Joshua 23:1-12
1 A long time afterward, when the Lord had
given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies [Joshua said to the
people,] “And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these
nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4
Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations
that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the
Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back
before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land,
just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and
to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from
it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these
nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear
by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the Lord
your God just as you have done to this day. 9 For the Lord has driven out
before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to
stand before you to this day. 10 One man of you puts to flight a thousand,
since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. 11
Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.”
Mission Impossible—Conquest. Joshua and the
nations faced an impossible situation as a wandering nation. Did they know
warfare? Did they have weapons? They faced well-established formidable cities,
nations that were greater and mightier than the Israelites (Deut. 4:38). Jericho was seen as invincible (1).
Impossible.
But God… God himself the Warrior God fought for
them. It was his mission and he made the impossible possible for the
Israelites. This conquest too was part of his mission to the nations. Israel
was to be a light to the nations, a kingdom of priests to show his glory to the
entire world (Ex. 19:4-6). Thus, Israel had to be a pure, holy nation
in a key position. This entailed driving out all nations that might ensnare
Israel (Jos. 23:13). Moreover, God was showing his complete
character to the world—he is a holy God, judging sin as well. And the iniquity
of these nations was complete (Gen. 15:16). The story of Rahab and the Gibeonites show
God’s grace as well (Jos. 2; 9). God was on the march to fill the earth with
his glory.
Missionaries today are to be holy priests to
show the light of Christ. Instead of driving out nations, we are the holy,
counter-cultural exiles in their midst so that the nations see the love of a
God who calls them to himself, so that they honor the holy nature of a
gloriously pure God, so that they too trust in Christ’s righteousness to save
them from their deserved wrath. Our missionaries’ holy calling and holy exile
is impossible, their call to others to see their ungodliness and to open eyes
to a holy God is impossible—but they serve the Holy God who makes it possible.
Your Mission
·
Pray for
our missionaries’ holiness and integrity. Satan will try to tempt and slander
to ruin their witness.
Mission Impossible
Made Possible—Field Notes
“The mission cannot
fail….The ransom has already been paid for those people among all the nations.
According to Revelation 5:9-10, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open
its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a
kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’ They're
paid for, and God will not go back on his Son’s payment.
So I know this can’t
abort, because the debt has been paid for each of God’s people everywhere in
the world. Those lost sheep, as Jesus called them, that are scattered
throughout the world will come in as the Father calls them through the
preaching of the gospel.”
(John Piper, “Doing
Missions When Dying is Gain,” DesiringGod.org)
NOTES
(1) Donald K. Campbell, "Joshua," in Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed.
by Roy B. Zuck and John F. Walvoord (Wheaton, IL: Scripture Press, 1985), p.
339.
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