Joshua's Wise Sayings

FAITH ADVENTURE  "Joshua's Wise Sayings" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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Transcript

JOSHUA’S WISDOM
Stephen Bly
Maranatha Bible Missionary Conference Center, Muskegon, Michigan
Circa 1989 

What’s the best advice you ever got? I suppose people are the same wherever you are. But there are people from out west always willing to give you some advice. A saying came to mind from advice I’ve been given over the years.  

My Grandad used to tell me, “A wink is as good as a nod to a blind mule.” That is, don’t waste your words on those who are going to ignore you anyway. And there’s one every cattleman knows: “No matter how hard the winter, spring always comes.” 

MORE SAYINGS  

Then there’s that saying you often hear when you think someone’s undeserving of some good fortune they receive. And that is, “You never know the luck of a lousy calf.” It goes right along with this one, “Any horse’s tail can catch a cocklebur.” Which means that any small success does not always mean great skill.  

And then there’s that old one, “There ain’t no hoss that can’t be rode and there ain’t no man that can’t be throwed.” There’s a good rodeo saying that’s helped me lots of time: “Throwing your rope before building a loop don’t catch the calf.” If there’s not solid preparation first, you don’t need to go ahead with the project. 

JOSHUA’S END OF LIFE WISDOM  

There’s all sorts of wise sayings and I suppose towards the end of life, you begin to think of those things you want to leave for another generation. I believe that’s what Joshua was doing in Joshua 23. He’s coming up with the wisdom of a life lived serving God. His life spanned a great change among the people of Israel. 

Joshua was a fairly young man in Egypt when Moses came out of the desert. That shepherd who’d been out in the desert forty years came back. And he looked and acted like a shepherd from the hillside but he claimed to have God’s word. Maybe Joshua began to see as Moses exerted leadership that this indeed was a spokesman from God.  

JOSHUA AND MOSES TEAM UP 

Before long somehow the two of them got together and Joshua was kind of the secretary, the right-hand man of Moses. Joshua was there when Moses performed those miracles. He was in his family’s house when the lintel posts were smeared with lamb’s blood and the angel of death passed over them and spared the children of Israel.  

Joshua marched out with Moses. He heard the hoofbeats and saw the clouds of dust from Pharoah’s approaching army. He saw the waves roll back from the Red Sea in a big heap and the people walked across on dry land.  

But Joshua was out there in the wilderness too. As they began that trek through the wilderness, it was Joshua and Caleb and ten others assigned to go into the Promised Land and scout it out. Of all the people of Israel, he was some of the first to see the Promised Land. He saw the vineyards, the fields and the pomegranate and olive trees. And the streams, fields of grains, and hillsides where flocks could graze. A great land. But he also saw the walled cities and Canaanite armies. 

When those spies came back, most of them said, “We can’t possibly go in there. We’ll all get killed. There’s no way we can conquer the land.” But Joshua and Caleb saw it differently. They said, “If God’s on our side, we can do it. It’s a wonderful land.” 

THE MAJORITY RULED 

But the people refused, so Moses was forced to lead the people in the wilderness for forty years. Joshua was there when Moses struck the rock and the water came out, when the quail were provided for meat, and the manna came down from heaven. He was with Moses when they went up on that holy mountain and came back down with the holy commandments and saw the idolatry of the people of Israel.  

Forty years he was in the wilderness until all his generation died except for him and Caleb. Then Joshua assumed leadership because, “Moses, My servant, is dead!” So, Joshua led the people again across dry land to cross the Jordan River. 

JOSHUA’S MIRACLES 

Joshua saw with his own eyes the walls of Jericho crumble and fall. In the midst of battle, with attention upon accomplishing God’s holy result, yelled for the sun to stand still. He went on to lead the people of Israel to conquer the land. The very thing he told the people years before happened. They took possession of the Promised Land. God was with them. But now, Joshua was an old man who has gathered the people around him. Knowing his days are numbered, he wants them to remember a few things.  

He has some wise sayings, some good advice from a man who has seen it all. So, what is he saying? He gives five key principles he doesn’t want them to forget. 

PRINCIPLES TO PUT INTO PRACTICE  

The first comes in Joshua 23:6 (NASB), “Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.” 

Be resolute. Have no hesitation. Obey the law not only in spirit but in action. Obey all that’s been written. Jesus said it this way, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Old man Joshua said, “Look, if you want to live right in this world, then keep and do all that has been written down.” 

CHOICE OF JOSEPH 

I enjoyed doing a pretty exhaustive study on Joseph, Mary’s husband. It occurred to me the amazing thing that God picked out this man and this woman to be the earthly parents of Jesus. As I spoke to several men’s groups I wondered, what was there about Joseph that after God looked down on all the men on earth, He said, “This is the one I want to be the father figure in the home as Jesus grows up.” 

Joseph wasn’t perfect in every way. He made some mistakes. He did some things that might seem a little harsh, such as walking his nine-months pregnant wife 75 miles uphill. Or hiking out of town, forgetting and leaving your twelve-year-old son in Jerusalem someplace. What made Joseph the right man? 

WHAT MADE JOSEPH THE RIGHT MAN? 

First and foremost, Joseph was obedient to the Word. When he first heard that Mary was pregnant, and he knew for a fact it wasn’t by him, he decided he had to put her aside and divorce her. That was the law. And not for a moment did Joseph, a righteous man, think of doing anything but carrying out the law. But he was a sensitive man as well.  

So, he thought about the most sensitive way he could do that, until God revealed that, indeed, this wasn’t adultery. He could go ahead and marry her. Joseph was a man committed to total obedience to God’s Word.  

BACK TO JOSHUA 

Old man Joshua looks up to the people through those failing eyes and weak voice says, “Be firm to do and keep all that is written in the law.”  

Second, Joshua says in 23:8, “You are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.” That means to hold onto and not let go ever. To hold on tightly and never be separated from, no matter what.  

Deuteronomy 13:4, “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” 

There’s a progression here that can be used by teachers and preachers as an outline. It starts with following Him. Then, learn to fear Him. And to keep His Word. And serve Him and cling to Him.  

WHAT DOES CLINGING LOOK LIKE? 

Go to that story in the book of Daniel about the three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They refused to bow down to the statue in obedience to God’s Word, to worship Him and Him only. And the king is so furious, so angry. He drags them out and heats up the furnace and says, “Do you think your God can keep you from dying when I throw you into that furnace?” And what do those three men do? They cling to the Lord.  

They say, “It doesn’t matter what He does. If He wants to save us, the hottest furnace in the world won’t make any difference. Or if it’s not His will, it makes no difference to us. We are clinging to Him, no matter what.” 

LOVE HIM 

Third, in Joshua 23:11, “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God.” 

Love, according to the Scriptures, is giving to others, showing compassion to others, without demanding something back in return. That kind of love towards God is difficult because most of the time when we go to God’s presence, we want something from Him. We present how much we love Him, then we tell Him what we want back. But true love gives without demanding anything back at all.  

That doesn’t mean we never ask from God. But there has to be times when we just show God love. So, how do we do that? How do we love God? Here’s a few different ways. Some you may already know or maybe there’s a new idea. 

LET ME COUNT SOME WAYS 

How do you tell God that you love Him? First of all, you can obviously do that verbally. Sometime in your prayer life, you should say out loud, “I love You, Lord!” Just like you say, “I love you” to your mate or to your children or to those close to you. We can say it out loud privately and also publicly.  

You know how exciting it is to be at home with your mate and have them say, “I love you.” You like hearing it. You also know how great it is when you’re in a group and your mate looks across everyone and says, “Honey, I really love you!” And everybody hears it.  

We can do the same for God. We can say it or sing it in praise.  

ACTS OF SERVICE 

Another way we can say “I love You” to God is through acts of service. When we serve Him, not for a reward. There’s a job in His Kingdom and we volunteer. Not because someone twisted our arm or because we’re gaining points on our way up the ecclesiastical ladder of authority. We do it because it needs to be done in the Kingdom and we’re saying, “God, I love You.” 

GIVE HIM TIME  

We can also show love by giving Him uninterrupted time. Spend time with God without any interruptions. Many of us are busy people and we may like to double up events.  

Janet and I have liked to read through the Scriptures each year, so every day we read so many chapters. Sometimes we’ve been busy or traveling. If we’re going down the highway on a long journey, Janet will read. That helps us get through the Scriptures and listen to God’s Word. But it’s not uninterrupted time. When a semi beeps a horn behind us, we lose track of what she’s reading.

The same is true with our prayer lives. You can pray when you travel. But you also need time to pray when there are no distractions. The TV’s off and the noise is down. We just spend time with Him. Nothing on our prayer request list or anything else to do. Another way to say, “I love You, Lord!” 

GIFT GIVING 

You have an opportunity to do that just about every time you have a church meeting. No apologies needed for having offerings. It’s an opportunity to say, “I love You, Lord.” No one ever asks you to give more than you want.  

A poor widow came and left those two little mites, two coins, two half-pennies, whatever they were. Jesus said that was a wonderful gift to the Lord, the best gift He had that day over anybody who put money in the treasury. God doesn’t care about the amount, but the giving of gifts says, “I love You!” 

LOVE OTHERS 

A unique way of showing love to the Lord is by giving love to other people. “As you have done it to the least of these,” Jesus said, “You have done it unto me.” 

Every loving act given to another, without expecting something in return, is like saying, “I love You, Lord.” 

Old man Joshua looked around at the people, cleared his throat again, and said, “Take diligent heed to love the Lord your God.” 

SERVE GOD 

Fourth, serve Him by accomplishing His goals. Joshua 24:14, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth.” Fear Him and serve Him.  

A lot of Scriptures mention we should fear the Lord and that causes some confusion. What does that mean? To fear the Lord is to respect Him for who He is. One of the most beautiful scene examples comes in the New Testament, and not by a faithful Jew but a Gentile, a Centurian. We don’t even know his name.  

NOTABLE CENTURIONS 

A study of centurions reveals that they get good press in the New Testament. A centurion at the foot of the cross said, “Surely this must be the Son of God.” The centurion Cornelius in Acts led his whole family to the Lord when he had a vision and sent for Peter.  

And early in Jesus’ ministry a centurion had a sick servant. Obviously, a compassionate man, he cared for the servant like his own son. And the religious leaders of the day said, “This is a good man. He cares about us and gives money to the synagogues.” They didn’t think that of many Roman soldiers. He asked Jesus to come and see the servant. “Perhaps you can bring healing to him.” Jesus headed for his house. 

But as He came, the man sent another servant who said, “Don’t come any further.” The centurion reported through him that he knew it was unclean for a Jewish man to come into a Gentile house. He sent the message, “I know what your power is like. You don’t have to come in. You don’t have to see the man or touch him. I know how to give orders and receive orders, and I know all you have to do is give the order.” 

What did Jesus say of this centurion? “Never in Israel have I seen faith like this before.” Now, there was a man who feared the Lord. He respected Jesus for who He was. He saw Him clearly and showed awe in Jesus’ presence.

Jesus warned, “Yes, you’re the chosen people and you’re in the Promised Land, but don’t take your relationship with God too lightly. Remember who He is, how great He is, how powerful. Honor Him and serve Him. Give Him the respect He deserves. Fear the Lord.” 

MORE WISDOM 

After these four proclamations, what else could be left to say? Old man Joshua got to the end of these instructions then told the people that they had to make up their minds.  

Joshua 24:15,16, “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

Whose side were they going to be on? He reminded them, “Folks, you’ve made it through the wilderness, at least your parents brought you this far, and we have conquered the land of Israel, and this Promised Land is ours. God has given all these blessings and instructions, but you have to make a conscious choice of the will to be on God’s side.” And he said, “I have made the choice. In fact, I’ve made the choice for my whole household.” 

Now, Joshua’s not saying that his choice made salvation come to every individual. We can’t choose for everyone in our household, though we wish we could. That’s a personal commitment. But we can choose that our household will be on God’s side and that we will serve Him. 

THE BOOK OF DECISIONS 

The Bible is a book of decisions. Never apologize for calling for a decision, whether it’s to commit to Christ or to serve or some other venture. Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Noah chose to build that ark. Abraham had to choose to leave Haran. Joseph made the choice to forgive his brothers. David chose to stand up against Goliath. Jonah chose to flee from God’s presence and God’s call. Daniel had to choose not to worship the king.  

Peter and Andrew had to choose to follow that man from Galilee. The Philippian jailer had to choose to accept Christ. And we need to choose that our home will be a place committed to serving God. We have a beautiful plaque hanging in our home that someone gave us with our name on it: “The Blys – As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” 

WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN?

As for me and my house, my family, we will serve the Lord. Let’s dig a little deeper into that phrase.  

First, if you make that statement, you are saying clearly and without hesitation, that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can’t force that on all the members of your family or household but you’re making a statement about your own commitment, “I know Him; therefore, we will serve the Lord.” 

Second you are stating that the rules of your house, your yard, your property are God’s rules. And the laws of God will be obeyed by everyone. You can make the commitment that God’s laws will be followed in this place.  

Third, you’re stating that God will be honored in your domain. He will be honored by all people, whether believers or not. He will be honored by all relatives, by all friends and guests, and not dishonoring acts or words will be tolerated. 

MORE STATEMENTS  

Fourth, we’re stating that as a family, and you as an individual, will seek God’s will and His purpose over any individual or family dreams. You are saying, “We will seek God’s guidance and we will follow it over all other priorities.” 

Fifth, you state that all the physical, mental, and spiritual resources within your family are ready to be used by the Lord for whatever purposes He desires. Every talent, every gift, every material possession, every ounce of human strength is available for His use, to accomplish His purpose. 

Sixth, you’re stating that no major decisions of any sort will ever be made without first consulting Him. We will seek His direction and His counsel. We pray and seek God’s lead.  

Seventh, you will allow no person, no possession, no idea to compete with or supplant your worship and devotion to God. Nothing is going to come between you and the Lord. Joshua said it in just a few words, “Choose you today whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

JOSHUA’S WISE SAYINGS 

Old Joshua had some wise sayings at the end of his life. They’re so wise they have lasted since 1400 B.C. We still need a push to get going. God still has to tell us, “Rise, and cross this Jordan.”  

Sometimes we still need to turn and trust God’s miraculous intervention, just like those walls of Jericho that fell down. And we still need God’s power to give us the strength to survive. And a holy reaction in the midst of accomplishing God’s will, like the sun standing still.  

And we still need to be challenged to make up our mind who our family is really serving. God wants us to decide. 

Let’s pray: “Dear Father, we thank You that You instruct us in Your Word. We pray that we will rededicate ourselves and our family and our household in service to You. Lord, show us those areas that are weak in that family and household commitment. In Jesus Name, Amen.”