Joshua 23: Sixteen Resolutions for the Believer's Life

Introduction

Around 1375 BC, Joshua, now old and advanced in years, gathers all Israel, its elders, heads, judges and officers for a farewell address (Joshua 23:1-2). According to Dr. Peter Masters of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, this aged leader, speaking by inspiration, gives the people sixteen resolutions that remain landmarks for the spiritual life today.

They take the form of exhortations, but they are meant to be adopted as personal resolutions, commitments made by those who love and serve the Lord. Over the centuries, great preachers have written down commitments of this kind, such as the seventy resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. "But here is the inspired forerunner of all such lists."

The message, drawn from a Bible study given at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, follows Joshua 23 and 24 step by step: seven things not to do, nine things to do.

Outline of the Message

1. A Courage That Holds On

First resolution: have a tenacious courage. Joshua tells the people to be strong in keeping the law of Moses: "Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses" (Joshua 23:6).
The word courage comes from the Latin word for the heart (cor). We tend to understand it as the ability to master your fears and stifle them. The Hebrew verb, however, means to hold, to grasp, to fix yourself on something. It calls us to hold firmly to what God has commanded or given us.
In war, it means holding your line of defense at all costs because you attach great value to it. When you risk your own life to save someone else, it means clinging to your compassion for the one who is about to die and to your duty to rescue him.
In the Christian life, it means keeping a truth or a practice when people try to intimidate you, when they mock your convictions or your way of worshiping because you do not follow the fashion of the world. You do not hold on by heroically suppressing embarrassment or fear, but because these convictions are precious to you.
This resolution sustained Joshua, and Moses before him, against the attacks of the world, the flesh and the devil. "The need of the hour, in a time of rapid spiritual decline, is this tenacious courage."

2. Do Not Look, Do Not Mix

Second resolution: "that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left" (Joshua 23:6). Peter Masters sums it up this way: do not look. It opens a group of six resolutions about separation from the world, a necessity "dangerously neglected in our day."
The great fortified cities of the Canaanites had been defeated, but towns and pockets of population remained all around. Their feasts, their fashions, their intriguing gods and their myths could attract. Why not adopt their "harmless" aspects? Joshua answers: do not even look.
The believer's commitment echoes Job's: "I made a covenant with my eyes" (Job 31:1). I will not look at another person to covet them, nor at images of evil desires. I will not be drawn by the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
There is a progression in these resolutions: do not look, do not mix, do not name, do not depend, do not serve, do not bow down. Each step marks one more degree in the trap. The first rung is the awakening of curiosity and desire.
Third resolution: "so that you don't come among these nations" (Joshua 23:7). Israel was neither to marry pagans nor to adopt their degraded culture.
Of course, we rub shoulders with others at work and in our studies. We bear witness, we make friends, we are ready to help. But we do not adopt the culture of the world. Peter Masters criticizes here the so-called "missional" approach, which pushes Christians to go and watch dubious films with unbelievers on the pretext of gaining influence.
The commitment: "Come out from among them, and be separate [...] Touch no unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17). No bars, no places of vulgar conversation, no parties where everything is carnal. No religious gatherings with opponents of the evangelical faith either.

3. Do Not Name, Do Not Depend

Fourth resolution: "neither make mention of the name of their gods" (Joshua 23:7). Giving a child or a village the name of such a god would have accustomed the people to a name that was an abomination to the Lord.
The gods of our society are no longer idols of silver and gold, but dazzling possessions, artists and celebrities who promote a morality without God. The Christian does not follow them, does not admire them, does not push them forward in conversations or on social media.
The commitment: "I will not get excited about the gods of this world, and I will not approve of them in any way."
Fifth resolution: do not swear by the name of those gods: "nor cause to swear by them" (Joshua 23:7). Taking an oath by a god meant acknowledging his reality and leaning on him to feel secure.
Peter Masters sees a modern equivalent: Christians who need, to keep their spirits up, music and lyrics opposed to God and to morality. "It is their sound drug, their stimulant, their happy pill." The commitment: I will not depend, for my well-being, on worldly and ungodly sources of comfort.

4. Do Not Serve Evil, Do Not Bow Down

Sixth resolution: "neither serve them" (Joshua 23:7), in other words, do not help them. We gladly help everyone, believers or not. But we cannot lend a hand to the world's campaign against Christ.
The preacher cites the case of Bible-loving churches in the United Kingdom that remain members of denominations that have long been apostate, whose leaders do not believe in the authority of the Bible, in the gospel, in the person and work of Christ, or in the necessity of conversion. He recalls that believers' money long supported seminaries that taught error.
The commitment: "I will help neither those who do evil, nor those who compromise, nor heretics."
Seventh resolution: "nor bow yourselves down to them" (Joshua 23:7). This is not only about worship, but about any submission to the authority of a false religion, of error or of sin.
The apostle Paul says it: "I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Corinthians 6:12). We submit to an employer, to a father or mother, to every legitimate authority. But we do not place ourselves under the spiritual authority of promoters of worship music borrowed from the world, or of apostate leaders.

5. Hold Fast to the Lord, Watch Over Yourself, Love Him

With the eighth resolution, Joshua moves from prohibitions to positive duties: "but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day" (Joshua 23:8).
The Hebrew verb means to cling, to stick. It describes an unbreakable bond with someone precious, like the union of the body with a limb. No one would want to lose a leg or an arm, and the Lord is even more vital to the believer.
"My Savior is not far away. Heaven is not in some distant haze; it is often in my thoughts. He is already part of me. He is mine, I possess him, I will not let him go." God's Word is in your hands every day and your prayers rise without ceasing.
Ninth resolution: "Take good heed therefore to yourselves" (Joshua 23:11). The Hebrew suggests the idea of putting a hedge around, of protecting, of keeping watch. Never take your eyes off your Christian conduct.
Every day, ask yourself: How did I think today? How did I speak? What did I do? Did I fail by omission to do good works? Did I honor the Lord? Then repent and commit yourself to moving forward.
Tenth resolution, the rest of the same verse: "that you love Yahweh your God." When you love someone, you listen to them, you want to be with them, you talk about them, you are faithful to them. Is that the case with the Lord?
In the love of God, the place of secret prayer is not a chore but a relief and a pleasure, where trials and sorrows fade before a deep sense of security under his mighty arm.

6. Fear the Lord, Serve Him, With a Whole Heart

Eleventh resolution: "fear Yahweh" (Joshua 24:14). Fear is often understood as respect or reverence, and that is right. But Peter Masters refuses to rule out the element of real apprehension, even for a born-again Christian.
We should fear his displeasure when we are hypocritical, when we are harsh or unreasonable with others, when we refuse to forgive, as the Lord's Prayer shows (Matthew 6:12-15), or when we are dishonest. A blessing, a joy, a peace may then be taken from us. This fear of his frown strengthens our fight against guilty thoughts, actions and words.
Twelfth resolution: "serve him" (Joshua 24:14). The Hebrew verb speaks of labor, of working for him. We have our duties to family and society, but what are we doing for him and for his cause? What is our field of service, our commitment to witness and good works?
The people answered: "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice" (Joshua 24:24). Do you ask yourself each day: what have I done for my Lord today?
Thirteenth resolution: serve him "in sincerity and in truth" (Joshua 24:14). The Hebrew word comes from a verb meaning to be whole. To serve God sincerely is to serve him with your whole being, not with one part of the heart while the rest serves something else. "Sincerity is all of ourselves."
"You can't serve both God and Mammon" (Matthew 6:24). You cannot be married to two people. The first piece of the believer's armor is the belt of truth (Ephesians 6:14). This resolution calls us to guard against divided loyalty and hypocrisy.

7. Put Away Evil, Incline Your Heart, Obey

Fourteenth resolution: "Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you" (Joshua 24:23). The New Testament equivalent is putting sin to death and putting off the old self (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 4:22). It is not only about images of worship, but about every substitute for God, everything that is impure and evil.
Peter Masters mentions a pastor who told of spending several hours catching up on films full of impurity. Joshua would have said: put away those foreign gods. You cannot take in most modern films without being polluted in one way or another. A film about historical events or of good moral standing is another matter. But degrading productions have no place in the life of a believer.
Fifteenth resolution: "incline your heart to Yahweh" (Joshua 24:23). The Hebrew word means to stretch, to bend. Just as you bend and tie the stems of a climbing plant along a fence, or a vine so that it catches the sun, our character needs to be shaped and formed.
We need to build habits of regular devotion and keep to our schedules. Self-denial in small things, such as eating when we do not need to or the small pleasures we allow ourselves, makes us strong when great temptations arrive. Great falls into pride, covetousness or lust happen in stages, starting from concessions made to small temptations.
"He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much" (Luke 16:10). The missionary Hudson Taylor trained himself while young for the privations of the mission field, notably by reducing his food.
Sixteenth resolution: obey the Lord (Joshua 24:24). For a people saved by grace, God's moral law is a law of liberty (James 1:25), obeyed freely because we love the Lord and because we are being prepared to be with him.
We obey the ten commandments, we seek to show the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), we obey the voice of conscience by putting to death the sin that rises up, and we honor our calling to serve the Lord in a congregation of true believers.
Peter Masters concludes: in their form and their sequence, these resolutions have no equal. Every aspect of obedience to God's standards is covered. "If we did not already know it, we would cry out: this is inspired literature."

Key Takeaways

Biblical courage is not first about stifling your fears, but about holding on to what God has entrusted to us because it is precious to us.
Compromise advances in stages: looking, mixing, naming, depending, serving, bowing down. We guard against it from the very first rung.
To hold fast to the Lord is to live with him in a bond as vital as that of the body with its limbs.
The daily examination of your thoughts, words and actions is part of the believer's life.
To serve God with integrity is to serve him with your whole being, and small victories over yourself prepare you for the great battles.

Personal Application

Which biblical conviction do you tend to let go of when people mock you, and how can you hold on to it more firmly?
What are you looking at, on a screen or elsewhere, that could be the first rung of a trap?
What do you depend on to keep your spirits up each day: the presence of the Lord or other sources of comfort?
Tonight, can you ask yourself Peter Masters' questions: how did I think, speak and act today? What have I done for my Lord?
In what small thing can you practice self-denial this week to shape your heart?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Joshua's sixteen resolutions?

Peter Masters draws them from Joshua 23 and 24: have a tenacious courage, do not look, do not mix, do not name, do not depend, do not help evil, do not bow down, then hold fast to the Lord, watch over yourself, love the Lord, fear him, serve him, be sincere before him, put away evil, incline your heart and obey the Lord. Seven prohibitions, nine commitments.

What does courage mean in Joshua 23:6?

According to Peter Masters, the word courage comes from the Latin word for the heart and describes mastering your fears. The Hebrew verb means rather to hold, to grasp, to fix yourself on something. Biblical courage means holding on to what God has commanded, because it is precious to us, whatever the mockery or threats.

Should a Christian still fear God?

Yes, answers Peter Masters. The fear of God includes respect and reverence, but also a real fear of his displeasure when we are hypocritical, harsh, unforgiving or dishonest. The Lord may then withdraw a blessing, a joy or a peace, even from those he loves. This fear helps us reject guilty thoughts, actions and words.