and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years

Jos 13:1 Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.

The once young and vibrant general has now come to a point and place, where after all the battles are subdued for a little while and there is rest, there is now time for reflection. In this chapter we see the Lord has called upon Joshua and told him of his plight, thou art old and stricken in years, but still there is much to do. There is no way that Joshua could carry on these battles in his condition, there needs to be another to grab the mantle and go forward. As Joshua entered into Moses work, he now can be as Moses was provided for. Now this doesn't give excuse friend for us to just lay down and never do anything for the Lord just because we are older and more mature, for as the Lord said there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. In the older saints lives there is much to accomplish, may we as long as we have breath give honor and glory to God, and labour until that final day that the Lord calls us home. I would like also bring to the attention that Joshua was the oldest along with Caleb in the nation at this time. Here again I would like to bring out the point of older age that it is to be used to pass down to the younger generations the lessons of life, the encouragement of the many things that were accomplished, and the joy of serving the Lord. If you have been around for any length of time, and you have not received the Lord Jesus as your savior, then today could be the day Friend as what a shame it would be to add an extra day to your life, another gray hair, or another pain in the bones of the body and never experience the peace of God during this life. Remember Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: How sad it would be to miss out on the Lord Jesus Christ because you say I am old and stricken in age, I cannot accept Him because it's just too late, you don't know what I have done. Friend that's all right, I sure don't know the things you may have done, but Jesus does, and He is willing to forgive you if you confess your sins to Him and ask Him as your personal Saviour. It's never to late in life to accept Him, if you will just call upon His name for the remission of sins, trusting, and believing. Now Joshua wasn't down and out, no he still had many things to do before it is his time to retire, he knew that he must do the things that he was ordained to do quickly in his service to the Lord. There is still much land that the Lord was ready to give unto the children of Israel, and Joshua begins by explaining some of the property to them and promising them that it will be theirs. Again we see the importance of the geography of this land, and how even today it plays a major role in current events. Those that are not in the know often wonder why this area in the middle east is in much turmoil, but if we would study our Bibles and not skip these chapters with names and places then we would come to understand more.