Joshua 24 (6)

Read Joshua 24.29-33.

Reflect.
1.  The book of Joshua ends in death. Joshua is dead. Eleazar is dead. The elders who served with Joshua and Eleazar are dead. Joseph’s bones are interred. Is this way of ending the book of Joshua significant?

2.  There is something uncertain and foreboding about verse 31. Do you agree?

Think about it.
Contrast the ending of the book of Joshua with the ending of Deuteronomy (Deut. 34.5-12). Whereas Deuteronomy ends with a clear, Spirit-filled leader to carry on the work of Moses, the book of Joshua does not. Is this a failure of leadership on Joshua’s part? What does this portend for the people of Israel?

We’re left under a cloud of uncertainty at the end of this book. Will Israel continue to subdue the land? Who will lead them? Will the tribes fight alone or together? Will they make accommodation with paganism or persevere in the Law and ways of the Lord? Will they live up to their witness or forget about it?

We’ll have to wait and see. Joshua and Eleazar were great men and effective leaders. Now they are gone, and we’re left with a mood of uncertainty. The burying of Joseph’s bones within the territory of the people of Ephraim makes yet another bridge with the past. But it’s a buried past: Will the people of Israel live up to the promise of God’s covenant? Or will they bury and forget their heritage and the privileges and obligations it entails?

It’s the end of an era, and a new era is about to dawn. But will the new era be one of increasing promise and blessing?

Meditate and discuss.
1.  Dying and burying are prominent ideas in these five verses. Besides merely reporting the facts, is the author trying to make a point? Explain.

2.  In many ways, as the book of Judges reports, Israel buried their covenant relationship with God with the burial of Joshua, Eleazar, and the bones of Joseph. Is there a warning here for us?

3.  How would you describe the mood at the end of the book of Joshua? Does this mood make you want to read on, to find out what happens next? What does this suggest about the ultimate authorship of the book of Joshua and the books that follow it?

“The title by which Joshua is distinguished after his death, when he is called the servant of the Lord, took away all excuse from those miserable and abandoned men who shortly after spurned the Lord, who had worked wonders among them. Accordingly, attention is indirectly drawn to their inconstancy, when it is said that they served the Lord while Joshua survived, and till the more aged had died out. For there is a tacit antithesis, implying lapse and alienation, when they were suddenly seized with a forgetfulness of the Divine favors.” John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua (1509-1564 AD)

Let me not forget Your many blessings, Lord. Help me to recount them frequently, so that…

Pray Psalm 145.
As you pray, ask the Lord to show you how you can fulfill the commitments mentioned in this psalm.

Psalm 145 (Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want)
I will extol You, God, my King, and ever praise Your Name!
I bless You, Lord, for everything each day, and e’er the same!
Great are You, Lord, my praise I bring; unsearchable Your fame!

To ev’ry generation we Your wondrous works shall tell.
The splendor of Your majesty we contemplate full well.
We speak of all Your mighty deeds and all Your greatness tell!

Then shall we all the glorious fame of Your great goodness sing – 
Your righteousness, Your gracious Name, Your mercy: praise we bring!
Your steadfast love remains the same, mercy our covering.

Your works shall thank You; all Your saints shall bless and praise You, Lord.
Your reign we bless without restraint; Your power fills our words.
Our children we shall educate in all Your splendor, Lord.

Your Kingdom evermore shall be; You reign forever, Lord!
Your works You do so faithfully, according to Your Word.
The falling You uphold and the oppressed You rescue, Lord!

The eyes of all look up to You to meet our needs each day.
Open Your hand, provide the food we need, O Lord, we pray!
Kindness and righteousness You do, O Lord, in every way!

Be near to all who call on You; all those who fear You, bless.
Preserve all those whose love is true; save us in our distress.
Our mouths will speak with praise of You; Your holy Name we’ll bless!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).