Joshua 24:26

Joshua 24:26 says, And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.  Joshua recorded the words of their covenant in a book of the law of God.  God's word has been preserved for ages by His people, and we today have the completed book of God, the Bible.  He placed the book close to the sanctuary,  Verse twenty-seven states, And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.  Joshua said that the stone that he set up would be a memorial to the people of Israel and their covenant with God.  The cross is our symbol of our covenant with God today.  Joshua said that God had heard all the words that the people of Israel had said to Him that day, when they promised to be faithful to Him, just as He will hear any person who promises to be obedient to Him today.  Just as the stone was their witness, the Holy Spirit is our witness to let us know if we are straying away from God.  Verse twenty-eight declares, So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.  Joshua then let the people go to their own inheritance, or homes.  They had committed themselves to God as a group, but it would be up to each individual to keep that commitment in the world.  We today gather together as churches, local fellowships of believers, where we profess our obedience to God, but then we go to our separate homes, where it is up to us individually to remain true to God.  Verse twenty-nine states, And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.  After this, Joshua died, and once again the people of Israel were without an earthly leader.  Those who lead the church today will die, but God is still in charge.  We have a personal relationship with God through our faith in Christ which is not dependent on any earthly person, so when one leader dies, we can be certain that God will call another until the time of the return of Christ.  Verse thirty adds, And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.  We are told where they buried Joshua.  This does not mean that we need to attempt to find his burial place today though.  Joshua is not there, but he is in heaven with his Savior, Jesus Christ, even though Jesus did not come until centuries later.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.  The people of Israel continued to serve the LORD all the days of Joshua and the elders who out lived him who knew the LORD and His works.  I don't believe that means that every person followed God, but that the people as a whole did.  Likewise, not every person who is a Christian or proclaims themselves to be one will always be totally obedient to God's word and will.  Verse thirty-two adds, And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.  Joseph's bones, which had been brought out of Egypt, were buried in a parcel of ground bought by Jacob.  The people of Israel had been in the promised land before until they went into Egypt.  If we have made a sincere profession of faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we have a home in our promised land, heaven.  We may have to struggle through this world below, but we can be certain that God will bring us safely home, just as He did the Israelites.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.  Eleazar, the high priest, the son of Aaron, died as well and was buried.  The old leaders were passing away, so it would be time for new leaders to arise.  There remained the question of whether they would or not.  As has been stated many times, we as followers of Christ are just a generation away from total lack of believers.