New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Joshua 23
1
A long time had passed. The Lord had given Israel peace and rest from all of their enemies who were around them. By that time Joshua was very old.
Reference
2
So he sent for all of the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel. He said to them, "I'm very old.
Reference
3
You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done. You have seen what he's done to all of those nations because of you. The Lord your God fought for you.
Reference
4
"Remember how I've given you all of the land of the nations that remain here. I've given each of your tribes a share of it. It's the land of the nations I won the battle over. It's between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
Reference
5
The Lord your God himself will drive those nations out of your way. He will push them out to make room for you. You will take over their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
Reference
6
"Be very strong. Be careful to obey everything that is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses. Don't turn away from it to the right or the left.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 5:32
Hebrews 12:4
Deuteronomy 12:32
Word
Deuteronomy 28:14
Deuteronomy 17:20
7
"Don't have anything to do with the nations that remain among you. Don't use the names of their gods for any reason at all. Don't take oaths and make promises in their names. You must not serve them. You must not bow down to them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 4:14
Ephesians 5:11
1 Corinthians 15:33
Joshua 23:12
Zephaniah 1:5
References God
Exodus 23:13
Psalm 16:4
Jeremiah 5:7
Exodus 23:33
9
"The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations to make room for you. To this very day no one has been able to fight against you and win.
Reference
10
One of you can chase a thousand away. That's because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised he would.
Reference
Parallel theme
Leviticus 26:8
References God
Deuteronomy 3:22
Deuteronomy 20:4
Romans 8:31
Psalm 46:7
Joshua 23:3
References Lord
Deuteronomy 32:30
Exodus 14:14
Psalm 35:1
1 Samuel 14:6
11
So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
Reference
Love
Joshua 22:5
Exodus 20:6
Romans 8:28
1 Corinthians 16:22
1 Corinthians 8:3
Parallel theme
Proverbs 4:23
References God
Hebrews 12:15
12
"But suppose you turn away from him. You mix with the people who are left alive in the nations that remain among you. Later, you and they get married to each other. And you do other kinds of things with them.
Reference
13
Then you can be sure of what the Lord your God will do. He won't drive out those nations to make room for you anymore. Instead, they will become traps and snares for you. They will be like whips on your backs. They will be like thorns in your eyes. All of that will continue until you are destroyed. It will continue until you are removed from this good land. It's the land the Lord your God has given you.
Reference
14
"Now I'm about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. The Lord your God has kept all of the good promises he gave you. Every one of them has come true. Not one has failed to come true. And you know that with all your heart and soul.
Reference
Good
Numbers 23:19
Exodus 3:8
1 Kings 8:56
Parallel theme
Luke 21:33
1 Kings 2:2
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Ecclesiastes 12:5
Hebrews 9:27
Job 30:23
References Lord
1 Samuel 3:19
15
"Every good promise of the Lord your God has come true. So you know that the Lord will bring on you all of the evil things he has warned you about. He'll do it until he has destroyed you. He'll do it until he has removed you from this good land. It's the land he has given you.
16
"Suppose you break the covenant the Lord your God made with you. He commanded you to obey it. But suppose you go and serve other gods. And you bow down to them. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. You will quickly be destroyed. You will be removed from the good land he has given you."
Summary of Joshua 23
Joshua, chapter 23, provides one of Joshua’s last speeches to the Israeli leaders. Israel had dwelled in the land for a long time, and the Lord had given them rest from their enemies around them. Joshua was old and about to die, and he summoned the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel and reminded them of what God had done for them.
He started by reminding the people that the Lord had fought for them and brought them into the land belonging to many nations that had been given to them as an inheritance. Though some of the land still belonged to the people of Canaan, the battles had mostly been fought, and the distribution of the land was about to begin. Joshua wanted them to know that it was not their own power that had brought them to this point but rather God’s.
He reminded them that the nations that remained would also be given to them as per the promise. Israel was to maintain possession of the land that had been assigned to them. Joshua urged the people to be strong and to keep all the words of the law of Moses and not to turn away from the Lord to the right or to the left.
Joshua was not primarily concerned with military might; rather, he feared that the people would be drawn to the nations that remained in the land. He warned them not to intermarry with them or follow their practices. The people of Israel were not even allowed to speak of their gods, swear by them, serve them, or bow to them.
Instead, Joshua urged the people to cleave to the Lord, as they had done until now. The word cleave means to adhere to something or someone. Joshua wanted the people of Israel to understand that they had to continue to do what they had been doing up until that point. The successes they had experienced were not an indication that they could ignore the word of the Lord.
Joshua reminded them that the Lord had fought for them and that they had conquered the nations with far greater numbers than them. It was because of the Lord that an Israelite could pursue a thousand of the enemy.
It is interesting to note that Joshua warned the people of the consequences if they went the other way. He urged the people of Israel not to go after the nations that remained in the land because they would become a snare and a trap to them. Their gods would become their temptation, and they would lead Israel into becoming disobedient to the Lord.
Joshua warns the people that the Lord would no longer be able to drive out these nations if Israel deliberately turned away from Him. Then these nations would become their oppression instead of their salvation. Joshua warned the people of being caught in a net that they would find themselves in if they disobeyed the Lord.
The reason for Joshua’s warning makes sense when one reads about how he warned the people that the goodness of God’s promises had come true. He said that not one word of all the good words that the Lord had spoken to them had failed. Then Joshua added that the warnings of the Lord would also come to pass just as certainly as His words of blessings.
It appears that Joshua is appealing to the people to be sensitive to the fact that the covenant God made with them was a two-edged sword. Not only would God bless Israel if they obeyed Him, but it would also be a curse to them if they disobeyed.
The warnings are inextricably linked to the blessings because the people of Israel would not experience the blessings if they disobeyed the covenant. Joshua wanted the people of Israel to be responsible for living up to their end of the covenant. He understood that a nation’s future depended on its willingness to obey the Lord.
He reminded them that he was about to die and that they would no longer have the same leader that had led them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Moses had led them out of Egypt, and Joshua led them into Canaan. So, Joshua understood that the people would soon be faced with a challenge regarding their willingness to obey the Lord.
Joshua wanted Israel to obey and to pass on this same commitment to future generations so that they too would be blessed by the Lord. It appears that Joshua understood that the people’s future depended on their commitment to obey the Lord.
Joshua, chapter 23 reveals how closely Israel’s success in the land is intricately linked to their faithfulness to the Lord. The chapter does not suggest that the spoils of war were an end in themselves. While it is true that Israel was to possess the land, Joshua understood that this possession had to be tied to their faithfulness to the Lord.
There is a correlation between memory and faithfulness. Joshua reminds the people of what they had seen with their own eyes. He points them back to the memory of the Lord’s victories. The more they remembered what the Lord had done for them, the more likely they were to obey and to continue to do what was right. Failure to remember what He had done for them would be an easy way to be tempted to follow other gods.
The chapter is replete with reminders of love for the Lord. Not only does Joshua warn the people not to turn away from the Lord, but he reminds them that they are to love Him. Joshua reminds the people that they must walk in His ways and keep all of His commandments and statutes and not to deviate to the right or the left.
Joshua’s Farewell Address contains a warning that living amongst other nations would be a temptation for the Israelites to do the same. Not only would they have neighbors with different gods and different practices, but they would also be faced with the possibility of losing a battle to them. The people of Israel had already been conquered by some of these nations, and the temptation was to turn to their gods and adopt their practices.
In essence, the chapter is a final warning before the people enter into this new era of living in the land alongside these nations. God had been faithful to bring them to this place, fighting on their behalf. He had kept His promise and given them the land so that they could live there. Joshua warns them that this does not mean that they can continue to be unfaithful to Him. The words are a fitting end to prepare the people for the final chapter by reminding them that it was not God’s intention that they be unfaithful to Him.
He started by reminding the people that the Lord had fought for them and brought them into the land belonging to many nations that had been given to them as an inheritance. Though some of the land still belonged to the people of Canaan, the battles had mostly been fought, and the distribution of the land was about to begin. Joshua wanted them to know that it was not their own power that had brought them to this point but rather God’s.
He reminded them that the nations that remained would also be given to them as per the promise. Israel was to maintain possession of the land that had been assigned to them. Joshua urged the people to be strong and to keep all the words of the law of Moses and not to turn away from the Lord to the right or to the left.
Joshua was not primarily concerned with military might; rather, he feared that the people would be drawn to the nations that remained in the land. He warned them not to intermarry with them or follow their practices. The people of Israel were not even allowed to speak of their gods, swear by them, serve them, or bow to them.
Instead, Joshua urged the people to cleave to the Lord, as they had done until now. The word cleave means to adhere to something or someone. Joshua wanted the people of Israel to understand that they had to continue to do what they had been doing up until that point. The successes they had experienced were not an indication that they could ignore the word of the Lord.
Joshua reminded them that the Lord had fought for them and that they had conquered the nations with far greater numbers than them. It was because of the Lord that an Israelite could pursue a thousand of the enemy.
It is interesting to note that Joshua warned the people of the consequences if they went the other way. He urged the people of Israel not to go after the nations that remained in the land because they would become a snare and a trap to them. Their gods would become their temptation, and they would lead Israel into becoming disobedient to the Lord.
Joshua warns the people that the Lord would no longer be able to drive out these nations if Israel deliberately turned away from Him. Then these nations would become their oppression instead of their salvation. Joshua warned the people of being caught in a net that they would find themselves in if they disobeyed the Lord.
The reason for Joshua’s warning makes sense when one reads about how he warned the people that the goodness of God’s promises had come true. He said that not one word of all the good words that the Lord had spoken to them had failed. Then Joshua added that the warnings of the Lord would also come to pass just as certainly as His words of blessings.
It appears that Joshua is appealing to the people to be sensitive to the fact that the covenant God made with them was a two-edged sword. Not only would God bless Israel if they obeyed Him, but it would also be a curse to them if they disobeyed.
The warnings are inextricably linked to the blessings because the people of Israel would not experience the blessings if they disobeyed the covenant. Joshua wanted the people of Israel to be responsible for living up to their end of the covenant. He understood that a nation’s future depended on its willingness to obey the Lord.
He reminded them that he was about to die and that they would no longer have the same leader that had led them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Moses had led them out of Egypt, and Joshua led them into Canaan. So, Joshua understood that the people would soon be faced with a challenge regarding their willingness to obey the Lord.
Joshua wanted Israel to obey and to pass on this same commitment to future generations so that they too would be blessed by the Lord. It appears that Joshua understood that the people’s future depended on their commitment to obey the Lord.
Joshua, chapter 23 reveals how closely Israel’s success in the land is intricately linked to their faithfulness to the Lord. The chapter does not suggest that the spoils of war were an end in themselves. While it is true that Israel was to possess the land, Joshua understood that this possession had to be tied to their faithfulness to the Lord.
There is a correlation between memory and faithfulness. Joshua reminds the people of what they had seen with their own eyes. He points them back to the memory of the Lord’s victories. The more they remembered what the Lord had done for them, the more likely they were to obey and to continue to do what was right. Failure to remember what He had done for them would be an easy way to be tempted to follow other gods.
The chapter is replete with reminders of love for the Lord. Not only does Joshua warn the people not to turn away from the Lord, but he reminds them that they are to love Him. Joshua reminds the people that they must walk in His ways and keep all of His commandments and statutes and not to deviate to the right or the left.
Joshua’s Farewell Address contains a warning that living amongst other nations would be a temptation for the Israelites to do the same. Not only would they have neighbors with different gods and different practices, but they would also be faced with the possibility of losing a battle to them. The people of Israel had already been conquered by some of these nations, and the temptation was to turn to their gods and adopt their practices.
In essence, the chapter is a final warning before the people enter into this new era of living in the land alongside these nations. God had been faithful to bring them to this place, fighting on their behalf. He had kept His promise and given them the land so that they could live there. Joshua warns them that this does not mean that they can continue to be unfaithful to Him. The words are a fitting end to prepare the people for the final chapter by reminding them that it was not God’s intention that they be unfaithful to Him.