Joshua 23:1-5 - I am very old

23:1,2

Another key phase of Israel’s life comes to an end. “After a long time had passed ..” We are not given much information of what happened after the conquests and now, except that God had given them rest from all their enemies. Joshua was now very old and knew that his time was nearly up. So he gives Israel a charge for how they should continue to live, summoning all the various leaders of the nation.

23:3

The basis for what Joshua has to say is to remind them of all that they have seen, how they have seen the Lord work among them and give them victory. We all have a tendency to forget what the Lord has done, and it is good to remind ourselves. Note that it says the Lord did these things “for your sake”, and “fought for you”. It is amazing how committed to us the Lord is.

23:4,5

In Joshua’s time there were still peoples that had not been conquered, land that still remained to be taken. Yet Joshua had still allotted this land to the various tribes. I wonder why Joshua did not set about taking at least some of these remaining lands? We find the phrase “between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea”. With the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, the phrase “from the river to the sea” has chilling undertones. Joshua assures them that the Lord would drive out the nations before them.