A Eulogy for Joshua

As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses...So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

Joshua 11:15

I think you would struggle to find a eulogy that better sums up Joshua’s life and legacy than these two words: Obedience and Success. Joshua obeyed God in everything. He left nothing undone of all he had been commanded to do, and God gave him success.

Consider what God did with Joshua’s obedience. God took this man who was born a slave in Egypt and used him to lead Israel to victory over six nations and 31 kings (Joshua 12:7-24). Joshua conquered six nations and 31 kings! And He did it simply by being strong enough and courageous enough to obey God fully.

Are you obeying God fully or are you leaving something that He has commanded you to do undone? Let me encourage you not to go halfway in your commitment to follow God! Don’t leave anything undone that God has commanded you to do. Obey God fully!

A Memorial to the Lord

“Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord... These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Joshua 4:5b-7

My son lost his first tooth tonight. We took a video to send to the grandparents. We took a picture to post on social media. The tooth was carefully preserved in a zip lock bag with today's date written in permanent marker on it. And my wife has already discussed with him where this tooth will be stored while it waits for the rest of its companions to follow suit.

This is what people do. It's part of the human condition to want to remember important moments, major accomplishments, and significant commitments that we make. So, we celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries. We hang diplomas on our walls. We keep pictures of ourselves in our early twenties in peak physical condition so we can remember the glory days. And we save baby teeth. We seem to want to memorialize everything. But we don't always do a good job of doing this in our spiritual lives. 

As Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River on dry ground he told them to have a representative from each of the twelve tribes pick up a large stone from the middle of the river. When they were on the other side, Joshua used these stones to build a memorial to serve as a sign of the great miracle God performed by parting the river. Not only would this serve as a reminder for those who were there that day, but it would also give them an opportunity to teach others what God had done. It was a physical witness to future generations of Israelites and to the nations around them of God's great miracle.  

Here we find an example for us to follow. It's important for us to remember and mark the significant spiritual events in our lives. We should celebrate the ways God has provided for us and remind ourselves of God's goodness, so we won't forget to praise Him for what He's done. We also need to tell others of God's faithfulness and especially be sure we pass down to our kids what we learned about God from these experiences.  

So, what has God done in your life? When did He make Himself most real to you? Was it at your salvation? Was it a miracle you witnessed? A physical healing or spiritual delivery? Was it how He provided for you in a time of need? Or how He led you when you needed special guidance or direction?

Whatever it was, prayerfully consider how you might memorialize that event. Put up some physical witness to that event around your house or in your life. This memorial will glorify God and honor Him for what He did, and it will also give you occasion to teach others about what God has done for you.

Aksah Asks a Favor (W.o.W. rewind)

And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?” She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Joshua 15:16-19

This is an obscure little story hidden in a portion of the Old Testament that details the boundaries of the tracts of land given to each of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Promised Land. It isn’t likely to garner much attention today, yet God saw fit to include this short story not once but twice in Scripture. It is recorded again, almost word for word in Judges 1:12-15. Why? Because it has a tremendous little lesson to teach God’s children.

Aksah’s father, Caleb, was a faithful, God-fearing man. You may remember that he was one of only two of the twelve men who spied out the land of Canaan to bring back a good report. Caleb stands out in Scripture as an example of faith, courage and wisdom. In this passage we find Caleb carefully crafting a situation to provide a strong, brave man for his daughter to marry. It worked. Aksah’s husband, Othniel, later becomes the first judge whom God raises up to deliver His people (see Judges 3:7-11). From this (and many other examples I am sure) Aksah knows that her father loves her. She can see that he wants to provide for her, and she begins taking an interest in her own provision as well.

Aksah is a shrewd young woman who knows where she stands with her father and is not afraid to take initiative. Knowing that the land her father has given her would do well to have a source of water, she musters some of the courage her father was famous for and makes a request. She knows her father wants to be a blessing to her, so she asks him for something specific, springs of water. Caleb gives her a double blessing, two springs of water! Imagine how fruitful this land must have been for her family.

In the New Testament Jesus says,

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

What are you asking God for right now? He has shown that He wants to bless you with good things. So what are you asking Him for? Pause and ask God for something specific. But ask wisely, not selfishly. Consider these words of James:

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

Aksah Asks a Favor

And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?” She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Joshua 15:16-19

This is an obscure little story hidden in a portion of the Old Testament that details the boundaries of the tracts of land given to each of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Promised Land. It isn’t likely to garner much attention today, yet God saw fit to include this short story not once but twice in Scripture. It is recorded again, almost word for word in Judges 1:12-15. Why? Because it has a tremendous little lesson to teach God’s children.

Aksah’s father, Caleb, was a faithful, God-fearing man. You may remember that he was one of only two of the twelve men who spied out the land of Canaan to bring back a good report. Caleb stands out in Scripture as an example of faith, courage and wisdom. In this passage we find Caleb carefully crafting a situation to provide a strong, brave man for his daughter to marry. It worked. Aksah’s husband, Othniel, later becomes the first judge whom God raises up to deliver His people (see Judges 3:7-11). From this (and many other examples I am sure) Aksah knows that her father loves her. She can see that he wants to provide for her, and she begins taking an interest in her own provision as well.

Aksah is a shrewd young woman who knows where she stands with her father and is not afraid to take initiative. Knowing that the land her father has given her would do well to have a source of water, she musters some of the courage her father was famous for and makes a request. She knows her father wants to be a blessing to her, so she asks him for something specific, springs of water. Caleb gives her a double blessing, two springs of water! Imagine how fruitful this land must have been for her family.

In the New Testament Jesus says,

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

What are you asking God for right now? He has shown that He wants to bless you with good things. So what are you asking Him for? Pause and ask God for something specific. But ask wisely, not selfishly. Consider these words of James:

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

Dirty Floss and Polluted Garments

When it comes to cleaning, almost all married couples are "unequally yoked." There's usually one spouse who stands out as the messier of the two and one who is inevitably called the "neat freak." I am the latter.

One thing in particular that I do drives my wife crazy. I talk incessantly about cross-contamination. In part it comes from my time working as a short order cook. Stacy has listened to me talk about cross-contamination as it relates to food preparation, diaper changing, taking out the trash...a whole host of scenarios really. For example, "Stacy dear, your floss touched the faucet handle that we touch after we use the bathroom to wash our hands. You may not want to put that in your mouth." I drive her nuts! But thankfully there is grace even for this. And as it turns out this is a biblical concept of sorts.

In the little book of Jude, sin is pictured as a type of spreading disease that contaminates all it comes in contact with. In Jude 1:22-23, the brother of Jesus instructs believers to "be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

Jude isn't telling Christians to avoid interacting with lost people as though they might contaminate us. That would go against his admonition to snatch them from the fire of God's impending judgment. Rather, Jude instructs us to always respect our own vulnerability to the power of sin. His emphasis on the garment stained by sin serves to remind us how much we ought to hate sin. If we hate even clothing that's been contaminated by sinful actions, how much more ought we to hate the sin itself. This reminds me of the Old Testament priests. When they entered the tent of meeting or later the temple to make atonement for God's people, they had to undergo ceremonial washing, bathing and even changing of clothes to ensure that the stain of sin wasn't on them as they entered God's presence.

At the end of the day this image captures the core of the Christian life. How can a person ensure that the stain of sin is not found on them when they stand before God? Zechariah 3:1-5 provides a beautiful and insightful picture into the Christian answer to this question. In the immediate context it speaks to the high priest's sin being taken away so he can make atonement for God's people, but Joshua serves as a type of how we all can find forgiveness in Christ.

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

Satan is eager to accuse us all. And just like Joshua we are all clothed in the filthy rags of our sin compared to God's holiness. But those who place their faith in Christ will be washed as white as snow. God offers to clothe us in the righteousness of Christ and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. But unlike Joshua we cannot wait until the day we stand before God to deal with our sin. The Bible tells us that on that day it will be too late. Sin is a spreading disease for which there is no cure after death. It'll be too late to try get right with God after you die. We dare not wait to deal with our sin or to warn those we love. The cure must be administered while you are still alive. Hate sin. Hate even the garment contaminated by sin. For it has the power to separate you from God for all eternity. Have you turned to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of your sins? If not, then remember that today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2) If so, then who might God be calling you to snatch from the fire?

For further reading...

• 1 Corinthians 5:9-13- Paul agrees with Jude that Christians should not separate from non-believers. Interestingly, Paul tells us who we should separate from.