Joshua's Instructions: Words to Live By

Joshua 22:5 (CSB)

Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you: to love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Today, we’re focusing on a single verse—the command that Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. These were the three tribes who had settled east of the Jordan River, while the rest of Israel was preparing to take possession of the land to the west. Before Joshua parts from them, he gives them some final instructions.

This was no ordinary farewell, though; these words of wisdom are some of the most important words spoken in the Old Testament. I say that because we see these same words spoken multiple times throughout Scripture. As the verse itself states in the beginning, “Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you.”

What had Moses told the people? Deuteronomy 6:5 records Moses saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” And, Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.” Moses had received these words directly from God, so these instructions weren’t just Moses’ good ideas.

Then, after Moses died, God spoke directly to Joshua and told him basically the same thing. We can read what He said to him in Joshua 1:1&7-9 which says: “After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: … Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Now, needing to give instructions to the three tribes who are staying behind, he reminds them of what God had spoken through Moses to all of them. Let’s read the verse again. Joshua 22:5 says, “Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you: to love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

If we keep reading in the book of Joshua, we see that in chapters 23-24, Joshua repeats and expands on these words to all the people right before he dies. He knows it’s imperative that the people do not forget all the things God had told them to do.

Given how often this message has been repeated, I think it’s safe to say that these words are more than a onetime directive given to specific people at a specific time. These words from the Lord are instructive for all Christians. It’s clear this is something God wants all of us to follow.

But how do we follow this? How do we love the Lord with our whole hearts and minds, walk in His ways, and keep His commands? To help us figure this out, I’ve broken Joshua’s words into five different directives. As we look at each part, we will see how this message echoes throughout the New Testament as well. These five commandments are:

·       love the Lord your God

·       walk in all His ways

·       keep His commands

·       be loyal to Him

·       serve Him with all your heart and all your soul

Let’s look at the first command: Love the Lord your God.

In Matthew 22:37, when Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is, He answers, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Since this is the most important command, we better make sure we do this. It seems pretty simple, though, right? All you have to do is love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. I think it’s easy to declare that we love the Lord, but I think it’s harder to prove that we do. As we work through this list, we will see how keeping God’s commandments proves that we love Him. But before we get to that part, we first need to figure out how to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds so we can obey Him. James 4:8a gives us a clue. It says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

This is similar to what Jeremiah 29:12-13 says: “You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” 

That tells us, if we want to love the Lord, we must stay in prayer. We need to talk to Him and listen to Him. When we spend time with Him, He draws near to us.

As He draws near to us, then we will realize just how great His love for us is, and our love for Him will grow. 1 John 4:19 explains this. It says we love God because He first loved us, so the more we understand His love for us, the more we will love Him in return.  

So, all that to say: if we want to love the Lord, we simply need to spend time with Him in prayer, for as we do, we will see just how much He loves us. If you struggle to pray, a good place to start is by asking Him to show you how much He loves you. I think when you realize how much He loves you, prayer will become a joy.

The second command is: walk in all His ways

There is only way we will walk in all His ways: we must read His Word. How can we follow Him if we don’t know how He walked or what He wants us to do?

In Paul’s letter to the believers in Corinth, he gives them instructions on how to follow the Lord. He tells them to look back at all that happened to the Israelites and learn from their mistakes, for when the Israelites disobeyed God, it ended badly for them. 1 Corinthians 10:11 says, “These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”

In the First Nations New Testament (FNVNT), I love how this verse is worded. It says, “These things happened to them as a warning to us. These stories were written down so we would learn not to walk in their footsteps. We are the people who live in the time when Creator’s plan has reached its full meaning and purpose.”

We need to read the Bible so we can learn how not to walk, as well as how to walk. By reading God’s Word, we can learn from the past mistakes of people who failed, and we can find out exactly how we are supposed to live. And of course, the greatest example of what are to do is seen in Jesus. He lived perfectly, without any mistakes. That’s why 1 Peter 2:21 (CSB) says, “For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

So now that we know that we need to read the Word in order to know how to walk in Jesus’ ways, this leads us to the next command. As, 1 John 2:6 (ESV) says, “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”

The third command is: keep His commands

After we know what His ways are and what He wants us to do, then we must actually do these things. If we want to keep His commands, we have to choose to obey Him each day. As Luke 9:23 says, “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.’”

If we keep God’s commands, then it’s proof that we love Him, too. In John 14:5, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” If we don’t walk in God’s ways, obeying His commands, then we must not actually love Him.

If you find that you are failing to keep God’s commands, then repent and go back to the beginning of this verse: spend time in prayer with the Lord, get to know Him by talking to Him and reading His word, and ask Him to help you understand how much He loves you. He will show you how much He loves you, and He will help you follow His ways and obey His commands.

Proof that we love the Lord is that we talk to Him, learn from Him, and obey Him each day.

The fourth command is: be loyal to Him

Strong’s Lexicon says that this Hebrew word for loyal is dabaq, and it means, “to cling, cleave, adhere, stick, join.” It also says: “The idea of ‘dabaq’ was not just physical but also spiritual and emotional, reflecting the importance of loyalty and faithfulness in familial and covenantal relationships. This term is often used in the context of marriage, symbolizing the deep, inseparable bond intended by God.”

If we have pledged our loyalty to someone, then we are joining ourselves to that person. We’ve pledged ourselves to them, and surrendered our rights of autonomy. So, I think the best way to prove that we are loyal to the Lord is by laying down our rights. Joshua says, “be loyal to Him.” That means we lay down our rights to do and think what we want, and instead, we align ourselves to God’s way of thinking and living.

2 Timothy 1:13 tells us this same thing. It says, “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” That means that we are to stay loyal to the word and teachings we find in Scripture. We lay down our right to make up doctrines or change the truth to fit our circumstances. Loyalty is staying true to what God has said, and molding our ideas and thoughts to reflect Him, not the other way around.

Joshua 23:6-8 explains exactly what it means to be loyal to God at that time in history. He says, “Be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them; do not serve them or bow in worship to them. Instead, be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been to this day.”

For us, that means that we should be careful not to mold ourselves into the culture we live in. We must lay down our rights to do the things our society does and refuse to worship the idols our society has set up. If we are loyal to God, then we give up our right to do what we want in order to put Him first.

Finally, the fifth command is: serve Him with all your heart and all your soul

Not only are we to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” but we are to “serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus explains how this fits together: “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: ‘Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?’

He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.’”

If we want to serve Him with all our hearts and all our souls, then we will love other people. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. When we love other people, we are serving the Lord. As Colossians 3:23-24 instructs us: “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”

We’ve reached the end of the directives Joshua gave these tribes, but we need to go back to the start and note what he said. He began by saying, “Only carefully obey the command and instruction.” In the KJV it reads, “take diligent heed.” This is closer to the Hebrew meaning of these words.

According to Strong’s Lexicon, the Hebrew word for “take heed” is shamar, and it means, “To keep, guard, observe, give heed.” The lexicon also adds that, “The Israelites were commanded to “shamar” the laws and decrees given by God as a sign of their faithfulness and devotion. This term also reflects the agrarian lifestyle of the Israelites, where shepherds would “shamar” their flocks, ensuring their safety and well-being.”

Joshua’s text includes the word, “meod” and it means, “Very, exceedingly, much, greatly.” So, you could restate the beginning to say, “really, really, be on guard to make sure” to do these commandments.

In his commentary about this verse, Matthew Henry writes: “Those who have the commandment have it in vain, unless they do the commandment; and it will not be done aright unless we take diligent heed.” In other words, just knowing what God has told us to do isn’t enough. We have to do it—and not just half-heartedly, but with serious, intentional commitment.

We can’t expect to follow God’s commandments unless we’re really paying attention. We have to be on guard. We have to be determined. We can’t just assume we’ll obey simply because we think it’s a good idea, or we agree in theory. Following God takes more than good intentions. It takes effort, vigilance, and consistency.

Let me put it this way: following the Lord is kind of like driving a car.

God gives us the car: He equips us. He fuels it with His Spirit. He places us on the right road. But He still expects us to drive. We have to put our foot on the gas and steer the car. What happens if we don’t? We might be able to coast for a little while. Maybe we’re heading downhill, or the road is flat, and we’re still moving forward, propelled by past faithfulness.

But that momentum won’t carry us forever. Eventually, we’ll reach a hill: challenges, trials, spiritual fatigue. And if our foot is off the gas, we’ll slow down, and then we’ll roll back down the hill. A car won’t keep moving forward without power. And neither will our walk with God.

Like Joshua says, we have to be deliberate. We have to keep our foot on the gas. We must take diligent heed to stay in prayer, read His Word, choose to obey Him each day, lay down our rights, and love other people, and not try to coast with our foot off the gas.

We must really, really be on guard to make sure that we love the Lord, walk in all His ways, keep His commands, be loyal to Him, and serve Him with all our hearts and souls.

Because following the Lord isn’t passive. It’s intentional.

I think we could restate this verse to read: If you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, then you will walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. But if we understand how much He loves us and cares for us, why wouldn’t we want to do what He says?

When we fail to obey Him, let us quickly go to Him, confess our sins, find forgiveness and start anew. His mercies are new every morning. He will not condone our sin, but He will forgive us. He knows we are not perfect, but every effort we make to obey Him pleases Him. He is quick to forgive us when He knows we meant to do His will.

Earlier, I quoted John 14:5, in which Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” Let’s look at verses 23-24 of that same chapter. Jesus expands on what He said, and adds, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.”

If we love Jesus, then we will strive to keep His commands and He will dwell in us, empowering us by His Holy Spirit to obey Him and resist sin, and when we die or He returns, then we will live with Him forever. So, let us be really, really on guard to make sure that we are following Him. Let us remember that Jesus loves us so much that He willingly died on the cross to forgive us and take away our sins. If we believe in Him, walk closely with Him, seek to follow His ways, obey His commands, and quickly turn back when we fall short—then we can rest assured that we who trust Him need never know anything but His love.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unfailing love and constant presence in our lives. Please help us to love You deeply, to walk in all Your ways, to obey Your commands, to be loyal to You, and to serve You with all our heart and soul. Open our hearts and minds, Lord, to truly grasp the depth of Your love and care for us. Stir in us a desire to love You in return, not just with our words, but through our lives. Help us to seek You in prayer, delight in Your Word, and humbly follow wherever You lead. Teach us to lay down our own rights and comforts so we can love others the way You’ve loved us. And when we fall short, please remind us of Your promise to forgive and restore us through Jesus. Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, and Your never-ending faithfulness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.