seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Joshua 23:12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
This is from the easy English site.
Verses 12-14 Joshua warned the people:
· Perhaps you will become friends with your enemies (that is, the other people who lived in the land).
· Perhaps you will marry some of them.
· They will hurt you.
· God will not be happy.
· God will not give you any more good things.
· Perhaps you will marry some of them.
· They will hurt you.
· God will not be happy.
· God will not give you any more good things.
This is from the blueletterbible.org site.
Joshua merely repeats the principle of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience that was a specific part of Israel's covenant with God (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). He emphasizes that God will be just as faithful to judge as He had been to bless.
My dad was in the Navy while I was growing up. We were lucky because Daddy's job in the Navy was one that took quite a bit of time to complete.... so Daddy was stationed at one base much longer than normal for a Navy Chief. We got a little unlucky when I was just entering the 8th grade.... Daddy was sent to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Instead of living off base in a quiet country untempting suburb, we were thrown into base housing.
I did not fair well in San Juan. I was 13 years old and just began to have a use for boys. Cigarettes were the cool thing to have and if you skipped the plate of fries at the free movies one night, you could get a pack of cigarettes for just twelve cents in the px. I wanted to make friends and fit in. San Juan was my downfall.... it took me 53 years to wise up.
To me, these verses are a warning about the San Juan experiences in life. We can do what we want. God granted us "Free Will" when He designed and created us. We are free to make decisions for ourselves. Making the decision based on what God would want us to do could save us 53 years of inhaling tar or it can give us a little bit of being "different" from the rest of the crowd. Sometimes we need to be "different" for a little while to avoid being injured for life. Doing it God's way is sometimes not so easy.... but it's always right and it always works out so much better in the long run.
