After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. – Joshua 23:1-2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 19, 2019): Joshua 23

My favorite song off of Bon Jovi’s 2000 CD release “Crush” was not one of the ones that the band decided to release as singles. My favorite track, and one that I admit I find myself singing quietly to myself throughout the day, is a song called “Just Older.” In the chorus, Jon sings these words, which seem to speak directly to my life experience:

            I like the bed I’m sleeping in

            It’s just like me, it’s broken in

            It’s not old – just older

            Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans

            This skin I’m in it’s alright with me

            It’s not old – just older

In a world that sees to want to chase after youth, there is something decidedly healthy about Jon Bon Jovi’s words. (Admittedly, I wonder, almost twenty years after the release of the song and after all of the struggles that Jon has gone through over that time, if he still feels that way.) But whether or not Jon feels that way, it is the way that I feel. I am not old, just older.

Joshua has reached a point in his life when maybe he gets to admit that he is not older, or even old, but rather very old. Even just the numbers sound exhausting to our contemporary ears. The Exodus, under the leadership of Moses, had begun seventy-six years earlier. Joshua had been chosen as a leader of his tribe and sent into Canaan as one of Israel’s twelve spies seventy-five years earlier. It had been thirty-five years since Moses had died, leaving Joshua in control of the leadership, not just of his tribe, but of the nation. The truth is that Joshua was not just old, but he was tired and had given all that he had to give. It was time for Joshua to rest from the fight, and maybe just enjoy his family and his inheritance for a few years before he died.

So Joshua begins his farewell address to the nation. We do not know how much longer Joshua would live after this grand goodbye to Israel, but tradition says that he died at the age of 110 (Joshua 24:29) after a life of service to both his God and his nation.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 24