The Bland and the Beautiful
Joshua 23:1-2a & 14
A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, …“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.”
Over a decade has passed since the previous episode regarding that altar of witness, yet Joshua decides not to fill us in at all on what life’s been like in a war-free, idolatry-free commonwealth. He gives no story of the Thanksgiving-like feast enjoyed by these pilgrims at their first harvest. No mention of the hymn-singing done around a campfire on clear, starry nights. Which is strange when we consider how much ink has been spilled over the last five books recounting the failures and rebellions and setbacks of God’s people in getting to this point. Of Israel’s fear of the giants and their longing for Egypt and their revolting cries against God. Yet, now that the giants are defeated, now that seasonal harvests have replaced manna, now that golden calves are a buried relic of the past, and now that an entire generation of pilgrims, from the commanders to the tribal chiefs, from the patriarchs to the priests, from the Reubenite shepherds to the Gibeonite waterboys, are breaking bread and breaking ground in harmony, now that Eden’s bounty is once again blooming and blossoming on fallen earth, Joshua says nothing. Perhaps that’s because he was too busy living the good life, too busy sowing and reaping new harvests, too busy laboring well and fellowshipping with friends to even think of picking up a quill and writing down the highlights.
Friend, how many times do the words “Breaking News!” flash across our computer screens and cell phones and newspapers every day to tell of some new tragedy or affair or corruption—some spicy headline from a world gone mad? Well, that’s the paradox of a land at peace and rest. That every moment is a highlight, because there’s no breaking news like that to speak of.