Sunday - December 7, 2025
Commitment - The Farewell Speech (Joshua 22:1-8)
Josh. 11:18, Josh. 14:10, Deut. 2:14; Eph. 6:7, Col. 3:23, 1 Thess. 2:4; Joshua 22:5-6
“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Joshua 22:5)
Historical Foundation: Joshua’s Farewell Charge
Joshua 22 records a solemn moment in Israel’s history—Joshua’s farewell charge to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as they return to their inheritance east of the Jordan. After years of warfare (Josh. 11:18) and decades of God’s leading in the wilderness (Deut. 2:14; Josh. 14:10), Joshua does not praise them for military skill or political loyalty. Instead, he directs attention to the heart of the covenant:
Love the Lord
Walk in His ways
Keep His commandments
Hold fast (cling) to Him
Serve Him wholeheartedly
This is the fivefold covenant obligation—the same principles Christ articulates (John 14:15), Paul reinforces (1 Thess. 2:4), and the apostles model (Eph. 6:7; Col. 3:23).
Joshua’s appeal is not merely pastoral; it is prophetic, pointing forward to God's final call to His last-day people who stand on the borders of the heavenly Canaan.
Spiritual Foundation: The Call to Heart Loyalty
1. Love the Lord with Covenant Loyalty
The Hebrew word for “love” in Joshua 22:5 (’ahav) includes devotion, loyalty, and affectionate obedience. It is the same love the remnant is called to exhibit at the end of time—love expressed in loyalty under pressure (Rev. 14:12).
2. Walk in His Ways
Walking signifies discipleship. God’s people today—like the Jordan tribes—are called to walk, not merely to believe (Eph. 6:7). This is an active, continuous, progressive obedience.
This includes moral, ceremonial, and mission duties. Ellen White writes:
“Obedience is the highest dictate of love.” — DA 498
Modern Israel must keep God's law not as legalists but as Spirit-filled witnesses.
4. Hold Fast to Him
“Holding fast” denotes clinging, like a child clings to a parent. The Spirit of Prophecy uses similar language:
“We are to cling to God as our only safety.” — COL 353
End-time dangers require a clinging faith.
5. Serve Him with All Your Heart
This is wholehearted service—the standard Christ Himself set (John 17:4). Ellen White affirms:
“Wholehearted service to God is the secret of holiness.” — MH 502
Prophetic Parallels: Joshua and the Remnant Church
1. Joshua’s Generation and the Final Generation
Joshua led Israel into Canaan; Christ, the greater Joshua, leads spiritual Israel into the heavenly Canaan. The Shepherd’s Rod emphasizes that Joshua represents the antitypical leadership during the purification of the church:
“Joshua typifies the leadership of the church in the time of purification… standing at the borders of the promised land.” — SRod, Vol. 1, p. 37–38
Thus Joshua 22:1–8 applies not only historically but prophetically to the last division of spiritual Israel preparing for the kingdom.
2. Called to Faithfulness Before the Final Crisis
The tribes who fought for their brethren represent the faithful today who labor for the church before God settles His people in the antitypical land (Rev. 20:9; Rev. 21:3). Their return home mirrors the remnant’s return to their eternal inheritance (1 Pet. 1:4; Col. 3:24).
3. Unity and Division at the Jordan
Joshua’s farewell speech anticipates the danger of fragmentation once the tribes separate. Similarly, the last-day church faces:
doctrinal fragmentation
spiritual lethargy
internal conflicts
false worship
and the danger of forgetting God's leading
The SRod parallels this:
“The test of loyalty comes when God’s people appear divided, when faith must hold fast to the Word alone.” — Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 37
The farewell charge is therefore a call to unity in truth, not unity in compromise.
The Spiritual Jordan Today: A Call to Covenant Commitment
Joshua tells the tribes: “Be very careful”—a prophetic warning for our time:
Careful in belief
Careful in conduct
Careful in relationships
Careful in worship
Careful in ministry
Today, cultural winds, internal apostasies, and external pressures call for intelligent, loyal obedience.
Ellen White says:
“In the closing work, only those who stand firm to duty will receive the seal of the living God.” — 5T 212
The Shepherd’s Rod intensifies this:
“The church is on the borders of the kingdom and must be tested for loyalty before crossing.” — SRod, Vol. 2, p. 220
Joshua’s words are therefore an end-time message.
Commitment as the Seal of God
Commitment is more than a feeling; it is the settled purpose of the soul to serve God at any cost. It is the essence of the sealing work described in Revelation 7, developed by Ellen White, and expanded in Shepherd’s Rod teachings.
Joshua’s fivefold framework mirrors the final sealing characteristics:
1. Love of God → Character transformation
2. Walking in His ways → Practical holiness
3. Keeping His commandments → Loyalty to divine law
4. Holding fast to Him → Perseverance
5. Serving Him with all the heart → Final outpouring of commitment
This is the character Christ will reproduce in His purified church.
Consider the Following
The Farewell Speech (Joshua 22:1-8)
❖ Since the Jordan was going to separate the tribes, Joshua gave wise advice to the two and a half tribes so that they could remain faithful (Joshua 22:5):
— To love the Lord your God. Love is the principle that should lead us to God. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)
— To walk in obedience to him. This is how Joshua indicates the conduct expected of those who choose to walk with God
— To keep his commands. Obedience is the natural result of a grateful heart that understands what God has done
— To hold fast to him. We must cling to God without letting any distraction break that union
— To serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. We find our true purpose, satisfaction, and abundant life when we willingly serve our Creator with love
Conclusion: Joshua 22 and Us Today
Joshua’s farewell is not simply an ancient address—it is a prophetic mirror for God’s people standing on the brink of the kingdom.
Just as the tribes were blessed and sent forth, God sends His remnant today:
to remain steadfast
to cling to Christ
to keep His Word
to serve Him wholeheartedly
and to prepare for the final inheritance
Ellen White concludes:
“Heaven is worth everything. We must overcome to enter the land of promise.” — RH, August 25, 1885
And the Shepherd’s Rod echoes:
“Only a committed, purified, united people will cross the final Jordan.” — Answerer, Book 2, p. 47
Joshua’s farewell is Christ’s appeal to us:
Be faithful. Be steadfast. Be wholehearted—until we receive our eternal inheritance.
