Joshua is preparing to step down and I'm sorry to see him go. We have so little here about him. He takes over once Israel hits the Promised Land, conquers it and then is done. I'd like to know more about this man who wasn't influenced by his peers to report back in fear as a spy, this man who wandered with the rest of Israel for 40 years suffering for a sin that wasn't his, this man who served as Moses right hand and who had to follow in the footsteps of the man who brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt.
I imagine there were a few grumblers in the bunch.
"Well, he's no Moses."
"Now, Moses, he talked directly, face-to-face, with the Almighty."
"I prefer the Rod Party over the Sword Party."
"Joshua was one of Moses' guys. He's a leftover from that regime. It's about time we have some new blood around here."
"All of this fighting -- war, war, war -- this thing is never going to end. Look at the senseless lose of life. We've won already. Enough. The people left in the land are already beaten and our slaves. We're in control. What possible harm could these slaves be?"
A religious dispute occurs [Josh. 22:10-34] Those West Jordanaires think the East Jordanaires are promoting and practicing false religion, setting up their own altar. Like most religious conflicts, this one is a matter of miscommunication. Once they actually sit down together and have a conversation, they discover they're really in agreement. We need to talk and understand before we judge and condemn.
Joshua's farewell is comprised of reminding Israel of all that God has done for them and, again, a caution that they must not let the native people turn them to foreign gods. For a third time, the covenant is renewed. Three times they were warned. Like the cock crowing three times did these warnings ring in their ears when they come to the realization that they've fallen away?
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