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,

Joshua 23:1-6


23 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, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you. 6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.

Amen! Today’s title is “Hero’s Farewell”

I admire a person who completes his mission well. No matter how big or small the task might be, it isn’t always easy to finish well. We are constantly tempted to quit. We know it well through our own experience. But godly people generally finish well. Abraham, Moses, and David finished well. They all had challenges and temptations to quit. Sometimes they blew it all up. But they persevered and finished well. Joshua is certainly one of the men who accomplished his mission and finished well. He started timidly. When he succeeded Moses, he didn’t know what to do. With the great weight of the mission to conquer the promised land after Moses, he must have been filled with fear. But God assured His constant presence with Joshua. he did accomplish the mission faithfully trusting in the Lord. What was even better, his good faith grew even greater when he accomplished the mission. This isn't always the case with great achievers. With the great feat in the conquest, he became a war hero whom all the Israelites adored. Despite the overwhelming adorations and praises of the people, he remained humble. Why? We see the reason from his own words. It was because "he has seen it all". He has seen that everything that was done was fundamentally done by God. God initiated the conquest of the promised land from the time of Abraham. God went ahead of Israelites to conquer the land that He promises to Abraham and His descendants. He fought for them and with them. Indeed the conquest was all done by God. Having seen what God has done, Joshua couldn't brag about what he did. All he could do was loving God more and trusting Him more. He was looked upon as a hero by many Israelites. But he knew he is not. He didn’t pretend to be. He wanted that all glory and honor go to God only. His mind as such was clearly shown in his farewell message. In his farewell address, there is no mention whatsoever of what he himself has done. All he talked about what God has done and how the people should continue to "carefully" obey and love God. I believe this should true to all who really have seen God working in his or her life. I personally feel the same way. I have seen God working marvelously in my life. How about you? Have you seen what God has done in your life? Of course, you have. So what can be your farewell message to your loved ones? I am sure it will be the same as Joshua’s farewell message. “Love God and trust God. He will keep His promise to you. He will fight for you and work for you. He will make you more than a conqueror.” I pray that we all can give such a hero’s farewell message to our loved ones. I also pray that all our loved ones keep the message in their hearts and followed the Lord faithfully. What better inheritance can there be? Amen!