Joshua 24:2-13
“And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel . . .” (v. 2). Joshua is the speaker but the words which are about to proceed from his lips are not his. Every word between “the Lord God of Israel” and the punctuation mark at the end of verse 13 was spoken by the Lord God of Israel to all the people which heard Joshua speak.
Joshua was addressing a people (a nation) which needed to hear God. The Lord’s message was not news. The message, in its entirety, is a listing of that which the Lord had done. The list begins with that which God did to Abraham. The Lord took Abraham from “the other side of the flood” (v. 3). The other side of the flood is a place, a physical location. That physical location was the dwelling place of Terah, Abraham’s father (v. 2). Terah dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 11:28). The list begins with an action taken by God more than 700 years before the Lord spoke these words, an action that preceded Israel’s existence.
God led Abraham throughout the land of Canaan. God gave Isaac to Abraham. God gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. God gave mount Seir to Esau as a possession but Jacob went to Egypt. God sent Moses and Aaron to plague Egypt. God sent the children of Israel out of Egypt. God heard Israel’s distress and placed darkness between the Egyptians and Israel. God brought the sea upon the Egyptian pursuers. God brought Israel into the land of the Amorites on the east of Jordan and gave it to Israel to possess. God caused Balaam to bless Israel. God delivered the inhabitants of the land into Israel’s hands. God sent the hornet to drive out the two kings of the Amorites and delivered all of the land of Canaan to Israel. The Lord closes His list, saying He had given Israel a land for which they did not labor, cities to dwell in which they did build, and vineyards and oliveyards to eat of which they did not plant. Everything which God did was done according to His plan for His purposes.
Readers of the Bible find the written account of all that which the Lord did in bringing His people into the land. All was in accordance to plan. The books of Moses and in the book of Joshua reveal God’s plan and the manner in which He executed His plan. Abraham’s entry into land of Canaan is recorded in Genesis 12. Isaac’s miraculous birth is found in Genesis 21:2 and the birth of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25:21-26. All which the Lord did during Israel’s stay in Egypt is recorded in Exodus. That which the Lord did for Israel in the land east of the Jordan is found in Numbers. The first 21 chapters of the book of Joshua record God’s delivery of the land of Canaan to Israel. These books record additional details of things which the Lord did, things written for our understanding.
The reason for which the Lord God produced His list for Israel is revealed in verse 14. The Lord wanted Israel to respond by serving Him in sincerity and in truth. To do as the Lord would have Israel do, it would be necessary for Israel to be ever mindful of all that the Lord had done. Israel was to listen to list and to be moved to serve the Lord with all their hearts.
God reaches out to all. His list to Israel has been preserved as scripture for New Testament believers (see Rom. 15:4, I Cor. 10:11).
Believers of today read and make note. God, in grace, reached out to Israel and gave her a land before Israel was born. God, in grace, promised the land to Abraham’s seed before Abraham had seed. God reached out to New Testament believers in like grace, making provision for believers before our entry upon planet Earth.
New Testament scripture does not present a listing of the ways in which God has reached out in grace to believers. If we were to construct such a list, it might begin with Abraham because God promised to bless all families of the earth through him (Gen. 12:3). God’s blessing upon all families of the earth through Abraham is purely a gift of grace.
God’s promised blessing to all families of the earth was declared by the prophet Isaiah. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:10-11). God’s righteous servant, the prophet like unto Moses, has blessed all families of the earth by justifying many. Many is all who believe as Abraham believed. “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Many is all who believe “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
New Testament believers are called to reflect upon the grace which we have received and to respond with service of the heart. We are to love one another as He loves us. Our Lord and Savior said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (Jn. 13:34). We are to reflect upon that which God has done such that we might do as He has commanded. He has said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Our Lord said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another” (Jn. 15:16-17).
Let us reflect upon the grace that we have received and be empowered by His love. Let us love one another such that His love may be seen in us.
