Joshua 23 - 24, Philippians 3 - 4, Psalm 143

Joshua Calls All Israel

23Now it happened after many days, after Yahweh had given ^arest to Israel from all their enemies ¹on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, ²that ^aJoshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. ³“And you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you, for ^aYahweh your God is He who has been fighting for you. ⁴“See, ^aI have allotted to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. ⁵“And Yahweh your God, He will thrust them out from before you and ^adispossess them before you; and ^byou will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God ¹promised you. ⁶“^aBe very strong, then, to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, ⁷so that you will not go along with these nations, these which remain among you, and you will not ^amention the name of their gods, and you will not ^bmake anyone swear by them, and you will not ^cserve them, and you will not bow down to them. ⁸“But you are to cling to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day. ⁹“^aFor Yahweh has dispossessed great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, ^bno man has stood before you to this day. ¹⁰“^aOne of your men will pursue one thousand, for Yahweh your God is ^bHe who fights for you, just as He ¹promised you. ¹¹“So keep your souls very carefully to love Yahweh your God. ¹²“For if you ever turn back and ^acling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and ^bintermarry with them, so that you go along with them and they with you, ¹³know with certainty that Yahweh your God will not continue to dispossess these nations from before you; but they will be a ^asnare and a trap to you and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.

¹⁴“Now behold, today ^aI am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that ^bnot one word of all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. ¹⁵“And it will be that just as all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke to you have come upon you, so ^aYahweh will bring upon you all the calamitous words, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you. ¹⁶“^aWhen you trespass against the covenant of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of Yahweh will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”

Joshua Gathers Israel

24Then ^aJoshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the ¹River, namely, ^aTerah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. ³‘Then ^aI took your father Abraham from beyond the ¹River and led him through all the land of Canaan and ^bmultiplied his seed and gave him ^cIsaac. ⁴‘To Isaac I gave ^aJacob and Esau, and ^bto Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but ^cJacob and his sons went down to Egypt. ⁵‘Then ^aI sent Moses and Aaron, and I smote Egypt ¹by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. ⁶‘And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^ayou came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the ¹Red Sea. ⁷‘Then they cried out to Yahweh; He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And ^ayou lived in the wilderness for many days. ⁸‘Then ^aI brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ⁹‘Then ^aBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰‘But I ^awas not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand. ¹¹‘^aAnd you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and ^bthe Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus ^cI gave them into your hand. ¹²‘Then I ^asent the hornet before you, and it ¹drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but ^bnot by your sword or your bow. ¹³‘^aAnd I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

We Will Serve Yahweh Our God

¹⁴“So now, ¹^,^afear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and ²truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the ³River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. ¹⁵“If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or ^athe gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

¹⁶And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve other gods; ¹⁷for Yahweh our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and who did these great signs in our sight and kept us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. ¹⁸“And Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve Yahweh, for He is our God.”

¹⁹Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve Yahweh, ^afor He is a holy God. He is ^ba jealous God; ^cHe will not forgive your transgression or your sins. ²⁰“^aIf you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” ²¹And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.” ²²And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^ayou have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³“So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and ^aincline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.” ²⁴^aAnd the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to His voice.” ²⁵^aSo Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and a judgment in Shechem. ²⁶And Joshua ^awrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^athis stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which He spoke ¹to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” ²⁸Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

²⁹Now it happened that after these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being 110 years old. ³⁰And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in ^aTimnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

³¹^aAnd Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who ¹survived Joshua, who knew all the work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel.

³²Now ^athey buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the portion of the field ^bwhich Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred ¹qesitah; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. ³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him ¹at Gibeah of ^aPhinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

3Finally, my brothers, ^arejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

²Beware of the ^adogs! Beware of the ^bevil workers! Beware of the ¹mutilation! ³For ^awe are the ¹circumcision, who ^bworship ²in the Spirit of God and ^cboast in ^dChrist Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, ⁴although ^aI myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: ⁵^acircumcised the eighth day, of the ^bnation of Israel, of the ^ctribe of Benjamin, a ^dHebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, ^ea Pharisee; ⁶as to zeal, ^aa persecutor of the church; as to the ^brighteousness which is in the Law, found ^cblameless.

⁷But ^awhatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of ¹^,^aknowing ^bChrist Jesus my Lord, ²for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in Him, not having ^aa righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, ^bthe righteousness which is from God upon faith, ¹⁰that I may ^aknow Him and ^bthe power of His resurrection and ¹^,^cthe fellowship of His sufferings, being ^dconformed to His death, ¹¹¹in order that I may ^aattain to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing On Toward the Goal

¹²Not that I have already ^aobtained it or have already ^bbecome perfect, but I press on ¹so that I may ^clay hold of that ²for which also I ^dwas laid hold of by ^eChrist Jesus. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: ^aforgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I ^apress on toward the goal for the prize of the ^bupward call of God in ^cChrist Jesus. ¹⁵Let us therefore, as many as are ¹^,^aperfect, think this way; and if in anything you ^bthink differently, ^cGod will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶However, let us keep ¹^,^awalking in step with the same standard to which we have attained.

¹⁷Brothers, ^ajoin in following my example, and ^blook for those who walk according to the ^cpattern you have in us. ¹⁸For ^amany walk—of whom I often told you, and now tell you even ^bcrying—as enemies of ^cthe cross of Christ, ¹⁹whose end is destruction, whose god is their ^astomach and ^bglory is in their shame, who ^cset their thoughts on earthly things. ²⁰For ^aour ¹citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly ^bwait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who will ^atransform ¹the body of our humble state into ^bconformity with ²the ^cbody of His glory, ^dby His working through which He is able to even ^esubject all things to Himself.

Rejoice in the Lord Always

4Therefore my brothers, loved and ^alonged for, my joy and crown, in this way ^bstand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to ^athink the same way in the Lord. ³Indeed, I ask you also, genuine companion, help these women who have contended together alongside of me in the gospel, with also Clement and the rest of my ^afellow workers, whose ^bnames are in the book of life.

⁴^aRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. ^aThe Lord is ¹near. ⁶^aBe anxious for nothing, but in everything by ^bprayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And ^athe peace of God, which surpasses all ¹comprehension, will ^bguard your hearts and your ^cminds in ^dChrist Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, ^awhatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is ¹lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things. ⁹The things you have learned and received and heard and seen ^ain me, practice these things, and ^bthe God of peace will be with you.

God Will Fill Your Needs

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last ^ayou have revived thinking about me; indeed, you were thinking about me before, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹Not that I speak ¹from want, for I learned to be ²^,^acontent in whatever circumstances I am. ¹²I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in abundance; in any and all things I have learned the secret of being filled and going ^ahungry, both of having abundance and ^bsuffering need. ¹³I can do all things ¹through Him who ^astrengthens me. ¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to ^afellowship with me in my affliction.

¹⁵And you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the ¹^,^afirst preaching of the gospel, after I left ^bMacedonia, no church ^cfellowshipped with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone. ¹⁶For even in ^aThessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. ¹⁷^aNot that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the fruit which increases to your account. ¹⁸But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I have been filled, having received from ^aEpaphroditus ¹what you have sent, ²^,^ba fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹And ^amy God will fulfill ¹all your needs according to His ^briches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰Now to ^aour God and Father ^bbe the glory ¹forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every ¹saint in Christ Jesus. ^aThe brothers who are with me greet you. ²²^aAll the ¹^,^bsaints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³^aThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ ^bbe with your spirit.

My Soul Reaches for You

143

A Psalm of David.

O Yahweh, hear my prayer,^aGive ear to my supplications!Answer me in Your ^bfaithfulness, in Your ^crighteousness!²And ^ado not enter into judgment with Your slave,For ^bno one living is righteous in Your sight.³For the enemy has pursued my soul;He has crushed my life ^ato the ground;He ^bhas made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.⁴Therefore ^amy spirit was faint within me;My heart was ¹^,^bappalled within me.⁵I ^aremember the days of old;I ^bmeditate on all You have done;I ^cmuse on the work of Your hands.⁶I ^astretch out my hands to You;My ^bsoul reaches for You like a weary land. ¹ Selah.⁷^aAnswer me quickly, O Yahweh, my ^bspirit wastes away;^cDo not hide Your face from me,Or I will become like ^dthose who go down to the pit.⁸Cause me to hear Your ^alovingkindness ^bin the morning;For I trust ^cin You;Cause me to know the ^dway in which I should walk;For to You I ^elift up my soul.⁹^aDeliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,I have concealed myself in You.¹⁰^aTeach me to do Your will,For You are my God;Let ^bYour good Spirit ^clead me on level ¹ground.¹¹^aFor the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, ^brevive me.^cIn Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.¹²And in Your lovingkindness, ¹^,^acut off my enemiesAnd cause all those who assail my soul to ^bperish,For ^cI am Your slave.