Joshua
11 – 15
Joshua is basically two stories about the Promised Land. The
first part is the battles waged and God’s favor to take the land. The second
part is dividing of the land. We see this split in today’s reading. Verse 11:6
is God ensuring that the army they are going to fight will be defeated:
Don’t be afraid of
them. By this time tomorrow, I will have given all of them as dead bodies into
your hands. You will disable their horses and burn their chariots.
Before we are told their numbers are huge!
And as God promises they come in and rout the enemy. One thing I have a problem
with and often question is why God is so brutal with conquering enemies. I
understand that even a small amount of impurities can corrupt the nation, as we
see later. But why must everyone die? Can’t anyone convert?
Verse 13:1 starts the final part of
Joshua’s role:
Now the years
passed and Joshua grew old; and one day the Eternal came to him.
Eternal One
(to Joshua): You have grown old and there is still work to do,
for part of the land I have promised has yet to be conquered.
Once they have secured the land, now they
must divide it for the tribes and people of Israel. Think about how this must
be done in an orderly fashion, since they are probably millions that need to be
given land. This honestly is a beautiful story in leadership, because he is
able to do this without any recorded incidents.
Also I think the biggest key to leadership
is how he relies on God for his guidance. Now it appears he, as with Moses, has
a clearer connection with God. But honestly we have that today, we just have to
clearly listen. We have the Bible to assist us in the clarity and now are
growing into a deep relationship with God.
This is why it is key to life is to read
the Bible daily. It doesn’t hurt to read it over and over again, after 3
complete reads I am getting new revelations this time. It’s something that you
must do to experience. So as Nike’s motto says; “Just do it”!!
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