March 16

Judges 2:8, 9; Joshua 24:33, 32; Judges 1:1-10, 16-19; Joshua 15:13, 14; Judges 1:11-15, 22-26; Joshua 13:13, 16:10; Judges 1:29; Joshua 17:11-13; Judges 1:27, 18; Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21, 30-36, 2:1-5

Joshua and Eleazar both die and are buried.  The people lose both of their great leaders at the same time.  Unlike before, when Aaron died first and was replaced by his son and then later Moses died.  The transition here isn't as smooth.  I wonder if this contributes to the fact Israel doesn't totally destroy the people in their midst and so they don't honor their covenant with the Lord.

Finally -- some 400 years later -- Joseph's bones are buried. [Josh. 24:32] I know I've mentioned this before here, but who's been responsible for keeping up with that sack of bones?  I mean someone's had charge of them for the last four hundred years, right?  Perhaps several someones.  Hey, do you think they remember who had them?

"I thought Uzziel had them?"

"No, no, zuriel had them last.  I'm sure of it."

"Nooo, I talked to him and he said his wife wouldn't let him keep them in the tent so he gave them to Shimei."

"Yeah, but Shimei is of the people who make spittoons of bronze and hut with dogs and he couldn't keep his best birddog away from Joseph.  I'd swear on a stack of stone tablets that he gave them to Mahli.  Or was that Mushi?  I can't ever keep those two straight."

This reading concludes with a litany of the people Israel failed to drive out of the land they had been promised.  And, though most of them remained in the land as slaves, the people will influence Israel and tempt them with their foreign gods.  It's amazing how much a dominant culture is influenced by the subordinate culture.  After all Israel had faced and God's mighty physical evidence that He is among them, still they are captivated by the foreign gods and their shrines and idols and customs.  Why is that?  Why in our own culture do minority cultures have such a powerful hold on the mind's of the youth?  Hip-hop and gangasta culture is an example of this.  Why?  Is it because we long to stand out from the crowd.  By our very nature, we seem always to rebel against the commonplace.  There's part of this that is good or can be used for good.  But there is a part of this that is bad.  It's good if we rebel from what's generally accepted as commonplace and the norm in society.  But, as Christians living among Christians -- too often the commonplace we rebel against, or status quo, is the community of God.  I'm preaching here...to myself.