Joshua 23:12-16

Warnings of Punishments for Disobedience Joshua 23:12-16

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.

12.

What was the special danger posed by the remaining nations? Joshua 23:12

Joshua foresaw the day when the Israelites would intermarry with those among whom they dwelt. When they did this, he knew they could no longer remain a separate and peculiar people devoted completely to God. There would then be the danger of their making mention of the names of the gods of the Canaanites and swearing by them. Eventually they would serve them and bow down to them (Joshua 23:7). Such a state of idolatry would mean that they would perish from off the good land which the Lord their God had given to them. Moses had forbade such a condition of intermarriage as he spoke to the Israelites in his day and said, neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son (Deuteronomy 7:3).

13.

What was the way of all the earth? Joshua 23:14

This was another way for Joshua to say that he was nearing the end of his earthly sojourn. The day of his death was at hand in his estimation. He knew that he was old and stricken in years and that his term of service could not be much longer. This fact made it imperative for him to give these final exhortations to the people among whom he had worked and served.

14.

What evil things would the Israelites suffer if they disobeyed God? Joshua 23:15

Moses had warned that God would send a terror, consumption, and burning ague among the people if they disobeyed God (Leviticus 26:16). He further predicted that they would sow their seed in vain. In addition, he foresaw the land being overrun by wild beasts which would rob them of their children, destroy their cattle, make them few in number, and cause their highways to be desolate (Leviticus 26:22). Moses had later pronounced five curses upon the peoplein the city, in the field, of basket and store, fruit of body and of land, and increase of kine and flocks. In short, he saw them being completely devoid of God's blessings (Deuteronomy 28:15-16). Joshua must have had a similar God-forsaken condition in mind when he warned his people about the results of disobedience. He said that they would be destroyed from off the good land which God had given them.

15.

What covenant had the Lord commanded? Joshua 23:16

The Old Testament was God's covenant with the people of Israel. The epitome of its provisions was in the Ten Commandments. These people had received this covenant at Mount Sinai and had agreed to live by it. When they broke their part of the covenant, God could only punish them for their disobedience. The terrible prospect of their losing the Promised Land was held before them, Joshua wanted to encourage them to be faithful to God's covenant, for this would insure their remaining in the land they had received as an inheritance.