Joshua gives his last instructions to the nation of Israel. They must choose who they will serve, God or the false gods of the nations they have conquered.

1. A Man of God
Speaks
Joshua 23:1-24:33 Based on
Joshua: Living as a
Consistent Role Model by
Gene A Getz

2. Looking Back
● Joshua is an old man at this point and has finished
dividing up the land to the 12 tribes.
● They had defeated the Canaanites sufficiently to
eliminate any future military threat.
● Joshua’s final exhortation to Israel had two historical
perspectives.
● Short-range: A review of the last seven years since
they crossed Jordan.
● Long-range: A review of God’s faithfulness since
Abraham.

3. A Great Seven Years (23:3-11)
● God fought for them (v.3)
● God overthrew the Canaanites and gave Israel the land
He promised (v.5)
● Israel should cling to God (v.8)
● God has driven out strong nations before them (v.9)
● God fights for them (v.10)
● Love the Lord your God (v.11)
● v.12-16 Joshua tells them what happens if they do not
continue to obey God

4. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
● Joshua 24:1. Joshua takes them back between the
two mountains at Shechem where he had addressed
them after the battle with Ai.
● This is also where Abraham received God’s promise in
Genesis 12:6-7.
● This is also where Jacob cleaned and purified his
household and built an altar to the Lord after coming
back from Mesopotamia (Genesis 33:18-30; 35:1-4)

5. ● Joshua quotes the Lord directly time and time again to make the
point that it was God Who led them to this point in their national
history.
● God did all the following:
● Took Abraham from beyond the river (v3)
● Sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt(v5)
● Brought you out of Egypt (v6)
● Gave the Amorites and their land to you (v8)
● Delivered you from Balaam’s hand (v10)
● Gave the Canaanites into their hands (v11)
● Sent the hornets before them (v12)
● Gave you a land you with ready-made harvests (v13)
● Joshua ends with one of the most famous verses in the book:
“...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

6. 1.We must believe with all our hearts that
God is the only true God.
● Joshua referred to “the Lord thy God” 12 times in
chapter 23. God was first in Joshua’s life.
● Joshua never exalted himself in this list of
accomplishments, and shows true humility.
● After God had fulfilled all His promises, Joshua was
still giving honor and glory to God.
● Joshua recognized that he was merely a human
instrument utilizing talents and abilities God had given
him.

7. ● It’s easy to give God glory when you are first saved,
but we forget the source of our strength and abilities
as our own accomplishments mount.
● Note: It is not wrong to say “I” in reference to our
efforts or to have material and intellectual
accomplishments.
● A Christian who puts God first will always reflect with
honesty and true humility that it is God Who is
responsible for all we are and have.

8. 2. We must love God with all our hearts.
● Exodus 20:3-6
● What does it mean to love God? How is it expressed?
● Joshua 22:5
● John 14:21, 24
● It means total obedience - doing what God says in
every respect with our total being.
● Joshua failed occasionally, and was sometimes
discouraged, but the general pattern of his life was
obedience.
● What is the pattern of your life?