Joshua lived for many years after the conquest of the land and its division among the tribes of Israel. Toward the end of his life, he called Israel together to review what the Lord had done for them and to instruct and warn them about their future.

Not one thing had failed of all the good Jehovah had spoken about them. All had come to pass, he reminded them. But just as God had faithfully kept all His promises for good, so He would also bring about all the evil He had threatened them with if they would turn from Him to the gods of the nations around them.

Throughout the book of Joshua, we are reminded of the importance of keeping and doing all God tells us in His Word. For Israel, His Word was “the Book of the Law of Moses.” Today, we believers have the entire Word of God, the Bible. Again and again, God reminds us that all that is written in His Word is important; we are not to turn from it to the right hand or to the left.

Our motivation for obedience to God’s Word should be our love for Him and our appreciation of what He has done for us. If Israel had reason to be thankful, we today have all the more so. God had brought them into the Promised Land and had helped them defeat their enemies. Is not what we have in Christ and through Him far greater: eternal life, a relationship with God as Father, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus!