Introduction: Have you ever started a new project and were uncertain how it would turn out? The new law students at Regent University School of Law, where I teach, are like that. No doubt this is true for all new law students. Will they succeed in becoming lawyers? What kind of law will they practice? Will they be successful? This week our study is one of the final speeches of Joshua. He is now old. Like the first-year law students, he once had a new project of conquering the land promised to them by God. It was a success and now Joshua has important advice about what he has learned so the Hebrews can continue to have successful lives. Let’s listen in and learn about how to be successful!

I. Advice from the Aged

A. Read Joshua 23:1. What informs us that Joshua is a successful man? (Israel has “rest” from all their surrounding enemies. This was Joshua’s mission as a young man.)

1. What tells us that Joshua has the right attitude about his success? (Success is attributed to the Lord.)
2. We are told that Joshua was “old” and “well advanced in years.” How old do you think he was? (Read Joshua 24:29. He was 110 when he died. We do not know his precise age when he gave the advice contained in Joshua 23, but Joshua 24:29 says “after these things,” which implies the advice was at the end of his life.)

B. Read Joshua 23:2-3. Aside from being old, what gives Joshua a legitimate claim to give advice? (He had a partnership with God that brought success to Israel.)

1. Should you listen to the advice of everyone who is old? (No. Just because people are old does not mean they have valuable advice. An unsuccessful person might be able to tell you what not to do, but the best advice comes from a successful person who tells you what you should do.)

C. Read Joshua 23:4-5. An important question when you seek advice from the aged is, “What constitutes success?” What do you think constitutes success? A great career? Wealth? A long and enjoyable marriage? The ability to get along with others? Being happy? Being content?

1. How does Joshua 23:4-5 answer the question of what is success? (God’s promises to them have been fulfilled. The partnership with God worked.)
2. Let’s have a reality check here. The Hebrews have not conquered all the land. How can you call this success when the work is unfinished? (Success not only depends on a partnership with God, it relies on His timing. Verse 4 tells us the future has been mapped out (the inheritance “allotted”) and God will make sure the work is completed.)

• a. Is this true for your life? If your work has not been completed, can we call you a success? (Yes, if the resolution is in God’s hands.)

D. Read Exodus 23:28-30. What is the reason for success not coming in one year? (It would be less of a blessing to move into land that was desolate and contained many wild beasts.)

1. What lesson do we learn if we think that our success in life is not coming as fast as we think God should bring it? (Trust God with the task and the timing.)

II. Guardrails

A. Read Joshua 23:6. What is essential to success? (Obedience to God.)

1. What do you think is meant by not turning to the “right hand nor to the left?” (The obvious parallel is going down a road. Take the correct road and do not deviate.)

• a. I think too many Christians miss the practical application. Many believe that strict obedience to God is the key to salvation. They will not admit that their works save them, but that is the logical conclusion to their point of view. Many (likely more) Christians think that their actions do not matter because they are saved by grace. We are saved by grace, but what we have been studying in Joshua shows the extreme importance of obedience for a successful life on earth.

B. Read Joshua 23:7-8. What do you think it means to “mix” with the nations? Turning off the road means that you mix, so what does that mean as a practical matter? (When I was growing up, I understood this to mean that we would look like the pagans in “adornments” and the clothes we wore. In my old age that is no longer my opinion. The real turning to other gods is giving up what the Bible says because of what the world says. An extreme example of this is same-sex marriage. The Bible is explicit that this is sin. Any Christian who promotes same-sex marriage has decided to follow the world and not the Bible.)

1. When verse 7 tells us not to “bow down” to the false gods, what does that mean with regard to pagan concepts invading the church? (We cannot acknowledge that pagan concepts are right. You expect pagans to act like pagans. We simply cannot bow to their views.)

III. Moving in Power

A. Read Joshua 23:9-10. How powerful are you in the fight for God’s Kingdom? (One Christian can defeat 1,000 pagans because “the Lord your God fights for you.” Remember this when you think you are about to be defeated.)

B. Read Joshua 23:11.  We are told that we must “love” God. Is it possible to make a decision and find that we suddenly love Him? (I don’t think so. Instead, what happens is that we make a decision to follow God. That decision results in us knowing Him better and experiencing His love for us. That creates love for God.)

C. Read Joshua 23:12-13. In addition to God no longer helping you if you turn away from Him, what else will happen to you? (Life becomes painful. You feel like you were whipped on your sides and have thorns in your eyes.)

1. What do you think it means to have “thorns in your eyes?” (Having any foreign object in your eye is uncomfortable and distracting. I think this means that the problems in life distract you from enjoying life.)

IV. Conclusion

A. Read Joshua 23:14. As Joshua tells the people that he is about to die, he asks them to confirm in their deepest understanding that God has been faithful. Can we have confidence in what Joshua writes? (Yes. Think about this. He asks the people who have lived with him to confirm the truth of his statement. He would not write that if the people were grumbling about the truth of one of his last statements.)

B. Read Joshua 23:15-16. You repeat something if you think it is important. This is a repetition of what Joshua has said earlier. If you were part of Joshua’s audience, what conclusion would you reach? (We have a choice. Just as God is steadfast to bless us when we serve Him, so we can be certain that if we “serve other gods,” bad things will follow.)

C. Friend, the advice of the aged Joshua is priceless. His life, and the book of Joshua, show that his final advice is solid. If we obey God we prosper. If we disobey God we suffer. Will you, right now, make the choice to follow God? If you do, blessings will follow.

V. Next week: Choose This Day!

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

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