Joshua 23: 1-3; 24: 13-15
(ii) Roland Flowerdew
Not long after I heard of the home-going of our brother, I was reading these chapters in Joshua, and it is from that that I feel led to say a few words as to them. As one who has known our brother for all of my life, I think it would be right to say that he has been something of an inspiration to me. He is one who appeared to have this declaration on his heart, “but as for me and my house, we shall serve Jehovah”, or serve God. I have been encouraged by the previous word about the help that is from God, since our brother was very much one who received help that was from God. In addition, in what he said, and what he did, he was one who, in himself, served Jehovah. This was not necessarily as a declaration in word, but as a declaration in deed. In everything he did (of which I am aware) he was one who declared that he would serve Jehovah. I think that would be an inspiration to each of us that we should serve Jehovah.
Our brother once told me about a teacher who had spoken to his class at school. The teacher said to the class, ‘You are the crème de la crème”, the cream of the cream, but went on to say, ‘but like all cream, you need a good whipping’. I do not refer to this in any light-hearted way, but I would like to encourage myself and each one of us that if we are to be devoted to the things of God, we need to be stimulated by and exercised about them. They are to be challenging to us, but we need to take up the challenges, as I believe our brother did.
Here in Joshua 23, it says, “ye have seen all that Jehovah your God hath done to all these nations because of you”. Our brother was able to express what Jehovah his God and the Lord Jesus had done for him in the glad tidings. In the word, “God hath done to all these nations”, think of the way in which the peoples were dispossessed by the children of Israel as they came into the land. That is another point I would like to touch on just briefly: our brother was one who had experience of the land. We need to have this experience; we need to know what it is. Think of the way that Joshua and Caleb were able to say to the children of Israel that “this is a very, very good land” (Num 14: 7). In his preaching of the glad tidings and in what he said, our brother was telling us about the good land that is before us.
“Jehovah your God is He that hath fought for you”. Think of the way that the Lord Jesus has gone before us! We know that He has given Himself for each one of us, and we need to consciously accept that. He is the One who has fought great battles. He fought the power of Satan, he fought the power of death. Our Lord Jesus is the One who was victorious, and who has broken the power of death; who has burst the grave, and has risen and ascended to the right hand of God. Does each of us know that? Our brother certainly did: he had his faith and trust in the One who had fought for him. May each of us be encouraged as we have our faith and trust in One who has done so much for us. No one else has done so much. Our brother was so well able to express these things.
It says later in the chapter “And be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses” (v 6). We have the things that are laid before us. Our brother is one who kept them, and I would seek to encourage each of us to go in for these things.
In verse 15 of chapter 24, we have “choose you this day whom ye will serve”. Will we serve the Lord Jesus, the One who has died for us? Or will we serve the things that occupy us in the world, or the things that would seek to take us away from the things of Christ? Whom will we choose? Our brother was one who chose the things of God, “as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah”. May this be a stimulation and encouragement to each one of us.
For His Name’s sake.