continues to give us rest as we walk in daily obedience to him. As A. W. Pink said, there is the rest of conversion, and then there is the rest of consecration, or obedience. So we can enjoy rest every day as we walk with the Lord. And one day, when our work on earth is done, our Good Shepherd shall bring us to eternal rest with him.

In Revelation 14:13 John says, “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'” The future for believers is glorious. It can be defined in a four-letter word: rest. This rest is life eternal. It is everlasting bliss, it is seeing God face to face, it is living in the house of the Lord forever. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The people of Israel enjoyed a certain rest when they received their portion of land in Canaan. But the rest Christ gives us has nothing to do with a piece of real estate. The apostle Paul did not own any real estate in this world; neither, in fact, did Jesus. Paul spoke of this greater rest in Philippians 1:23: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” So the farewell message of Joshua son of Nun to us is, “Look not to me, but to the greater Joshua, Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of salvation, and he will give you the true rest of heaven.”

Summary

In conclusion, let us consider the following:

1. Every person is going to die.
2. We will die either in our sins or in Christ.
3. The one who dies in Christ has nothing to fear, for he will enter into everlasting rest.
4. The one who dies in his sins has much to fear, for he will die unforgiven and enter into everlasting restlessness.
5. Are you in Jesus Christ, or are you still in your sins? You may go to church, even regularly, but that does not mean you are sitting at the banquet table of God, dressed in the righteousness of Christ, partaking of the great feast he offers to those who trust in him.
6. If you have not trusted in Christ, I urge you to do so today and ensure that you will enjoy the rest of eternal life.
7. And if you are already a believer, I exhort you to look to the completed canon of Scripture and see what the Lord has done for you. Christ has triumphed over all our enemies by his death on the cross, and now he gives us rest. The risen and reigning Christ is with us now, fighting all our battles. Look to him by faith!
8. Not only is Christ with us now, but he will be with us in the future. He will fight all our battles and lead us into his everlasting rest.
9. Finally, reflect on your own past and see how God has been gracious to you. Think about how God is blessing you today, and be fully assured that tomorrow will be glorious too. Our God shall not rest until he brings his people to their everlasting rest in him.