Encouraging Words from an Old Man to the Rest of Us

After Joshua encouraged the elders, he gave his last sermon to the congregation, which once more included the leaders.

Once, many years ago I went to a Women's Ministry meeting, at church, on a Monday night. The lady who spoke that night talked about rehearsing the goodness of God. I had never heard that phrase before until that night and it is one of those phrases that has stayed with me. The context in which rehearsed is used in the Bible simply means to tell or declare; to repeat. In modern times it means to practice, run through, or review.

In either context, when you rehearse the goodness of God you become emphatic in declaring what God has done for you, and this is exactly what Joshua did in his last sermon. Joshua emphasized how God delivered the people of Israel and how He fought for them in the most eloquent terms, from the time of Abraham to their present - I gave you lands you did not work for and you partake in its benefits. (Joshua 24:1-13)

Joshua then encouraged the people to,  now, therefore, serve the Lord with sincerity and truth. (Joshua 24:14).

When you rehearse what God has done, there's only one response that makes sense; that acknowledges His goodness - service.

Because it's always up to each of us individually to make the choice, Joshua issued a challenge to the congregation- choose ye this day who ye will serve. (Joshua 24:15) Joshua had already made the decision for his household but, would others follow?

What happens next is not something I've ever seen in a Sunday morning service. It almost has a call and response feel to it.

The Israelites said, "We'll serve God." (Joshua 24:16-18)

Joshua said in so many words, "No you won't. You'll mess up. God is not to be messed with." (Joshua 24:19, 20)

The people countered and said, "No we won't; we'll serve God because we have experienced Him."(Joshua 24:21)

Joshua said - "OK. Let's set up a covenant as a witness to what you said you would do." So a covenant was made that day;  it was written and a stone was set up by the sanctuary of the Lord to indicate that a covenant was made between God and the people. (Joshua 24:26, 27)

Joshua died at the age of 110 and it seems the people remembered their covenant because...Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived (i.e. outlived) Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31)

Through Joshua's prompting, Israel remembered all the works of the God. They rehearsed the works of God which allowed them to remember which ultimately encouraged them; for to lose memory is to lose hope.

Since that night, many years ago as a young working (tired) mother, I have rehearsed the goodness of God. When I felt too tired to care, I remembered how God carried me. When I thought I was at my wit's end, I remembered how God came through in providing a different way for me to look at a situation and arrive at a resolution. Even for work, when I was expecting difficulty God paved a way and provided opportunity. God has always been good to me in spite of my circumstances. The simple act of waking up and breathing is evidence of God's goodness. So I rehearse; I practice so that I remember. Like a runner who practiced so that their performance is automatic. Like a singer who rehearsed so that singing is second nature. When we rehearse we're creating muscle memory. We're strengthening our faith and hope muscles creating muscle memory. The work of God in each life is powerful; powerful to change us, powerful to encourage us and powerful to make us live right.

I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! Psalm 77:11

Like Joshua did to the children of Israel, rehearse God's goodness in your life. Choose who you will serve. Make the choice to serve Him because of all that He has done for you.

Are you ready for rehearsal?

As a Leader you Must be Courageous and Obedient

Don't you hate when encouragement falls flat? When someone is just saying something because it sounds good but doesn't really understand what's happening with you? When the words being said are without conviction - like they almost don't believe what they're saying?

Joshua was not like that; he was purposeful in his encouragement so his encouraging words did not fall flat. There's a purpose to encouragement; it's to reinforce that you're on the right track; it's to pick you up when you're down; it's to remember how you overcame in the past; it's to let you know that seasons come and go - sadness/doubt/depression won't last forever. Encouragement strengthens our hope and reinforces our faith.

Joshua was able to be purposeful in his encouragement to the Israelites well after they had conquered; 14 years had passed and with the passing of time Joshua's faith was reinforced. He was now in a position where he could pass on what he had learned, first to the leaders.

In Joshua 23:1 it notes that Joshua was old and stricken in age. There's a beautiful benefit to being old in that your experiences have become the foundation of your life. They have shaped you, up to this point. Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and he lived and witnessed the hand of God -up close and personal.

As a leader who was victorious in conquering Canaanite lands, it is from this vantage point that he is able to encourage the elders - other leaders, and subsequently the people.

Leadership requires courage. Joshua recognized this trait and told the Israelites often to be very courageous. Leadership also requires obedience. Joshua said, "Be very courageous and do all that is written in the book of the Law." (Joshua 23:6)

Why were courage and obedience so necessary and part of Joshua's encouraging words to the Israelite leaders?
The Israelites were now living with the folks they had defeated. These folks had their own customs many of which included idol worship. When you live with others, if you're not strong or careful, their ways can become your ways. Some things may be innocuous, such as housekeeping, but other things such as was the case with idol worship would be detrimental. Who or what you worship determines your belief systems which in turn impacts every area of your life. Idol worship of pagan gods lead to practices that placed you away from God; idol worship would corrupt their thinking. The thing with idol worship is that you are replacing God with anything or anyone else. Because it's not the same as worshiping God, you will never experience what you desire, just a short-term high compared to a long-term sustainable relationship where God is your source.

Joshua was prescient by telling the leaders to be courageous and obedient. And then he provided credible evidence by telling them that God fought for them. One man of you shall chase a thousand for God fights for you. (Joshua 23:9,10) He went on to say, "In addition, you can see that God has not failed you, everything has happened like he said it would." (Joshua 23:14)

Good things come when you follow me...Joshua 23:15,16

The purpose of Joshua's encouragement was a reinforcement of the goodness of God. These weren't empty words that had no validity for Joshua reminded them how liberally God had fulfilled His promise and concluded with a picture of the evil which would befall them if they rebelled against God. Joshua's encouragement was also practical. It takes courage to be obedient to God's law especially when it seems as if those around you are faring better than you while not obeying. But they're not courageous and they're also not the standard to judge yourself by - God's word is. He has our best interests at heart and time after time he has shown that following him is rewarding. In his old age, Joshua encouraged the leaders of Israel one last time. I love talking to older people as there's a gravity to their words. They know whereof they speak (and you can take it or leave it). Joshua was like that - he was getting ready to leave this earth. As an encouraging leader, he shared these thoughts with his leaders.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

How would you measure courage and obedience in your life? Can you up the ante?

A Victorious Stance

In the Bible, in the Old Testament, Joshua was the leader who brought the children of Israel to the Promise Land - Canaan, the land of milk and honey. Recall that Moses was the leader that led the Israelites out of Egypt, but because of their disobedience, they wandered in the desert for 40 years. The generation that left Egypt would not get to see the Promised Land.

Joshua is part of the new generation and Joshua is being led by God. He is fighting battles for them and they are capturing many lands. "Every place that your foot shall tread upon, I have given to you." (Joshua 1:3) The only pre-requisite was that Joshua is strong and very courageous. (Joshua 1:7)  As they crossed the Jordan river, they began to live out this promise. Joshua and his men conquered Jericho, Ai, and the surrounding cities.

As the Lord fought battles for the children of Israel, they had constant victories to the extent that the surrounding nations were afraid. Joshua 10 describes a story where five kings are afraid of Joshua because of his conquests. As the story begins - the kings come together to figure out how to defeat Joshua. God told Joshua, "Fear them not, for I have delivered them into your hand." (Joshua 10:9) The kings were: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmoth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon. When kings fear you because of your courageous faith, you are doing something right.

Then God comes through in stunning fashion - hailstones fell from heaven to defeat the enemy and the sun and the moon stood still to record the longest day ever, This happened so that Israel could defeat their enemy.

At this point, the five kings hid in a cave. When Joshua became aware of it - he commanded his men to barricade the entrance of the cave and to continue fighting. This was war so there was lots of carnage. After all of this, Joshua commanded that the kings be brought out. Joshua then told the men of Israel - the captains of the men of war, "Put your feet upon the necks of these kings." And they did it. This action was an indicator to the children of Israel that these kings were defeated; that God had promised this land to them and it was theirs; that even though they were kings they were nothing in God's sight; that what seems impossible and implausible to you is possible with God; that you don't need to be afraid of people in elevated positions if God is fighting your battles. At that moment, with their feet on the kings' necks, Joshua said, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage. For this shall the Lord do to your enemies against whom ye fight."

After this moment, these five kings met their inevitable end. Subsequently, Joshua conquered the surrounding kings and their lands. "And all those kings and their land did Joshua take at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel." (Joshua 10:43)

I would imagine that there are many variations to placing your foot on someone's neck, but the one that I envision is one where you raise your foot to the height of the person's neck. You are momentarily off-balanced but you harness your core strength to position your foot on the person's neck. Once stabilized, at this angle, you are able to wreak havoc and destroy what is in your way. That's how I would imagine it. You are going from the very bottom to the top. Whatever is under your foot is in subjection to you.

Joshua possessed courageous faith so that he was able to defeat the kings. In making a point to the people - his captains, he reinforced the greatness of God by letting them know that their enemies would be defeated.

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Joshua 1:7 [NLT]

Do you have courageous faith to defeat the kings in your life? What do you need to put your feet on, in faith?