Stay Faithful

When they finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them. By the Lord's command, they gave him the city Timnath-Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, which he requested. Joshua 19:49,50

Caleb received his first and Joshua last. Joshua was a humble man who waited until all the tribes were settled before taking what was his. All he asked for was a hill city. Another hill dweller just like Čaleb. These old men did not want the tidy retirement village by the lake.

Joshua had led the people well, kept them faithful, reminded  them to establish correct structures, he provided for the priests, cities of refuge when things went wrong, he led the Reubenites and Gadites, who had chosen land on the other side of the promised land and now sent them home. He declared them faithful in the task he had given them. However they tested this by building an altar on the Isaelite's side of the Jordan. It was to remind their brethren that they belonged to the community, not to rebel.

In Chapter 23 Joshua is getting very old and calls all the people to himself. He reminds the people of all he has done for them. In verse 6 he reminds them to be strong and stay faithful to the Lord. In verse 11 he reminds them to be very diligent to love the Lord their God for their own well-being. For if they refused and worshipped other gods then the nations around them would become a snare and a trap for them and cause them to disappear from the land God had given them. 

We Christians have been given an inheritance and we must take it by force. It does not come and sit in our laps. Once we have taken it we must remain faithful to the Lord and love Him only. There are foreign god's who would love our faithfulness. Worldly ways that want us to follow. We cannot allow ourselves to slip into worldly ways and worship our own efforts, adopt doctrines of demons and lose our inheritance. Stay faithful! Amen!