Today’s passage comes as something of a shock. Over the last few chapters, the Israelites have conquered the land in what seems like a whirlwind series of successful encounters. You may be thinking that this all took a matter of a year or two, maybe even a few months.
And yet, here at the beginning of chapter 13, we learn that: (a) it took a very long time – Joshua is now ‘very old’; and (b) there was still a lot of land not conquered yet. Essentially the descriptions of verses 2-7 indicate that the Israelites now held much of the hill country running north to south along the spine of what is now Israel, but the Western plains by the Mediterranean Sea, as well as lands to the north east and south east, were not under Israelite control.
Some of these areas would rarely be under their control in the centuries that followed. Think of all the battles with the Philistines in the book of Judges or under King David – these describe the peoples that live by the Mediterranean Sea, who were never fully conquered during the time of Joshua.
Joshua’s experience in many ways mirrors the reality of our spiritual lives: it is both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’. He is living safely in the kingdom, but there is still some way to go. How true for us, too: yes, we are saved, we are living in the kingdom of God now, and we know can peace and purpose and rest, and many other blessings which God has given us. But it is also ‘not yet’: we are works in progress, not every part of our lives is as it should be. We face struggles and challenges: within ourselves as well as in the world.
Our calling is to be faithful, and stay on the journey. To celebrate what we have now, and also to wait and pray and long for what is yet to come.
As we conclude a challenging few days in this book, let’s sit for a few minutes with the ‘now and not yet’ of our lives. Give thanks for all that God has done for you, and in you. And pray for grace to live with the ‘not yet’. God was faithful to Joshua. He is faithful to us, too.