Joshua finishes his service

Joshua 23:14-16 (NRSV)

(Joshua said) “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the bad things, until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.”


The book of Joshua seems basically to be drawn into two parts: first, the  the battles to win the promised land, beginning with the fall of Jericho.  And next, a bit of a dry summary of the dividing of the land among the tribes after the land is won.

And when it is over, Joshua's service comes to an end as old and tired, he is ready to take his leave off the stage.

But before he leaves, he has one more cautionary piece of advice for the Israelites.  Sounding every bit like Moses before him, Joshua reminds the people of the one thing they must never forget now that they begin their life in their new homeland.

They must keep the covenant that God has given them.

He won't be the last person to advise them this.

So begins the new phase in the life of the Israelite people.  They have their land and to keep it, need to remain faithful to the God who brought them their.  Intermarriage is forbidden, as intermarriage tends to bring other gods into the equation.

The land the Israelites resided in was surrounded by enemies as much then as it is now.  Their form of government was different.  Their form of worship was different.  Everything about them was different.

As a people living lives connected to Christ, we know something about being different.  Christianity is no longer the dominant religious tradition in our country.  The worship of wealth, status, power, and even violence probably take that honor.  More and more people in our world are claiming no religious affiliation.

And living into this reality can cause all kinds of worry.  We are part of our culture.  Yes, as Christ-followers, we are also part of a counter-culture.  

The kingdom - or commonwealth - of God is not like that of the commonwealth of the world.  Wealth, status, power, and violence are not the way of God's commonwealth.

How do we live both in this world, and yet not be of this world?  It's daily question.

It takes daily reminder that we are baptized children of God.  It takes daily reminding of our relationship to God through prayer and service.  

It takes reminding through worship and fellowship and the sacrament of the table.

The Israelites will be reminded throughout the rest of the Hebrew scriptures that they are set apart as God's people.  A blessing to the world, but not the world.

We also are reminded that we are God's people.  Do we hear those voices?  If we come to worship each Sunday, we hear some of them.  But there are more out there. We can find them through fellowship, study of scripture, devotionals, reading, discussion, and prayer.  

I'm not sure about you, but I can be forgetful.  I need to hear those voices daily.

Faithful God, let me hear the voices of prophets and teachers that remind me daily of your calling to me.  Help me to be part of your good commonwealth and  to help others hear your call as well.  Amen.