Leaving a Legacy
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Mar 26, 2006
- Series: Moving into a Great Future
LEAVING A LEGACY
Joshua 24:1-15
- Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
- Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.
- But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,
- and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
- " 'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.
- When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.
- But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.
- " 'I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.
- When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.
- But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
- " 'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.
- I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you--also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.
- So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'
- "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
- But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
If you continue to live your life the way you're living it right now, what kind of legacy will you leave behind? Will it be lasting or temporary? Oftentimes, when we think of leaving something behind, we automatically think in terms of money, property or personal items with sentimental value. The Bible presents a much more important legacy that we as Christians are to leave our children and those close to us. It is a legacy of godliness that has a lifelong benefit and eternal value.
Elizabeth Dodds published a study done by a certain A.E. Winship in 1900 about the enormous impact of the life Jonathan Edwards to his descendants. He was a humble pastor who was one of the principal figures of the Great Awakening in the 1800. Here are the lists of the accomplishments of Edward's descendants:
- 100 lawyers and a dean of a law school
- 80 holders of public office
- 66 physicians and a dean of a medical school
- 65 professors of colleges and universities
- 30 judges
- 13 college presidents
- 3 mayors of large cities
- 3 governors of states
- 3 United States senators
- 1 controller of the United States Treasury
- 1 Vice President of the United States
Our main text this morning would show us how Joshua as a man of God understood the value of leaving a lasting legacy to his descendants and the nation of Israel. Conscious of the fact that his life was about to end, he gathered all the recognized leaders of Israel for the last time in order to challenge them to commit their whole lives in living for God. His efforts to influence the nation towards God will be divided into three major duties:
I APPRECIATE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD: (vv. 1-13)
As we conclude our series, I am intentionally skipping chapters 11-22 because they simply record the distribution of the Promised Land to the different tribes of Israel after they have successfully conquered it.
Our main text today is considered by Bible commentators as Joshua's farewell speech to Israel. The entire speech covers chapters 23 and 24, but I chose to highlight only some verses in chapter 24 since the emphases are one at the same.
The first part of our text is an effort of Joshua to review the history of Israel focusing on the wonderful deeds that God has done for them. Notice the repetition of the pronoun "I," which is used 18X in these verses. This clearly provides the picture that God himself was reminding them that whatever greatness they have as a nation came as a gift from Him. He was a faithful God fulfilling everything He had promised!
"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.
The point that Joshua was trying to drive was, with so many things that God has done for them; it was so easy for them to loose the sense of awe towards God's activities in their lives. Miracles can become ordinary, and when they do, it is so easy for God's people to be complacent in their walk with Him.
Time and again, we need to review God's manifestations of faithfulness towards us. They can continually motivate us to move into a higher level of relationship with Him. Someone has said;
"Never let the burdens of today
Cause you to forget the blessings of yesterday."
II APPROPRIATE THE FEAR OF GOD: (vv.14-15)
After Joshua had taken the time to review God's goodness and faithfulness to them, he commanded them to live their lives in maintaining a healthy fear towards God.
Before I explain what it means, we need to observe the sequence. The command to fear God comes on the basis of everything that God has done and will do for us. God solicits a reasonable response from His people. The apostle Paul expressed the same principle in Romans 12:1:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
Notice how this verse reads in the New Living Translation - And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
Are you appropriately responding to God's faithfulness? What do we need to do? Well, Joshua gave three commands. I believe the first one is so important that if you have this, the second and third can come naturally.
- Fear the Lord - Not the fear that will cause them run from God, but the fear that will compel them to respect and love Him.
- Serve Him with all faithfulness - To serve means to perform their duties by obeying His commands. In other Versions, this phrase is translated "Serve Him with all sincerity and truth." It means to serve Him with a genuine feeling and the absence of hypocrisy.
- Throw away other gods - This is a call to get rid of the idols their ancestors have served in Egypt. This command seems to imply that some of them were still practicing idolatry.
To fear the Lord is a choice they have to make in order for them to continually enjoy the blessings in God's covenant.
- But just as every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.
- 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."
Have you already made a decisive choice to live your life only for God? It is always for our advantage when we decide to fear the Lord:
- Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.
- His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
III AFFECT OTHERS IN FOLLOWING GOD: (v. 15)
As far as Joshua was concern, he has already made a personal decision to fear and follow the Lord. However, being a leader who has been given the privilege to influence others, he is not only exerting his influence to motivate Israel, but also his immediate family. Notice his words - "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
What an amazing example for all of us! Joshua in a way was taking the responsibility to ensure that his entire family lives a life of obedience to God. Perhaps all of us parents need to be reminded that we are the greatest spiritual influence for our children. Most often our children's spirituality simply mirrors ours.
I hope all the parents here will acknowledge that our godliness will be our greatest contribution to our children. Timothy had an exemplary faith which was passed down to him by his mother and grandmother:
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
As we close, we need to ask ourselves - What do I intend to leave behind? How will my loved ones and friends remember me? We have to be more serious in our relationship with God pursuing him with all our hearts, so that we can leave them a lasting legacy.