We're looking at farewell addresses. You know, that theme in itself can be an interesting one because occasionally in the Bible, someone has enough foresight to realize, well, I'm not going to be around very much longer. I need to say something to somebody. And they do. They gather groups of people. We see that Jacob knew that he was going to die near the end of Genesis. He's gathering his sons, even his son Joseph's sons, Jacob's grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And they're giving these final blessings, final words, exhortations, warnings. Moses did this. And near the end of Moses's life, he had a sense that his time was drawing to a close and he was going to go on a mountain and perish as the Lord had told him he would because he would not see the promised land. So there are these occasions in the Old Testament that we've already seen in our study of the Old Testament where there are farewell speeches. I wonder if any come to mind in the new. When this concept of a farewell speech is introduced, sometimes commentators will speak about Jesus's farewell discourse in the Gospel of John. And I think that's the right way to think about it. Of course, he rises from the dead, so he does not die because he's old and well-advanced in years and all of that kind of stuff. There's some clear distinctions, but bear with me. There is a real sense in which he knows his hour has come. And knowing his hour has come, he has this meal with his disciples. He washes their feet. He gives them a series of promises and even offers a beautiful prayer in John 17 as a capstone for this section of John's gospel discourse. So with these farewell speeches or discourses, we find Joshua in the mix. Here he is in Joshua 23 and 24, engaging in some closing episodes. You almost get more than one kind of ending for the book of Joshua. He gathers the people and he's got some things to say that will also be true in Joshua 24, as we'll see next week. Now, this passage can be broken up into a few sections, but it's not even a long chapter. 16 verses. That's the fewest number of verses that we've dealt with in Joshua in weeks. Do you remember those land allotment chapters? We just went through those like a train on the rails, just no stopping. And so we were going through all these different tribal allotments and inheritances, and it was a lot of text, and I was having to read a lot of strange cities and names. But here in Joshua 23, 16 verses, not a long chapter, and yet it comes near the end of the book, where in these closing chapters of chapters 23 and 24, the climax of the book is after the conquest and the settlement. Joshua has things to say. If we could break the book into a few parts, chapters 1 to 12 is the conquest, 13 to 21 is the settlement, and beginning last time together in Joshua 22, through the end of the book, are these closing scenes. Do you remember what happened last time Joshua dismissed the eastern tribes to leave, go back over the Jordan to the territory they were to be promised from the days of Moses? And on their way out they decided to build a gigantic altar and didn't explain to anybody what they meant by it? And the Western tribes got really up in arms. They were concerned that maybe this is a violation, or most certainly a violation, and therefore a defilement of God's land and law. And therefore, because these Eastern tribes were just going their own way, I guess we need to rise up and be a remedy of judgment to make war against them. So Phineas and a few others in a delegation learn happily what truly was going on, that it was a symbol of unity. and that the Eastern tribes were not rebelling. Phineas is totally satisfied with their exploitation and brings this good report back to Joshua and the leaders. But in common with the Eastern tribes and Western tribes was the subject of unity. The Western tribes were concerned that unity was being threatened, and if you listen to the Eastern tribes' explanation of why they did what they did, they said, we thought the altar would be a good reminder in generations to come that we all belong to the same covenant community. And so yeah, the same subject there, and yet from various angles, there was a real problem in the Western and Eastern tribes were able to make, they were able to get clarity and sober mindedness on what happened. There is still a concern that Joshua has for the unity and future of the group. And in order to speak his final exhortations, his farewell speeches, as we may call them, he's going to get the leaders together because they represent the different tribes east and west of the Jordan. So he's going to call these leaders together and he's going to exhort them and remind them of some things. And in chapter 23, the first chunk in verses one to five, remembering the conquest, remembering the conquest, a long time afterward, And we just don't know how long. Two years? Three years? Five years? Joshua, however, is old enough at this point that in chapter 24 he dies at age 110. So because he says that he's old and well advanced in years and the next chapter reports his death, I think it's reasonable to assume he's approaching 110. if not 110 already. So that's the nearest we could say in terms of an age for him, but not an actual year because we don't know the span of time between the conquest and now with greater detail. The conquest itself took approximately seven years. So more than seven years after entering the land, the following things happen. The Lord had given them rest from their surrounding enemies. This doesn't mean there aren't abiding problems, but it does mean they have control of the land. We could say that this land now belongs to the Israelites, they've subdued their enemies, and the Lord has given them rest, Joshua being old and well-advanced in years. I like how he gathers the leaders of Israel, these elders and heads and judges and officers in verse 2, and he just says what the biblical author just told us by narration. Joshua says, I'm now old and well-advanced in years. What if we talk that way? It would be an interesting way of referring to your old age, right? I am old and well advanced in years. And here in verse two, this set of groups is representative so that what they learn from Joshua, they will communicate. That's what the faithful leaders are supposed to do. That would be a faithful representative, whatever they learn from Joshua is to be communicated. And then in verse three, Joshua begins to say, 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. Now, what has he done with regard to nations? Chapter 12 of Joshua is a list of kings defeated under Moses and under Joshua. A long, triumphal procession of names where the Israelites have exercised dominion, they have subdued their enemies, and in verse 3, these are the nations the Lord has fought to give for the sake of the Israelites. This is remembering the conquest. We've seen a sampling of this in the chapters of Joshua, but it's not exhaustive. In fact, if you look at the list of names in chapter 12, there's a lot more names than there are narratives to go with them. Which tells us, just like the Gospels do, we're getting a selection of episodes from the biblical author, and it is not comprehensive. Joshua would be a lot longer if we had a story of all of these victories that God has wrought for the nation. God has fought for them. They are to remember that they did not do this themselves. It is so very important that they don't begin to pat themselves on the back and look in hindsight in the years since crossing the Jordan River, and they begin to think something absurd like, look at everything we've managed to do. That is wrongheaded. That is not the way to think about this. It is the Lord who has fought. Are they involved in these battles? They are. There are several stories that make that clear. But when they're defeated by Ai in Joshua 8, we are reminded, or in Joshua 7, when they're defeated by Ai, we are reminded that it is the Lord who must fight for them and that left to their own accord and left to their own strength, they are not sufficient. It must be God who is the warrior for them. And Joshua says, behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes, those nations that remain, along with all the nations I've already cut off from the Jordan to the great sea in the west. So the Jordan, the Jordan River, the great sea, that's the Mediterranean Sea, the land of Canaan is in the middle of those bodies of water, right? And then in verse four, it is interesting that allotting an inheritance has to do with people and not just place. Look carefully here at what it's saying. Because earlier we saw geographical locations allotted. But he says, I've allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes, those nations that remain. So they have subdued the land, they now occupy its territories, but there are more victories to be accomplished, namely remaining Canaanites who might rear their heads against the Israelites and need to be subdued along with, he says in verse four, the other nations that I've already cut off. So if the Israelites remain in this land and in abiding in the land, these leftover or remnant of Canaanites prove quarrelsome and hostile, the Lord will give victory to his people. I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes, those nations. So part of what the Israelites are to be considered heirs of is not just the place, but the nations that will come under the influence and light and truth of the worship of the living God. And in verse five, the Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And this is regarding the hostile ones, the hostile Canaanites. And you shall possess their land just as the Lord your God promised you. And so the tension that we feel is there are remaining Canaanites who are alive in portions of this land. And while the allotted territories for the 12 tribes exist, there is more to be done. And the reason we know that is because we have the book of Judges. More that could have been done and should have been done, but wasn't done. And things that should have been done and could have been done, but weren't, and provided temptations and snares for the Israelites. So this promise in verse 5, the Lord God will push them back before you. They're to take that by faith. They're to trust. that if we follow the Lord, if we heed his word, if we live in true worship, these nations might come against us, but God is our faithful warrior. He will fight for us and push them back and drive them out. He's done it before, he will do it again. Well, remembering the conquest in verses 1 to 5 is followed by exhorting the Israelites to faithfulness. Exhorting the Israelites to faithfulness. Verses 6 to 10 captures this idea. Exhorting the Israelites to faithfulness begins with a therefore. Because he says, look, I've just covered some conquest reminders. What should that mean? Well, in verse 6, it should mean, therefore, be very strong to keep and do all that's written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left. We've heard language like that before. Joshua was told language like that. Moses heard language like that. The psalmist in Psalm 1 talks like that. But this important responsibility, this responsibility to heed the word of God with a kind of focus and devotion that's clear from this verse, this doesn't just belong to a leader of Israel like Joshua. The other tribal heads and judges and officers are to listen to this. And they're to go to communicate to their people as representatives what this means. In other words, the Israelites need to be very strong and to keep and do what is written in the law. Primarily, I think the law that's in mind is Deuteronomy. Over and over again, we see the book of Joshua and Psalms appealing to things that we see in Deuteronomy. Not that that's exhaustive, but it would be especially appropriate that something the length of Deuteronomy would be this law of Moses most recently given and written. and that this would be the occasion of their focus, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, so 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. Let's distill here what the problems could be. Problem number one, intermarrying with idolaters. Number two, worshiping what those idolaters worship. So those seem to be the two problems highlighted in verses six and seven. So you need to be strong to keep and do what's written in the law. Don't turn to the right or the left. What would turning to the right or the left look like? Taking as a spouse these people who worship idols. It's explained there in verse seven. You're to hold to the law, not turning one way or the other so that you won't mix with the nations remaining. He's not talking about just general relationships or camaraderie. The mixing there with these nations has to do with intermarriage. the mixing with these nations remaining among you or making mention of the name of their gods, the danger that we see other Israelites succumb to is the slippery slope that if I think to myself, I can join life with someone who doesn't worship Christ and I will be fine. It won't affect me. In fact, I'll be the influencer. Here, he says, not only is this danger of mixing with the nations remaining a problem, but making mention of the names of their gods or swearing by them or bowing down to them. Mixing with these nations has a number of snares. They will be tempted to make agreements with them they shouldn't. They will be tempted to bow down at worship sites that they shouldn't. And idolatry is not harmless. It is deadly for the soul. Worshipping these other gods sounds like this, making mention of the names of their gods. He doesn't mean they can't say the word Baal. He's talking about making mention of their names in prayer and worship and adoration. So in other words, where somebody would be expressing prayer and adoration and naming another god, rather than Yahweh speaking about one of the Canaanite gods. Don't make mention of their names. Swear by them, serve them, bow down to them. But you shall cling to the Lord your God. Here's another marriage idea. In verse eight, This word for clinging is the same notion of the husband and the wife in Genesis 2. It's a strong verb of adhesion. It means to really, really cling to. Strongly cling, or to cling firmly to. Here's what they can't do at the same time. They can't cling firmly to the Lord and worship idols. If they worship idols, their grip has loosened on what they should cling to. So they must choose. This is what Joshua is gonna come down to saying, isn't he? In Joshua 24, choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and he wants them to serve the Lord. But they've really got to think this through because the temptations are going to be live and real among them. And they must not mix with the nations and worship the gods of the nations. The antidote to worldly worship or false worship is clinging to what we know about God, clinging to the Lord, your God, just as you've done to this day. And of course, the Law of Moses will help them here. The Law of Moses will lay out commandments and rituals and rhythms for their life to be shaped by so that they are oriented toward what is good and lasting toward what is revealed from God Himself for their good. And in verses six and following, we've seen that he's exhorting the Israelites to faithfulness in light of the fact that the conquest is now over in the main with some residual problems that could be on the horizon, but even those God will give them victory for. They should just trust him. Cling to the Lord. That's an immediate application from this, isn't it? When we look at verse eight, cling to the Lord your God, that's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Someone who has said, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. You know that hymn? The world behind me, the cross before me. Though none go with me, I still will follow. No turning back, no turning back. It is a resolve. It is a kind of conviction where someone says, my heart is aflame for the glory of God, and I will live for Him, and I will worship Him, and I will follow Him. I will cling to Him. It's like you're envisioning a lifeline. If you were in a situation where you needed a rope to cling to because beneath you was your certain death, it's amazing, I bet, how strong your grip could become in that moment when you realize what the alternative would be. Now, of course, this is not to communicate that we're saved by our grip or that in some way salvation is by works and our striving, but it is to say we are responsible as those who profess to know the Lord to say, what am I clinging to? And the danger here is they would think to themselves, I can have both Yahweh and the world. I can live as Israelites and the gods of the Canaanites. I can have it all. But they can't have it all. They can't have it all. They must cling to the Lord their God. And in verse nine, 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. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it's the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Well, as we've looked at their exhortation to faithfulness, verses 9 and 10 conclude this little section by reminding us once again of the greatness of God's power. God drove them out. And he says, no one's been able to stand before you. Why? Because God drove them out. In fact, the intimidation and effectiveness of even a single warrior of Israel seems to be put this way, and perhaps hyperbole, but to make the point, one man of you puts to flight a thousand. A thousand people show up and they say, there's no way I'm going against this one Israelite warrior. Yahweh fights for him. So Yahweh is with this people or with an individual warrior. It's as if none can withstand. It is God who fights for you. Now, of course, Israel's kings. would need this kind of exhortation from the prophets. Be faithful, turn from idols, be repentant, trust in Yahweh, hope in Yahweh, live holy, because there were some people, some kings, who learned that when they began to mix with the nations in ways that they shouldn't, and false worship would follow, you could ask Solomon what that was like. I mean, here's an example of a king in 1 Kings where he begins to take wives to himself, more than one wife and multiple wives rooted in idolatrous practices. And then you see in the narrative of Solomon's life, the slide of Solomon himself into idol worship. So this is not some abstract idea where someone in the covenant community wouldn't be tempted for such a thing. It would be a live temptation even for the kings of Israel. Now in verses 11 to 13, Joshua continues speaking by giving a warning to the Israelites about judgment. Verses 11 to 13 begin this way. Be very careful therefore to love the Lord your God. He doesn't say cling to him or love him. Clinging to the Lord is what we do in love. Love here is the word for devotion. To love the Lord your God is to be devoted to God, to seek the Lord as a devoted worshiper. So to cling to God is to love him. To love the Lord means to cling to him. It is to follow him and be very careful to do so. I've used this illustration before because this kind of exhortation is common in the Torah. But if you imagine handing something to someone and saying, now I need you to take this from point A to point B, be very careful. Be very careful. It's like, you need to watch where you're going. You don't need to be looking around. It's like, what's going on? I mean, what they're holding, you're gonna say, give me that, give me that back. You know, I don't want you to carry that because I can foresee what's coming. It's a crash, you're gonna trip on that cord, slip on that spot. You know, whatever it is, be very careful conveys the idea of, I need to give a lot of attention to where my feet are. I need to pay very careful attention to what obstacles may seek to disrupt whatever I'm doing. I need to be aware. I need to live awake. I need to have my eyes open. I need to be vigilant, watchful. This is what Jesus told his disciples. Be watchful, be vigilant. It's part of faithfulness. It's being very careful to love the Lord your God. He says, for if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations, so there's another cling. If you don't cling to the Lord, but instead in verse 12, you cling to the nations remaining among you and make marriages with them so that you associate with them and they with you. Well, in verse 13, no for certain. How do you like that opening phrase? Know for certain. I mean, you can just take that to the bank, as they say, right? Know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Now even that warning there is an unsettling one. Because if the nations are idolaters, and the nations need to learn the truth of God, and the nations need the light of good and true worship, and they need a faithful people set apart for the families of the earth to be blessed through the Messiah still to come, if all of this means Israel here in this land needing to be faithful to the Lord, if this means in verse 13 that God might not drive out the nations, what's the contingency here? In verse 13, know for certain the Lord will not drive out the nations or no longer drive them out, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you. That's if they decide to cling to the nations instead of the Lord. They are not so secure that they can say, it doesn't matter how we live in the land. Doesn't matter how we worship. Doesn't matter what my life is like. It doesn't matter. I can just say, I know Yahweh or I'm in the covenants. In verse 13, he says, here's what you need to know. And you can know this for sure. God will no longer drive out the nations. And if they don't drive out the nations, the nations not only remain, the nations become an escalating threat. Don't you see that here? There'll be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes. My goodness, did they just choose the most painful kind of metaphor here? Think about that. Whips for your sides and thorns for your eyes? Nothing pleasant about that. That's the point. The threat of idolatry, this is unmasking it here. the judgment and curse and affliction that is in the path of idolatry. It is pictured here as a whip for the sides, a snare and a trap in which someone might fall, thorns for the eyes until you perish off this good ground the Lord your God has given you. So the danger for them is that they will think, I can live any way I want in the land. Instead, they might perish in that land, or be perishing from the good ground God has given, which might not only mean their physical death, but their exile as a people. The reason it could be that is because in Deuteronomy 28, which warns about exile, it uses the language of the kind of curses we have here, including a whip and thorns. The idea of the nations being a trap, of the good ground the Lord has given them being a place they might not hold. So what they need is to cling to the Lord, because if they want sin, if they want to rebel against the law, and they want to cling to the remnant of the nations, then it's going to mean disaster for them. Disaster for them. The prophets knew this. The prophets pled with the people in the northern part of the land and in the southern part of the land. They said, the Lord is going to bring wrath. The Lord's righteous and holy judgment is going to fall. Do you guys care? And of course there were kings and priests corrupt and people widespread throughout the land living in abominations and idolatry. As far as it could seem, they felt like they were secure and that nothing bad was going to happen. So the warning to the Israelites about judgment is so key in verses 11 to 13. They need to be careful to love the Lord because if they cling to the nations, it will be their undoing. And then the final part of the passage in verses 14 to 16 highlights God's faithfulness. So after the warning to the Israelites about judgment, highlighting God's faithfulness seems to be a great spot to end. In verses 14 to 16, he begins this way, and now I am about to go the way of all the earth. That's their ancient way of talking about, I think I'm going to die soon. I'm about to go the way of all the earth. And you know, in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you. Not one of them has failed. They have recent examples of faithfulness, like in their memory that they can say, yeah, on this day and at this time, and here's what happened. It's in their mind. Now, sometimes the Lord's faithfulness is communicated to us from earlier stories we didn't participate in. We hear the greatness of the Lord at work elsewhere, earlier in history, in contemporaries, through our own generations. We can see in the Scriptures, over and over again, testimonies of the faithfulness of the Lord. He says, here's something you know in your hearts and souls. You can't deny it, He's saying. You can't be ignorant of it. There's no excuse. It didn't happen in a corner. Everything God did for you, Not one word he said has failed. Not one word. We might say, as Isaiah 55 did at the call to worship tonight, that his word was sent out and did not return void. His promise landed exactly where he needed it to. Not one word failed. Not one word failed of what? Of all the good things the Lord your God has promised. Indeed, they are the promised people in the land of promise. And they have vineyards they didn't build. And they have cities they didn't build. And they have gardens in abundance. And it is overflowing. It is that land of milk and honey. The enemies are subdued. God has given them rest on every side. West and east of the Jordan, the 12 tribes of Israel live. And he says in verse 15, but just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he's given you. You see, the end of this passage is all about the faithfulness of the Lord. The Lord's made a covenant with Israel from Sinai forward. From Sinai, which took place as a covenant in Exodus 24, the sealing of that covenant was blessing for the obedience to the law. But the curse of the law, should they ever reject it? Now, he's not saying here that this transgression is just like, well, of course they're sinners. Are you saying, Lord, that they have to absolutely be sinless in order for this to happen? The Lord not only saved a people who were sinners, but he sustained a people who were sinners, and those who followed the Lord continued to be sinners, including Moses himself. We have to look at the fullness of the context. Transgressing the covenant involves going and serving other gods and bowing down before them. It is a wholesale rejection of the worship of God. So no one need look at this as an ancient Israelite and worry that, oh my goodness, if I still sin, am I going to perish off this good land? Even the sacrificial system makes rituals clear, recognizing the guilt and transgressions of the people to come to the Lord. What must they do? They must be a people who turn to the Lord. To be a repentant people, a faith-filled people, a hope-driven people, that they would be shaped by the promises of God, and they would not reject the covenant. To transgress the covenant, in this context, seems to suggest a wholesale rejection of the kind of people they were saved to be. It's for them saying, thanks but no thanks, or maybe not even that, but we don't want this. We want to do what we want, and we want these nations, and we want their gods, and we're gonna live this way. He says, listen, if you do that, if you do that, then the Lord will be faithful. What will he be faithful to do though? This is all highlighting the faithfulness of God. Well, he is faithful to bring the blessings he promised and he will also be faithful. He will also be faithful to bring the judgments he promised. This is their agreement. This is what they sealed at Sinai. And they have insisted that this is what they will keep, this law that is over them. In verse 16, if you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you'll perish quickly from off the good land. We're reminded here that Joshua is setting before them the two paths. It's life and death. And it's been that way all the way back. Even when the Lord put a tree of life and the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden, and He said of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. And even when you hear Moses in Deuteronomy saying to them, I've set before you this day life and death, choose life. It's always these two paths. It's only these two paths. These are the only two. It's only these two. There is the true worship of the living God, or there is whatever else fits in the second path. And there's so much that fits in that. Jesus said it's a wide way that leads to destruction. It's a narrow way that leads to life. Jesus knew these same paths. Jesus is the embodiment of life and the way and the truth. He says this of himself in John 14, 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And so Jesus here is even greater than Joshua. Joshua is setting before the people these two paths. Jesus is giving the people himself. Joshua can't give himself. I mean, he's gonna die, but it's not substitutionary. He's gonna die. There's nothing atoning his death can bring. He's gonna be a leader who can die. He can't come back from the dead. Jesus says, I lay down my life to take it up again. And he's the greater Joshua. His name in Greek is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua. And yet he's a true and greater Joshua, accomplishing what Israel's leader in the Old Testament never could. Jesus is the one who is born under the law. and bears the weight of our sin's penalty. Not only our sins, but it's penalty. We're reminded here that what we deserve is to perish because we have all been in violation of the law of God. What we deserve is His judgment. And yet in the long-suffering nature of God's mercy and love and his covenant promises from Genesis forward, we have seen a redemptive arc leading to the cross where the Lord Jesus takes the snare and the trap and the whip and the thorns for us. And so here they're warned about the whip and the thorns. And I just want to tell you a gospel story that in the gospels, Jesus bears the curse of the law. Jesus bears the heinousness of sin. Jesus comes in our place and dies the death we should have died under the judgment of God so that we will not perish, but instead have everlasting life. His promises to us are so sure that we occupy an unbreakable covenant This is not a covenant we can break, but the Lord Jesus himself has sealed it and holds it forever. As one who is greater than Joshua, he does what Joshua could not do. Joshua could not keep the people stable. Jesus holds us all. He keeps us all. He loses none of his sheep. He will raise them all on the last day. Man, Israel never had a leader like that in the Old Testament. How much greater is Christ? Joshua said to the people, I'm about to go the way of all the earth. You know what Joshua never said to them? I will be with you always. He couldn't say both. He couldn't say both. He's going to go the way of all the earth. But Jesus, having risen from the dead, he says to his people in Matthew 28, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. And so Jesus once again has set before us the two paths, the narrow way and the broad way. And of course, the narrow way has everything to do with him. It is Christ who is the way and the truth and the life. And so as we read and study Joshua 23 tonight, we're reminded of the good blessings of the new covenant poured out upon us in Christ because we have not kept the law. We would deserve the judgment of God and we would deserve to perish. Christ's work has ensured that in Him we are secure. We shall not perish, and we will have all the blessings of the good land God has for us. Oh, there's a better land. There is a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar. We are looking at the glorious new creation by faith. We are the people who walk by faith now, and we shall see insightful. We look at Joshua 23 and we can rejoice at what God has done through and for a sinful people, that he has kept all his promises. And we can say on this day, and we can say on that last day, not one of all his good promises, not one of all his many words have failed. He has done all he has set to do. Let's pray.