In part one of this series God performed a miracle so that the Israelites could cross over the Jordan River, where upon its banks, Joshua prepared them for war. In part two, we followed the conquest of Canaan and the allotment of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel.
7.Epilogue:
A long time after the Lord had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old, advanced in age. So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in age, and you have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the Lord your God who was fighting for you. Jos. 23:1 – 3. CSB
Twenty-five years elapsed during the conquest of Canaan and the apportionment of land to the tribes, followed by approximately 20+ years of peace. Joshua is 110 years old, and his death is imminent.
And, like Moses, he reminds the Israelites to remain pure in the face of the pagans who surrounded them on all sides:
“So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land.* Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them, or serve them or worship them. Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now…for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God.” Jos. 23:6 – 8, 10 & 11. NLT
*(There were still small pockets of pagan resistance. So, Joshua was not successful in wiping out each and every last pagan).
But what if they don’t?
“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them, then know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the Lord your God has given you…If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.” Jos. 23:12, 13 & 16. NLT
Joshua then spoke for God to the people:
“I sent the hornet [that is, the terror of you] before you, which drove the two kings of the Amorites out before you; but it was not by your sword or by your bow.I gave you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you live in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” Jos. 24:12, 13. AMP
Next, Joshua speaks as the Israelites’ leader:
“…choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Jos. 24:15 NLT
All the people promised their faith and obedience to Jehovah. And Joshua sent them back to their homes. Joshua died and was buried in the land of Israel allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. Eleazar, son of Aaron died and was buried in the same vicinity. Finally, the bones of Joseph, (transported by the Israelites from Egypt), was buried in the territory allocated to the descendants of Joseph.
This completed all of God’s promises to Israel.
There was no successor appointed to take Joshua’s place. The priests, led by Phineas, Eleazar’s son, would be the leaders. And peace was in the Promised Land…
Stay tuned for our examination of the book of Judges: In the Way of Samson
Goodnight and God Bless.