The Danger of Having Arrived | Joshua 23

Do you remember what it is like to work long and hard for a goal, and to finally get there? Whether it is passing a difficult examination, landing your dream job, or completing a months-long project, there is nothing quite like putting in the hard work and finally achieving what you had hoped for. The days of discipline and sacrifice have paid off. It is a moment of triumph and celebration. 

For the Israelites who fled Egypt, the promised land was their goal. They had left behind their life as slaves and had spent decades wandering in the wilderness, following the pillars of cloud and fire. Forty years had passed before they even set foot in the promised land, and yet it was a land that needed to be conquered. They had to be courageous, they had to fight and drive out the inhabitants of the land before they could claim it as their own.

It was not an easy journey. There were failures and setbacks, frustrations, and a lot of grumbling. They came face to face with their stiff-neckedness and their lack of faith. But it was a journey where they learned the single most important truth as God’s people—that there is nothing more important than clinging to the Lord their God—because their gracious and compassionate God would always be there to rescue and provide.

Indeed, the Lord was faithful in keeping His promises. The God who parted the Red Sea also parted the Jordan for them to enter the promised land. He who gave them manna and water in the wilderness, who protected them during the journey, was the one in their midst to personally drive out the inhabitants of the land through miracle after miracle. No cities nor tribes stood a chance against them, so long as they followed their God completely and wholeheartedly. This was the God who made them His people, the God who fulfilled His promises and gave them the land flowing with milk and honey.

The battles were many, and the fights were fierce. But by Joshua 11:23, we are told that Joshua “took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.” They had finally claimed most of the promised land and divided up the land. Every tribe had received their allotment, and they had finally settled down. All those years of wandering and warring had come to an end. So, happily ever after?

Unfinished Business

Turns out, not quite. Even though they had already conquered the majority of the land, and Joshua was old and advanced in years, “there are still very large areas of land to be taken over” (Joshua 13:1). Thus, even though they had arrived at their destination, that the main goal of settling down in the promised land had already been achieved, there was more to be completed. They were not done relying on God, because they would still need God to drive out the remaining nations.

It is an interesting position to be in, isn’t it? It’s like the job is done, but not really. They have been so careful to do exactly as God said; they have learned to be courageous and trust in God’s ways; they have resisted the temptation to be greedy about the spoils or wanting to rely on their experience. They have learned to truly obey God, and God kept His promise. They had taken the land, and each tribe had received their allotments. Isn’t it time to relax a bit and not be so exceptionally obedient? Isn’t it time to enjoy the fruit of their hard-won victories and indulge?  

Sometimes, when we are fixated on our goals, we forget that life continues after we have reached our milestones. We might have clung to God extra hard when we were dashing toward the finish line, but it is equally important to cling to God after the finish line. In fact, this is the most dangerous moment, because it is human nature to want to relax and lower our guards after a period of focused efforts. But this is also the most dangerous moment because the euphoria of success would give us the false impression that we cannot fail now.  

But we can, and we will, if we lose sight of the fact that beyond all the goals we want to accomplish and achieve in our life, there is one goal that trumps them all—and that is the goal of honoring our covenant with God, of continuing to walk with Him and abide in Him. We are still in a fallen world where the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Just like the Israelites being constantly tempted to follow the pagan gods of the remaining nations in Canaan, there will always be temptations to draw us away from God, to give us the false impression that we can now rely on ourselves because we have achieved our goals. We will still be tempted to turn our blessings into idols and forget that we should worship only our God.

Be very careful to love the Lord your God

Joshua knew that this was a dangerous moment for the Israelites he was leaving behind as well, because the challenge was not only getting into the promised land, but staying there. If they had only managed to conquer the promised land because of their obedience to God, how would they drive out the remaining nations and stay in the promised land if they departed from God at this moment?

Thus in Joshua’s parting speech to the Israelites, this is what he said, “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. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now. The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:6-11).

Be very careful to love the Lord your God. Be very strong and careful to keep and obey God’s law. It would take extra care and vigilance to love and follow God at this moment, because this was the perfect time to drift from a focused reliance on God into pride and arrogance, thinking they know best. This was the perfect time to be lulled into complacency and a dangerous state of monotonous autopilot. This is the danger of having arrived, achieved, and accomplished. Therefore Joshua reminded them to be extra careful, because “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

What about us? Achieving any goal is indeed no easy feat. It takes dedication, focus, and sacrifice. But Joshua’s speech reminds us that we, too, must learn to be careful to love the Lord our God, especially in moments of success. May God guard our hearts so that we will see that regardless of what we have accomplished, it has always been God’s grace that carried us. May we be alert and vigilant, and be very careful to love and follow our Lord, whether in failures or successes.

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