Faithful until the end

Faithful until the end

After this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel. The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph. Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, in the town of Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas. Joshua 24:29-33 NLT

The Book of Joshua began with a call from God to Joshua to live out the purpose He had set for him, to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. The end of the book ends with funerals. Though Joshua was in many ways could be considered not as illustrious as Moses’ leadership but still Joshua was referred to as “the servant of the Lord,” a title first given to Moses (Joshua 1:1). This proves that our work may not be as grandiose as compared to others but if our work is done out of our diligence and faithfulness, God is glorified and honored. What matters is that we do our service as an expression of love and gratitude to God. The Lord Jesus Christ commended the one entrusted by God with two talents and was found faithful just like the one who was entrusted with five. “‘And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:22-23 ESV). Joshua proved to be as good as his word. Service to God was not merely something that he talked about to others; it was something that he himself practiced and lived out. And his life of faithful service had a profound influence, as noted in these words: “The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel” (v. 31). Once you surrender your life to God, the only way you can experience real joy and fulfillment is when you live the life He gave for His glory.

Blessings,