Something that we can glean from Joshua 23

Joshua 23

Joshua’s Charge to Israel’s Leaders

1A long time afterward, when the LORD had given(A) rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua(B) was old and well advanced in years, 2Joshua(C) summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, "I am now old and well advanced in years. 3And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake,(D) for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you. 4Behold,(E) 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. 5The LORD your God(F) will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land,(G) just as the LORD your God promised you. 6Therefore,(H) be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses,(I) turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7(J) that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you(K) or make mention of the names of their gods(L) or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8(M) but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. 9(N) For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you,(O) no man has been able to stand before you to this day. 10(P) One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God(Q) who fights for you, just as he promised you. 11(R) Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. 12For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you(S) and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13know for certain that(T) the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you,(U) 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(V) I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that(W) not one word has failed of all the good things[a] that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15But 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(X) all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, 16if 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."


In Joshua 23, we can see Joshua's charge to the Israelite to clear out, stamp out and root out all the foreign inhabitants and to love the Lord with all their hearts. If they do not root out all the inhabitants and instead cling onto these people and intermarry or have some form of interaction with them, then these people will be a snare and a trap and it will cause the people of Israel to perish.

Well, doesn't this seem very much like how we should deal with sin? If we don't root out, stamp out or destroy sin in our lives and instead cling on to it and either trivalise the gravity of sin, allow bits and pieces of it. It will be a trap and snare to us and it will cause us to perish if we persist in it. It is a serious battle that we have to constantly cling on to God or we will not be able to win the battle. We must also have a serious resolve and such strong hatred against sin and keep weeding them out. Christians are born-again. However, we are not sinless. We are sinners running a race and fighting a battle so that we will receive the crown of glory in the end. The old us, Satan, and the world will constantly try to draw us away from God. If we leave sin as it is, or are weak-will, or slothfully clearing up instead of going all out with all guns blazing against the enemy, thinking that it is ok because one can "handle it", too small to take good notice, or not really a problem, then be prepared to fall hard.... very hard.... But we are not without hope. We see in Judges that God provided Israel with people who brought them out of their hopeless situation everytime they cried out to the Lord. God have given us someone way better than any judges in Judges. He gave us Jesus Christ who died on the Cross for us. In our Christian life it is impossible not to stumble and fall for we are all weak. However, if we turn to the Lord and ask for forgiveness and truly repent, God will forgive us of our sins and will lead us out of the entanglement of sin. We have to keep praying that we will not become like Israelites in the Judges where they cried out to the Lord, get saved and then after a while, go back to their old ways. It will be a continuous battle. There will be lots of scars and pains and serious hurts. We might lose a limb or two. However, victory is already secured. The crucial part is whether we really serve God as our Lord and King or is it something else.

To God Be the Glory