Now you have to think about that geographically. Israel has three frontiers. They’re protected, of course, on the west by the Mediterranean. So the frontiers they have to defend are to the north, south, and east. From the north is where most of the invasions of the land came later in Israel's history. That's the way the Assyrians and the Babylonians came. From the south is where anyone moving up from Egypt in that direction would attack. And from the eastern frontier often came the tribal people, the wandering Bedouin and marauders. This was the direction from which Israel came when they themselves attacked the land.
The book of Joshua is divided into two main parts. The first part, chapters 1 through 12, tells about the conquest of the land of Canaan. And the second section, chapters 13 through 24, deals with the settlement of the land. As we come now to chapter 13, we are beginning the chapters that tell about the settlement. Now we would think, as we have studied these preceding chapters, that this war of conquest must have taken a relatively short time. Everything we read about seems to indicate speed. And yet, when we come to this chapter, we are aware immediately that there has been a considerable passage of time. The chapter begins by saying, “It was when Joshua was old now and well advanced in years that the Lord gave him instructions for the dividing of the land.”
Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." What He is saying is that if you really are a justified man or woman, if His righteousness really has been imputed to you, if you have been made spiritually alive, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, there will be such a power in you and such a desire to please God that your good deeds will exceed the good deeds of the scribes and Pharisees. One thing that bothers me about the church today is that the church is so much like the world. Where do people turn to believers and say, "There is something different about them"?
Yesterday, we listed the first thing we must do if we are to fulfill Joshua 11:15, which is to truly believe on Jesus Christ by following him as a faithful disciple. The second thing is this. In Matthew 28, at the very end of that chapter where we have the Great Commission, we’re told that if we believe on Jesus, then we have an obligation to tell other people about Him. When I think of the Great Commission in terms of this verse in Joshua, what impresses me is the word “all.” What we’re told to do in the Great Commission is to teach them to obey all or everything that Jesus has commanded.
In some ways, at least as his story is told to us, Joshua was not a spectacular individual. At least he did not have a lot of spectacular experiences. There were miracles, of course, but basically, Joshua was a soldier. He was told what to do, and he did it. His strength was found in that, and that kind of obedience is a great thing.
