The Prussian king Frederick the Great was widely known as an agnostic. By contrast, General Von Zealand, one of his most trusted officers, was a devout Christian. Thus it was that during a festive gathering the king began making crude jokes about Christ until everyone was rocking with laughter--all but Von Zealand, that is. Finally, he arose and addressed the king: "Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sir, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity." The place went silent, and with a trembling voice, the king replied, "General Von Zealand--I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!" And with that, the party quietly ended.
23:6 Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.
Joshua continues to speak in his farewell address to the leaders of Israel. With all his experience and the respect he commanded, everyone must have been taking down notes. In v.6 Joshua talks to them about being Courageous. Now from a military point of view, this meant to sweat and blood it out on the battlefield and defeat the enemy. But Joshua knew every battle was first fought in the spiritual realm. That can be won only by obeying the Lord. And it takes courage to obey. He told them to obey the book of the law without any compromise.
In this day and age, we are living in a time of convenience. We obey what we like and ignore what we dislike. Perhaps that is what is the need of the hour. Either you are a follower of Christ or you are not. There's no middle ground. It's not about convenience, it's about obedience. Be courageous to obey.
Stanley Thomas Isac
Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com
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