Advanced in Service

I like how God says it like it is--whether we want to hear it or not.  Yesterday Joshua 13:1 coaxed a smile and chuckle out of me:  "Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: "You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed."  When Moses was old and advanced in years God told him to call Joshua and present him before the LORD, one chosen by God to lead the children of Israel into the land of promise.  There is a time for God's service to pass the mantle to another person, and there is also a time (as in the case of Joshua) to embrace new tasks according to God's command.

I have heard it said you cannot teach old dogs new tricks but humility, grace and obedience to God are all things God's people are called to grow in.  Even as Joshua was directed by God to walk where he had never gone before, even in his advanced age he was called to do things he had never done before:  to divide the land by lot and give it to each tribe.  While God had given all the land and the people of the land into the hands of His people, God held them responsible to rise up and go possess the land.  Victories and successful conquest presented a new danger of being complacent, to stop short of driving out all enemies from the land of their inheritance.  For decades the Hebrews were nomads, and with the opportunity to settle down and enjoy a season of ease a new temptation for selfish laziness arose.

Despite his advanced age, Joshua was not called to hand over his duties to another person or group:  God directed and empowered him to continue in service unto the LORD and people.  A day would come when his earthly pilgrimage would come to an end, yet God had much for Joshua to contribute of value to the nation.  I believe the contribution of Joshua in his advanced age was just as important whether it was on the national stage or in his own household.  It was not that other people or even God "needed" Joshua or his faithful, godly example, but by His grace God ordained and called Joshua to His good purposes.  Before his passing, Joshua urged all the people in Joshua 24:14-15:  "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

How effective and impactful would this statement and sentiment have been if Joshua was not living out the reality of serving God in his own house?  These would be empty words.  Joshua chose to serve the living God every day, and over the course of his long life Joshua advanced in his obedience, reliance and service unto the LORD.  He did not quit when things were difficult, when he "felt" his age, if there was a more charismatic or skilled leader than himself, nor did he abandon his personal or public responsibilities to pursue his own private interests.  As God gave Joshua and all the people an inheritance, so God gave Joshua guidance and a role both at home and in the greater community.  Age did not disqualify or qualify Joshua:  it was God who ordained and sustained him in his pilgrimage through life and made him fruitful.  Blessed is the one who serves the LORD all their days, and regardless of our age there remains much to do.  Praise the LORD the awesome, eternal God Who created work is with us every step of the way.