Jeff Dowdy's Blog

Joshua 22-24

This passage has three ideas I would like to comment on.
1. You will notice that once the land has been conquered the 2 1/2 tribes go back to the other side of the Jordan river. Before they cross the river they build an altar. The other Israelites are furious over what seems to be an outright disobedience to God. The 2 1/2 tribes are confronted over this issue. There reasoning is sound for why they have built the alter and reassure the other tribes that they are not trying to walk away from their commitment to God. I find this fascinating because we still do this today. This is how it works. Some church will begin to do a "new" thing and immediately they are trounced on for what seems to be outright heresy. However when they explain themselves they are found to be sound doctrinally and only trying to serve God better. We need to keep each other in check but maybe we need to be a little more graceful toward one another, especially before it gets in the media.

2. Joshua retells the story of the travels of the people of Israel as they leave Egypt and then as they arrive in the promised land. He retells it with the utmost of precision. This is a great example of the way that God preserved the story of the Israel through oral tradition.

3. Joshua had one major flaw. He did not mentor another leader to come after himself. Moses had done an amazing job of grooming and mentoring Joshua but Joshua did not pass this on. Therefore, the people of Israel are without a central leader after Joshua dies. The lack of leadership leads them to the cycles of the book of Judges. This error of Joshua accentuates the need for those in leadership to mentor the younger people. Fathers for their sons, Pastors for younger ministers, Older men for younger men, Older women for younger women. Mentoring is important.

Tomorrow's reading: Judges 1-5