If we assume that Joshua was a young man in his prime when the Israelites left Egypt – say, 25 years old – then he would have been 65 when he became the leader of Israel, after forty years of journeying through the desert. Then they crossed the Jordan River on dry land, and began conquering the Promised Land, beginning at Jericho. The text does not give us precise time markers, but we might guess that several years – five, let’s say – had passed since the people crossed the Jordan: indicating that Joshua would be about 70 old.

Yet it was at this point that the Lord said to Joshua, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed” (Joshua 13:1). We recall that Moses was 120 when he died, still hale and hearty (Deuteronomy 34:7), and 80 when God called him at the burning bush (Acts 7:23, 30); but Joshua was old at 70, when God instructed him to divide up the remaining land west of the river (Joshua 13:7). The text then reminds us that Moses had already apportioned out the land east of the Jordan to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh (13:8-32). Although we have noted that Israel was to follow a ‘destroy everyone’ policy, it turns out that “the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this day” (13:13).

In the midst of all this, we find a recollection of how, along with all the others who were killed, “the Israelites also put to the sword Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination” (Joshua 13:22, recalling Numbers 31:8). When hired by their enemies to call down a curse on Israel in the name of Yahweh, Balaam had instead declared God’s blessing on them many times over (Numbers 23-24). Perhaps Balaam’s death was the result of the happenstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps his death was deliberate: God’s people would not trust the testimony of a pagan prophet-for-hire.

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Ah Lord God! Let those of us who claim to speak in your name never pretend to know more than we actually do, and never assume that we are irreplaceable: grant us humility and obedience, to speak your word with clarity and compassion.

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