Farewell
I want you to think about a farewell address or a farewell speech. Is the speech that of a President as they leave the oval office or the White House? Maybe it's your favorite news reporter who signed off of the air for the last time, or it was a sports figure who was finally retiring and was walking away from the field. I've always enjoyed studying the speeches or looking at the words of our 16th president Abraham Lincoln. One of Abraham Lincoln's most beloved short speeches was his farewell address as he was leaving Illinois and headed to Washington, DC, on February 11, 1861. The scene was there at the great western railroad depot. You probably have seen the artist's renderings of what this would look like; the back of a train car draped in the American flag. He's standing there and what we've come to know as the image of our 16th President, Abe Lincoln, with a top hat, a black suit, and a tall and slender individual. He was there to thank individuals that had gathered as he was getting ready to depart to head out to Washington. The source of the version that I'd like to share today was recorded in the Illinois state journal on February 12, 1861. Three different versions of this speech float around in the archives and the internet. Still, this one is often widely accepted as the closest to the version that was presented that day by then our newly elected President.
No one who has never been placed in a like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century, I have lived among you, and during all that time, I have received nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my youth until now; I am an old man. Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here, all my children were born; and here, one of them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the strange, checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind. Today I leave you; I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with and aid me, I shall not fail; I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To him, I commend you all -- permit me to ask that with equal security and faith, you all will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. With these few words, I must leave you -- for how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell.
As he was about to head off on the train headed to Washington, those were the words. We pick up in those writings and those words that he was resting on the guidance of his Savior, his Heavenly Father. He said I pray for safety and security for you, and I invoke and ask you the same thing of myself. When we read Joshua's account, we see Joshua do the same thing as a great leader. One who was set apart at the end of Deuteronomy at Moses's passing and then through the first 22 chapters guided, led, and protected individuals as they conquered the promised land. We find ourselves now in Joshua chapter 23 in what is known as his farewell address, his response to the Lord.
Two simple things are presented in Joshua 23 in this "Farewell address" - Obey the Lord, and He will bless you and keep you in the land; disobey Him, and He will judge you and remove you from the land. Joshua encouraged the nation of Israel to possess the land. "The Lord, your God, will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Joshua 23:5 (ESV)."
If you obey, you get it. If you disobey, you will not get it. Just because the end was near; the end in this narrative, the end in their conquering of the promised land and the dividing out of the inheritance. There was still much work to be done. We think we are done serving the Lord because we get to the end of our life. That is not the case; there is always plenty of work to be done. The task of the tribes, as we have studied in the book of Joshua, wasn't finished; there was still the great danger. The great danger, of course, was that the people of Israel would gradually change their attitudes toward the pagan nations around them and start accepting their ways and imitating them. Joshua gave the people three solid motives for remaining a separated people and serving the Lord faithfully to counteract this danger.
Remember what the Lord did for Israel - 3-4
Remember what the Lord said to Israel - 5-10
Recall what the Lord would do to Israel - 11-16
This is an excellent reminder to God's people today. As we read the Bible and see what God did in the past for those who trusted Him, it encourages us to trust Him today and face all our enemies with courage and confidence.
Joshua's devotion to the Word of God enabled Him to get to know God better, love Him, and want to please Him. But, it isn't enough to know the Word of God. We must also know the God of the Word and grow in our fellowship with Him.
Meditating on the goodness of God is a strong motivation for obedience. James connects the goodness of God with our resisting of temptation (James 1:13–17), and Nathan took the same approach when he confronted King David with his sins (2 Sam. 12:1–15). It was not his own badness but his father's goodness that brought the prodigal son to repentance and then back home (Luke 15:17). "The goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4, NKJV). The danger is that the material blessings from the Lord can so possess our hearts that we focus on the gifts and forget the Giver, leading to sin (Deut. 8).
Joshua's three main admonitions in this address need to be heeded by God's people today: Keep God's Word (Josh. 23:6), cleave to the Lord (v. 8), and love the Lord (v. 11). Unfortunately, many Christians have not only compromised with the enemy but have embraced the enemy, and the Lord is not first in their lives.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1–2)