JOSHUA 22:1-8

HONORABLE DISCHARGE!

 

     I did not particularly want to be a soldier.  It was not high on my list of things I wanted to do with my life.  In fact, I've jokingly said that I tried to get of the army on account of my allergy, bullets!

 

    Although I did not want to go into the army, I managed to get drafted anyway.  During training I tried to do well, and during advanced training I tried even harder.  I was among the first in my group to transfer out to Georgia for an even more advanced course.

 

     I went to Vietnam, and tried to be a good soldier. I could have done better, but I do feel that I put some effort into what I was doing.  Although there was one mix-up that got me into some potential trouble, I was able to complete my tour of duty.

When I was done I had a very important thing bestowed upon me.  It was an honorable discharge!

 

    An honorable discharge says that you've done your job and are now allowed to reenter normal society with respect for having done what you were supposed to do.  An honorable discharge meant that there were benefits available to me for having been in the service, including use of the G.I. Bill which paid for my education at Philadelphia College of Bible.  Even now I benefit from veterans benefits which pay most of my medical expenses.

 

    In the Book of Joshua, we are have before us a portion of Scripture in which Joshua gives some of his fighting men an "honorable discharge".  These are men who had agreed to help in the conquering of the Promised Land, even though their land was conquered first.  Now Joshua is ready to discharge them, and to send them home.

 

Tonight, we see three things about these men:

 

THEY WERE REWARDED

THEY WERE RETURNED

THEY WERE REMINDED

 

THEY WERE REWARDED Vss. 1-3, 8

 

Vs. 1 - Joshua calls together this group of men, who had settled on the other side of the Jordan River.

 

Numbers 32:1-7 16-22 - Read and Comment

 

Joshua 1:12-18 - Read and Comment

 

Vs. 2-3 - As they were discharged this group received one of the greatest rewards they could possibly receive. They received the commendation of their general!

 

What did they do to receive commendation?

 

1. They had done what Moses and Joshua had told them to do.

    They were obedient.

 

May we remember that the greatest thing that we can do for our Lord is to obey Him?  Sometimes we think that we must do spectacular things to please our Lord. In reality, one of the greatest things we can do is obey Him.

 

Your children can tell you a million times a day that they love you.  But if they don't obey you, you are going to have your doubts.

 

1 Samuel 15:22-23 - ...Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry...

 

2. They had been faithful all the way through.  They were away from home for seven years, but stuck with their brethren.

 

It is good for us to remember that right up with obedience comes faithfulness.  Joshua told them that they were faithful.

 

Our friends Ed and Janet Apgar, who we saw while on vacation, have been faithful friends for 15 years.  Later this year we'll get together with Frank and Carol Todd who have been faithful friends for over 35 years.

 

God expects us to be faithful.

 

1 Corinthians 4:2 - Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

 

Can you imagine just how thrilled these men were to hear their "Commander and Chief" say, "Well Done"?  I imagine they walked on air.  There is nothing more pleasing to me than for someone to tell me I've done a good job at what I should have been doing.

 

And think of this. One day we'll stand before our Commander and Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ, and be reviewed. Oh that He might be able to say of us, "WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT."

 

Vs. 8 - There is another reward mentioned here.  There were the physical rewards from conquering the land. There was much spoil.

 

God plans to reward us with crowns.

 

·        THE CROWN OF LIFE

 

James 1:12 -  Blessed [is] the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

 

Revelation 2:10 - Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

 

·        THE INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN

 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27  - Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

 

·        THE SOUL WINNERS' CROWN

 

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 - or what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.

 

·        THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

This crown is for those who love His appearing.

 

2 Timothy 4:6-8 - For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

 

·        THE CROWN OF GLORY

 

1 Peter 5:1-4 - The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over [God's] heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 

Yes there is the promise of rewards!

But there is an interesting thought suggested in Joshua 22.

The soldiers were to share with those who stayed home.

Evidently some had to stay back in order to take care of the women, children, and elderly.

 

Some had to remain home to watch the flocks. 

 

These people were to receive a share of the spoils.

This is a Biblical principle.

 

When the Midianites were defeated:

Numbers 31:25-27 - And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, [both] of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

 

When David had a victory.

1 Samuel 30:21-25 - And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth

to meet David, and to meet the people that [were] with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men and [men] of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them [ought] of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead [them] away, and depart. Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. And it was [so] from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

 

Donald Campbell - "A Christian businessman recounted a conversation his father had many years ago with a Pullman porter.

 

Dad was returning from six weeks of buying wool in Texas. From St. Louis he took the Wolverine to Boston. He had established a good relationship with the porter, and they had several talks together about their mutual faith. The train was pulling out from Back Bay Station, and in a few minuets the trip would be over, and Dad would be at the South Station and a block from his Summer Street office. He was, naturally, excited about getting home and was ready to leave the train, when the porter approached him and said, "Mr. Emery, do you suppose I could ask you a question after my passengers leave?" So Dad remained and after the last passenger disembarked, the porter returned with his question.

 

'There were two boys in my family. My mother worked very hard to teach us all she could and to see that we had the best education available at the time. I was a good student. When I had graduated from high school, I went to work as a railroad waiter and then I got this job. My whole desire was to help my mother fulfill her wish that that I go to college and become a preacher. She wanted her life to count by seeing her son a preacher. Well, I saved my money and while I was doing this, my younger brother went in a different direction. He drank and partied and nearly killed himself by living for the devil. About the time I was accepted for college, my brother was converted. He decided he wanted to preach. He had nothing, so he asked me to provide his education. I was so happy to see this great change in his life that I agreed, and today my brother is a nationally known preacher. You have heard him on the radio. he has led thousands to Christ. So, you see, I couldn't go into the ministry and I am too old now.

 

Mr. Emery, my question is this: Do you suppose the Lord will me some credit for the souls my brother led to Him?" Donald K. Campbell, No Time for Neutrality,(Wheaton, Illinois, Victor Books, 1981), pp. 124-126, quoted from Allen C. Emery, A Turtle on a Fencepost: Word Books, pp. 46-47

 

I personally think that the answer is "yes"!

Just as the Lord rewarded those in the Old Testament, I believe there will be rewards for those who stayed with the stuff.

 

Rewards for those who gave

Rewards for those who prayed

Rewards for those who stayed home and took care of things so others could go with the Gospel

 

THEY WERE REWARDED

THEY WERE RETURNED Vss. 4, 6, 7

 

They were returned home.

They were returned to a land of rest.

They were returned to resume normal lives after serving in the military.

They were returned with the blessing of Joshua.

They were returned with their rewards.

 

How does this apply to us?

There is going to be a day of return for you and I.

We will go home in Heaven where Jesus is.

Although we have never been there, since trusting Christ as Savior, we have been citizens of that far off land.

 

We will return to lives that no longer have to fight a sinful world.

We will return with the blessing of our Savior.

We will return and receive our rewards.

 

What does this all mean?

The battle is worth it.

Hang in there!

 

THEY WERE REWARDED

THEY WERE RETURNED

 

THEY WERE REMINDED Vs. 5

 

These people were headed to the other side of the Jordan.

They would have been separated from Israel.

He wanted them to remember that their loyalties were to remain with the Lord their God.

 

He warned them to "Take diligent heed."

When we take heed, we pay attention, and make sure that we do certain things. When we are diligent, we work hard at doing whatever it is we're supposed to do.

 

Here are six things that these people were reminded to do:

 

1. TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO THE COMMAND AND THE LAW

 

These folks were to be diligent students of the Word of God.

They were supposed to know what the Word of God had to say!

Ignorance of God's Word is one of the biggest reasons we fail to live the way we ought to live.

 

2 Timothy 2:15 - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

Jeremiah 15:16 - Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

 

2. TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD.

 

Much has been written about the love of God for us.

He created us.

 

He saved us.

He keeps us.

He answers prayer. He does even more.

 

God's love for us is wonderful.

But let us remember that we, as His children, have a responsibility to love Him in return.

 

Matthew 22:35-39 - Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying,

Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

 

1 John 4:19 - We love him, because he first loved us.

 

3. TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS.

 

We have an advantage over the Israelites.

We have the life of Jesus to model.

We should walk in the ways that he walked.

 

1 John 2:6 - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

 

Charles Sheldon once wrote a book entitled IN HIS STEPS.

Although the book could give someone the idea that he could be saved by good works, it does teach one very important lesson.

 

The People who were characters in this book were challenged to govern their lives by the question, 'WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" If we are going to walk in the Lord's ways, we should ask that very same question often. "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?"

 

4. TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

 

Granted, there is much of the Old Testament law which we are not required to keep today. The dietary and sacrificial, and rules for dress are not be followed, although we learn many lessons from these rules.

 

In the New Testament the ten commandments are repeated with the exception of Sabbath keeping.

 

And Jesus gives us many principles and commands to follow in the New Testament.

 

Remember that obedience is a test of love.

Remember that it was Jesus who said, If you love me, keep my commandments…

 

Mom and Dad, do not expect your children to learn to obey God, if they have not learned to obey you.

 

A man once said that if God bade him go through a wall, whether he could go through it or not was no business of his. "Here I go, " said he, "right at it!"

 

If we obey, we have no regrets.

 

5. TAKE HEED TO CLEAVE (CLING) UNTO HIM.

 

This speaks of faithfulness.

Stick -to-it-tivness.

Whether in peace or trial, hold on to him.

 

When things are going well, we might have a tendency to forget the Lord, not fellowship as much, not rely as much on him.

 

We tend to become lethargic and apathetic. Now is a time to be faithful, when at peace.

 

Fret not because thy place is small

 Thy service need not be.

For thou canst make it all there is of joy and ministry.

The dew drop, as the boundless sea,

In God's great plan has part;

And this is all He asks of thee;

Be faithful where thou art.

 

6. TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR SOUL.

 

Beware! Our society is infiltrating our churches.

We tend to serve the same way the world does.

Slip shod.

Half hearted.

Part of a job.

Do as little as we can to get by.

 

But God expects us to serve with total commitment.

With total heart and soul

Any job worth doing is worth doing well.

 

Hear ye the Master's call, Give me thy best!

For be it great or small, that is His test.

Do then the best you can, not for reward.

Not for the praise of men, but for the Lord.

 

Every work for Jesus will be blest,

But He asks from everyone His best,

Our talents may be few, these may be small,

But unto him is due, our best, our all. S. C. Kirk circa 1912

 

HONORABLE DISCHARGE:

 

THEY WERE REWARDED

THEY WERE RETURNED

THEY WERE REMINDED.

TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO THE COMMAND AND THE LAW

TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD.

TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS.

TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

TAKE HEED TO CLEAVE (CLING) UNTO HIM.

TAKE DILIGENT HEED TO SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR SOUL.