If I had been Caleb, I might have said, "Joshua, I'm not as young as I used to be. Why don't you give me a little peaceful place where I can live quietly?"

But Caleb didn't real the need to do that. Caleb had a big God. How big is your God? Perhaps the reason He only does a little is because you think so little of Him.

By the way, Caleb didn't have the best pedigree. His relatives had come into the Israelite community through the back door. He was the descendant of one of the sons of Judah and Tamar. He was part Canaanite. But he was given a portion from among the Jews.

Notice to what it is that Caleb attributes his long life.

Not in the eating of health food. Not a regular program of exercise. Not good luck - or good genes. It is the promise of the Lord that has kept Caleb healthy and going strong.

There is a saying that the Scots are a race of self-made men, thereby relieving the Almighty of a terrible responsibility. But the truth is that there are no self made men.

The double tribe of Joseph brought a complaint to Joshua. It was that their inheritance was too small.

I cannot help but wonder whether they thought they would get special privileges because Joshua was from Ephraim - one of the tribes of Joseph.

A lot of Christians are like these two tribes. They complain that they have not been given enough.

What they often need to do is to use the gifts and abilities and resources that they HAVE been given.

We are not told why Shiloh was chosen as the site for the Tabernacle. Perhaps it was because this was a central location for all the tribes of Israel. Another possibility is that it was considered to be uncontaminated by pagan religion due to its having been deserted for such a long time. This was to be the center of worship until the time of Samuel.

The Israelites had no maps or drawings of the land. This made it rather difficult to divide the land among the various tribes.

And so, before such a distribution could be made, Joshua ordered that three men be commissioned from each tribe who would do the work of a surveyor, traveling through the land and writing out a detailed description.

It was also their job to divide the land into seven distinct parcels (two and a half tribes already had their land on the east bank of the Jordan). They would try to be as even as possible, since it was not known which parcel their own tribe would inherit.

When the job was completed, these descriptions were brought back to Joshua and he cast lots before the Lord. The implication was that the LORD was making the decision as to where each tribe would live.

The concept of the Cities of Refuge had been set forth in Numbers 35:6-34. Such a concept was needed to keep the peace in the absence of a police force. It was to be implemented in the case of manslaughter - when a man had been killed either by accident or in an unpremeditated altercation. In such a case, it would often be the inclination the friends and family of the deceased to see that justice was done. But to stop blood feuds from starting, six cities were designated as places of refuge. These were cities belonging to the tribe of Levi. No vengeance was to be taken within these cities.

These cities were distributed throughout the length of Canaan. A person who had caused the death of another could flee here until a trial could be arranged.

These are the two and a half tribes who had opted for second-best. They had asked for their inheritance to be the lands on the east side of the Jordan River. They were granted their request on the condition that they first cross over and fight alongside the rest of Israel to take the land of Canaan. But now the fighting is finished. And so, they are permitted to return home.

When news of the construction of this altar reaches the other tribes of Israel, they jump to the conclusion that these two and a half tribes have apostatized. After all, the only proper place to build an altar is at the tabernacle - and there is only one tabernacle.

Therefore the Israelites prepare themselves for war against the two and a half tribes. But before they march, they send Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the high priest along with a representative from each of the 10 tribes.

When they meet, the leaders of the two and a half tribes explain that the altar which they have constructed is not an altar for burnt offerings or for sacrifice, but rather a mound of memorial stones. It is to remind the Israelites who live in Canaan that there are people of the covenant who do not live in the land of Canaan but that they are no less children of the covenant.

Instead of intending to divide the nation, this altar was to be a symbol of their unity. There is a lesson here. All too often, we tend to judge people's actions in the worst possible light. The better part of wisdom is that we make certain of ALL of the facts before passing judgment.

As Joshua is soon to die, he gathers the leaders of the nation together to give them a closing charge.

These are the reflections of an old man. They are lessons for leaders. And they are also lessons for life.

a. God is central.

b. History is important (23:14).

c. Compromise is evil.

Joshua 24 describes the renewal of the covenant. It was to take place at Shechem, the place where Jacob had first purchased a portion of land (Genesis 33:18-19). This was the first place where Abraham had built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 12:6-7).

This chapter follows the five-fold outline for a covenant (this same outline is seen in expanded form in the entire book of Deuteronomy).

The terms of this covenant were put in writing. Literally, the Hebrew says that "Joshua CUT a covenant..." This may have involved the sacrificing of an animal.

Joshua set up a large stone near the tabernacle. It was to be a memorial-stone. The stone would serve as a witness of the covenant.

It is reminicent of the time that Jesus was entering the Temple in Jerusalem to the praises of the people. When the Jewish authorities heard these praises, they objected. Jesus replied, "If these become silent, the STONES will cry out!" (Luke 19:40).

In Joshua 24:12, the Lord is describing how He had fought for Israel and He says, "I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you..." There are two ways of looking at this:

It should also be noted that this was a fulfillment of a prophecy given at the outset of the Wilderness Wanderings.

There is a sense in which the narrative begun in Genesis comes to a final completion here at the end of Joshua. Genesis ends with a promise that the bones of Joseph will be returned to the Promised Land. Joshua closes with the fulfillment of that promise.