Joshua 13:1: “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.’”

April 3rd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Joshua must have felt really ancient after God Himself called him “old, advanced in years.” Someone once said that an elderly person is any person who is 10 years older than you are. There is a funny story about 3 retirees, each with a hearing loss, who were taking a walk one fine March day. One remarked to the other, “Windy isn’t it?” “No,” the second man replied, “It’s Thursday.” The third man chimed in, “So am I. Let’s stop and have a Coke.” There is a strong sense that once we are old there’s really nothing left we can do. But God, even while acknowledging Joshua’s advanced years, tells him about a job that still needed to be done. He urged Joshua on to higher things than just worrying about his retirement, speaking to him about the land that still remained to be possessed.

No matter how much we have done in our Christian lives, there are still many things yet to be accomplished. Evidentially there is no retirement in the Kingdom of God. Economists tell us that the very concept of retirement is a relatively new one that only came about in the mid-20th century. Retirement hasn’t really been an option for anyone but our most recent ancestors. That may sound like a radical idea but we see that God was urging Joshua to keep going even when he may have been as much as 100 years old.

What would the body of Christ look like if all the retired, older people didn’t really retire but found other ways to serve their church in their communities? Or what if, as God is suggesting to Joshua, they even went into other parts of the world. It seems clear from scripture that the American view of retirement is far from God’s view for His disciples. We saw that God required the priests who were older to stop carrying the Ark and to step down from heavy labor as they advanced in age, but they were still available to help with lighter tasks. God’s view of advancing age actually frees up retirees from the depressing idea of uselessness and challenges them and all of us to serve the Lord until the day He comes to take us home.

“LORD, show us the way to serve You by becoming more others-centered rather than increasingly more self-centered.”

=============================================================

Joshua 13 KJV

¹ Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old andstricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.  ² This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, ³ From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: ⁴ From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:  ⁵ And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath. ⁶ All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. ⁷ Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ⁸ With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them; ⁹ From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon; ¹⁰ And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon; ¹¹ And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah; ¹² All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out. ¹³ Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. ¹⁴ Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them. ¹⁵ And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. ¹⁶ And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba; ¹⁷ Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon,  ¹⁸ And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, ¹⁹ And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley, ²⁰ And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth,  ²¹ And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country. ²² Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.  ²³ And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof . This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof. ²⁴ And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families. ²⁵ And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that isbefore Rabbah; ²⁶ And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; ²⁷ And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and hisborder, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward. ²⁸ This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages. ²⁹ And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possessionof the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. ³⁰ And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities: ³¹ And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families. ³² These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward. ³³ But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.