Before death

Today’s section is the third and final part of Joshua’s final address. Joshua said, “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth.” Here, He is referring to his imminent death. The final words of a servant of the Lord, who lived obediently for 110 years, surely have great weight. Reminiscing his walk up to this point, he concluded by saying, (1) The Lord God is God of the covenant, who is faithful to all of his promises. (2) All of His promises have been fulfilled for Israel, not one of them has failed. (3) If the Israelites should become untruthful, just as all the good words the Lord spoke came true, Lord will bring threats and destruction. God is the ruler of history. He blesses the good and curses the evil. The Israelites shall know that God is the ruler of history with all of their heart and soul. We Christians, too, must believe in God’s love and grace and learn to fear Him at the same time. God cannot be moved according to our will. Let’s worship now, the King of kings, the Lord of lords.

Summary

Here we will summarize Joshua’s farewell address. He emphasized the following five points as specific ways to be obedient to the Lord God. (1) Keep and obey the law of Moses written in the book of Deuteronomy. (2) Keep away from all pagan worship of the land of Canaan. (3) Do not intermarry with the pagan nations of the land of Canaan, nor be influenced by them. (4) Love God with all might and fulfill the law through a personal relationship with Him. (5) Trust only in the Lord God at all times.The abovementioned principles are applicable even to us. When our Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’” (Luke 4:8). Are you being tempted by the demons? If so, you must proclaim to them also the same verse that our Lord Jesus quoted: “Go evil ones! ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”