Joshua 23:1-5

A Review of Joshua's Work Joshua 23:1-5

And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.
2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:
3 And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.
4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the Great Sea westward.
5 And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you.

1.

How much time had elapsed between the settling of the land and Joshua's last address? Joshua 23:1

The Scripture says that a long time had elapsed after the people of Israel had finished their conquest before Joshua gave his address to the leaders. Joshua was at least sixty years of age when he came into the Promised Land, since he was numbered at Sinai among those who were twenty years of age and over. After the people left Sinai, they wandered for forty years in the wilderness; and Joshua would therefore have been at least sixty when he came into Canaan. Caleb said that he was forty years of age when he was sent out as a spy (Numbers 14:17). We may assume that Joshua was about the same age. Joshua was one hundred and ten years of age when he died. No more than twenty-five years would have elapsed between the end of the conquest and the death of Joshua if Joshua was of the same age as Caleb. Twenty years would have certainly been a long time.

2.

To what point did Joshua call the leaders? Joshua 23:2

Joshua must have called the leaders to Shiloh. This is where the tribes had assembled when they received their final allotments. His final address was delivered at Shechem, but there is a special mention of their assembling there in Joshua 24:1. Since there is no mention here of their moving, it is assumed his address to the smaller group of leaders was given at Shiloh.

3.

How did Joshua call for all Israel? Joshua 23:3

The address consists of two parts which run parallel to one another so far as the contents are concerned. Part one is Joshua 23:2 b - Joshua 23:13, and part two is Joshua 23:14-16. In both parts Joshua commences with a reference to his age and his approaching death. In consequence of this impending event, he felt constrained to remind the people once more of all the great things which the Lord had done for them and to warn them against falling away from the gracious covenant of God. Joshua, in the last act of his life, was treading in the footsteps of Moses, who had concluded his life with the exhortations to the people to be faithful to the Lord (Deuteronomy 1:30). Joshua's address contains reminiscences from the Pentateuch, more especially from Deuteronomy. He had little new to announce to the people, but he wished to impress the old truth upon their minds once more. He called for all Israel by asking their leaders to assemble.

4.

Who were the officers? Joshua 23:2

The term elders is the general term used to denote all the representatives of the people, who were divided into heads, judges, and officers. The heads were those who stood at the head of the tribes, families, and fathers-' houses; and out of their number the most suitable persons were chosen as judges and officers (Deuteronomy 1:15). Some had jurisdiction over thousands, hundreds, and fifties (Exodus 18). Others served in different capacities.

5.

How had Joshua divided the remaining nations by lot? Joshua 23:4

Joshua had not assigned different tribes to attack separate nations. There is no record that he told Reuben, for example, to drive out the Ammonites. We find no mention made of his telling Benjamin to drive out the Jebusites. Incidental references are made to certain people such as the Perizzites who lived in the midst of the children of Joseph (Joshua 17:15). Since he had divided all the remaining territory by lots and these Canaanite nations lived in the territories, it was assumed that the different tribes would drive out those foreign nations which were in the land assigned to them. In this way, it could be said that Joshua had divided by lot the nations which remained.

6. What general boundaries of the Promised Land did Joshua mention? Joshua 23:4

Joshua gave the eastern boundary as being the Jordan. He called the western boundary the great sea westward. This was a reference to the Mediterranean Sea. Although Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived east of the Jordan, it was reasonable to speak of the Jordan and the land which pertained to it as the eastern boundary. There was no land for them to possess beyond the Mediterranean Sea.