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Josué 23

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1 Y ACONTECIO, pasados muchos días después que Jehová dió reposo á Israel de todos sus enemigos al contorno, que Josué, siendo viejo, y entrado en días,

2 Llamó á todo Israel, á sus ancianos, á sus príncipes, á sus jueces y á sus oficiales, y díjoles: Yo soy ya viejo y entrado en días:

3 Y vosotros habéis visto todo lo que Jehová vuestro Dios ha hecho con todas estas gentes en vuestra presencia; porque Jehová vuestro Dios ha peleado por vosotros.

4 He aquí os he repartido por suerte, en herencia para vuestras tribus, estas gentes, así las destruídas como las que quedan, desde el Jordán hasta la gran mar hacia donde el sol se pone.

5 Y Jehová vuestro Dios las echará de delante de vosotros, y las lanzará de vuestra presencia: y vosotros poseeréis sus tierras, como Jehová vuestro Dios os ha dicho.

6 Esforzaos pues mucho á guardar y hacer todo lo que está escrito en el libro de la ley de Moisés, sin apartaros de ello ni á la diestra ni á la siniestra;

7 Que cuando entrareis á estas gentes que han quedado con vosotros, no hagáis mención ni juréis por el nombre de sus dioses, ni los sirváis, ni os inclinéis á ellos:

8 Mas á Jehová vuestro Dios os allegaréis, como habéis hecho hasta hoy;

9 Pues ha echado Jehová delante de vosotros grandes y fuertes naciones, y hasta hoy nadie ha podido parar delante de vuestro rostro.

10 Un varón de vosotros perseguirá á mil: porque Jehová vuestro Dios pelea por vosotros, como él os dijo.

11 Por tanto, cuidad mucho por vuestras almas, que améis á Jehová vuestro Dios.

12 Porque si os apartareis, y os allegareis á lo que resta de aquestas gentes que han quedado con vosotros, y si concertareis con ellas matrimonios, y entrareis á ellas, y ellas á vosotros;

13 Sabed que Jehová vuestro Dios no echará más estas gentes delante de vosotros; antes os serán por lazo, y por tropiezo, y por azote para vuestros costados, y por espinas para vuestros ojos, hasta tanto que perezcáis de aquesta buena tierra que Jehová vuest

14 Y he aquí que yo estoy para entrar hoy por el camino de toda la tierra: reconoced, pues, con todo vuestro corazón y con toda vuestra alma, que no se ha perdido una palabra de todas la buenas palabras que Jehová vuestro Dios había dicho de vosotros: todas

15 Mas será, que como ha venido sobre vosotros toda palabra buena que Jehová vuestro Dios os había dicho, así también traerá Jehová sobre vosotros toda palabra mala, hasta destruiros de sobre la buena tierra que Jehová vuestro Dios os ha dado;

16 Cuando traspasareis el pacto de Jehová vuestro Dios que él os ha mandado, yendo y honrando dioses ajenos, é inclinándoos á ellos. Y el furor de Jehová se inflamará contra vosotros, y luego pereceréis de aquesta buena tierra que él os ha dado.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Joshua 23

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Joshua 23: Joshua’s farewell address to all Israel.

Now that the people of Israel are living in the land of Canaan according to the Lord’s promise to them, Joshua, now old, gathers Israel together and offers the people his final words. It is a review of God’s faithfulness to them, His power in their victories, the gift of a good land in which they may live, and finally, a warning: they must not turn away from the Lord and follow the gods of other nations, or the Lord’s anger will follow them.

The spiritual meaning of Joshua’s address is about our experience of the Lord’s activity in our lives, our responsibilities in the work of regeneration, and what happens in us when we drift away from our relationship with the Lord. Every part of Joshua’s speech touches on these subjects, and it is a shining statement for our spiritual well-being. We will look at each part of what Joshua says and their spiritual meanings.

Joshua called for all Israel, and for all of their leaders - their elders, their heads, their judges and their officers. Spiritually, what leads and commands our mind is what we hold as true, which then informs our actions.

Joshua says he is old and advanced in age. Spiritually, this stands for acquiring wisdom during regeneration. Perhaps ‘advanced’, with its range of meanings, is a clue here.

Then Joshua turns to the Lord and the conquest. Joshua reminds the Israelites of what the Lord has given them, and says that the Lord will help them drive out the remaining nations until the whole land is theirs. Spiritually, this is about the ways in which the Lord guides us through regeneration, and how He will be present in our continuing spiritual work.

Joshua then urges Israel to keep the law of Moses and not turn away from it, nor go among other nations who are alongside Israel, nor mention their gods, nor swear by them or serve them or bow down to them. For us, this means following the Lord, and not giving in to the other influences that could lead our lives - for example, greed or ambition. If we do give thought to these other things, they can entrap us. It is enough for us to see them in our mind and quickly refuse their place there.

Joshua then says that because the Lord has been fighting for Israel, no one has been able to stand against them. In verse 10, he says, “One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.” This means when we acknowledge that the Lord rules our life and empowers us, the influences of hell will be powerless against our resolve.

Joshua then tells Israel that if they do turn to the other nations and their gods, the Lord would no longer drive out these nations, and they would become snares and traps for Israel. This is about the spiritual consequences of going against the Lord. This will inevitably bring on its own dangers, and we can be drawn in without realizing. The Lord can only drive out our spiritual enemies when we turn to Him for guidance.

Finally, Joshua says that not one thing God intended for Israel has failed to happen; so, just as God had given Israel many blessings, He would bring harm on Israel if they grew unfaithful. In our spiritual lives, this is only how things appear. We may feel that God is punishing us at times, but in reality we bring harm on ourselves when we no longer follow the Lord. So, Joshua says, the good land would be taken from them, just as the delight of heavenly life is taken from us if we turn away from the Lord.

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Joshua 23

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1 And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.

2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:

3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.

4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.

5 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.

6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.

9 For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.

10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.

12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:

13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.