The remainder of the book of Joshua was penned by an unknown author sometime after Joshua's death, since it speaks of the death and burial of Joshua. In this same way the final words of the book of Deuteronomy were written by someone other than Moses (presumably Joshua) because it tells us of the death and burial of Moses. Our next book, Judges, was primarily compiled by the prophet Samuel according to ancient Jewish tradition and it could be that Samuel also added the remaining verses of Chapter 24 to the book of Joshua. But we simply don't know and not knowing who wrapped up this book doesn't affect or take away from anything written therein; as always, the main objective of the Holy Bible is to illuminate the goodness of God and to lead men and women to Him.
Our passage begins by saying "after these things" and that is a reference to the renewal of the covenant of Shechem which we've studied for the past four days. Officiating at the renewing of the covenant was the last thing on Joshua's "to do" list. "After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash." (Joshua 24:29-30) You'll recall that Timnath Serah was the town Joshua asked for. He took his allotment after everyone else in Israel, other than the Levites, because the towns going to the Levites lay inside the allotments of the other tribes and all the tribes had to be assigned their allotments before this could be done. Unlike Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and all the Israelites who died and were buried in the wilderness, Joshua dies in his own bed in his own home in his own town and is buried on his own land. The promise the Lord made long ago to Abraham has been kept. Joshua could not have been buried on land belonging to him if the Lord had not kept His promise.
The people who renewed their covenant with the Lord earlier in Chapter 24 also kept their promise. "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel." (Joshua 24:31) Those who swore their allegiance to the Lord in the presence of Joshua remained steadfastly committed to the Lord. Some private idolatry took place here and there but it won't be until we are deep into the middle of the Old Testament that we'll begin to see any widescale idolatry.
"And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants." (Joshua 24:32) Another promise is kept, a promise which regards the earthly remains of Joseph the son of Jacob. You'll recall from our study of Genesis that Joseph firmly believed the Lord would keep the promise He made to Abraham regarding the land of Canaan, even though the Israelites were living in Egypt at the time and even though Joseph knew an era of slavery lay ahead of them. As Joseph neared the end of his life he spoke of his faith in the Lord's promise and instructed his people to take his remains out of Egypt with them when they were rescued. "Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, 'God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.' So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt." (Genesis 50:24-26)
Joseph wanted to be buried in the promised land, though his interment in the land did not take place until several hundred years later. Joseph, as the man second-in-command to the pharaoh of his day, was given Egyptian funerary rites but was not apparently buried in a tomb. Ancient tradition has it that his coffin was kept in the Israelite territory of Goshen, for his coffin was easily accessible to them when they left Egypt in the exodus. He knew the Lord would keep his word, so when Joseph extracted this promise from his people, he did it on faith: "By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones." (Hebrews 11:22) The Lord's promises never fail, no matter how long it may take to see the fulfillment of them. We must not let ourselves become discouraged when a long time passes after the Lord tells us He is going to do something. Momentarily we will close with a personal story of my own which has to do with a promise which was a long time in coming but which was recently fulfilled by the Lord.
An era is coming to an end and the men who lived through the wilderness years are beginning to pass out of this life. The high priest Eleazar, like Joshua, dies at the end of this book. "And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim." (Joshua 24:33) Great men have passed away in Chapter 24 but there are still great men and women of faith in Israel to take up the torch and march on. Phinehas is now the high priest and as we've seen before, he is a man who displays his faith with bold action. He will do an admirable job serving the Lord and serving the people.
The Lord fulfilled a promise in October 2021 that He made to me back in 2008. At that time my marriage was on the rocks and my husband had not been to church in many years and had stated multiple times to me that he no longer believed in God. I was attending church services and one night during prayer at church the Lord sent a very clear image into my mind. His Spirit testified to my spirit that this was something He was going to do. What I saw in my mind was my husband sitting to my left, at the end of a pew near the back of the sanctuary, with his hands lifted up giving praise. If you knew what our home life was like at the time you'd understand why I knew this would take a miracle. Most people would have thought I was deluding myself if I'd told them I believed this was going to happen someday. Between 2008 and now my husband had come back to church, had rededicated his life to the Lord, and had been attending every service I attend. But the scene in my mind had not yet played out. We don't even sit in the spot where we were sitting in the vision the Lord sent me. My husband isn't an emotionally demonstrative person in church, or in generally really. The vision the Lord sent me was still in the back of my mind but overall I was extremely thankful for all the Lord had already done.
A few weeks ago, when we arrived at church, a large family was already seated all down the pew where my husband and I usually sit. We seated ourselves in a different spot and I didn't think anything of it until later in the service when, out of the corner of my left eye, I saw my husband lifting his hands above his head to clap in praise. That's when it struck me: we were sitting in the very spot I saw in the vision the Lord sent me in 2008! Would my faith have been shattered if the vision had not some true? No, because the Lord had already done great and mighty things. But He caused it to come true to remind me that He always keeps His promises. (In fact, I believe that's why He sent me the vision in the first place, so He could remind me of His promise-keeping faithfulness thirteen years later.) Not only has my husband come back to the church and rededicated his life to the Lord, but these days he sets the household spiritual example for me to follow, which is the role the Lord has assigned husbands to fill in the home. Many times my husband reacts to difficult situations with more faith and confidence than I do. His attitude encourages me to do a better job of exercising my own faith. A number of people who know us would have bet good money in 2008 that our marriage was doomed; I even had one person come right out and tell me that I was "beating a dead horse" and that I needed to cut my losses and move on. And that person would probably have been right if God had not been part of the equation. But with God nothing is impossible, and if He has made a promise then nothing in heaven or on earth or in hell can prevent Him from keeping that promise.
I don't know what promises the Lord has made to you or how long it's been since He made them. He will keep them! Maybe He told you He'll heal a relationship or supply a need or help you meet a goal that's one of your heart's main desires. He is faithful and He will do what He says He will do. Maybe He's told you that a lost loved one you've been praying for will come to Him for salvation someday. You may see that happen in your lifetime or it may happen after you've gone on to be with the Lord (Joseph's faith in the exodus and in the inheritance of the promised land didn't take place in his lifetime, but it did happen.) You can be absolutely certain that if the Lord says He's going to do something, it's as good as done.
No comments:
Post a Comment