March 30

It’s a shame, but it’s amazing how easily and how quickly we forget important things we’ve learned or observed. After God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt, and provided for them during the entire forty years they wandered in the wilderness, Moses gave them a long discourse that covered the entire book of Deuteronomy, to remind them not to forget God. “But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the Lord do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9,23,31; 6:12; 8:11,14,19; 9:7; 25:19).
In light of that, you really can’t blame the half-tribe of Manasseh, as well as the tribes of Reuben and Gad for building the memorial near the Jordan River. After Joshua released them to return to their families on the eastern side of the Jordan River, they felt it necessary to build an altar. Their purpose was not so they could burn sacrifices and offerings on it, but so their brothers and sisters on the western side of the Jordan would remember the relationship between the tribes on the eastern and the western side of the Jordan River (Joshua 22:24-29). In light of their history, it made perfect sense.
And now as Joshua speaks to the nation of Israel for the last time, he reminds them as Moses had, never to forget the Lord. “The Lord fights for you, just as He promised” (23:10). He, “gave you land you had not worked for, and cities you did not build” (24:13). “He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes” (24:17). Joshua reminded them not to serve the foreign gods of the people they were displacing in Canaan. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But, as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). They followed Joshua’s advice and example by choosing to follow the Lord. In fact, after Joshua died, the Bible tells us, “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him - - those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel” (24:31; see also Judges 2:7). On the one hand, that is a tribute to the faith of Joshua. On the other hand, it is a testimony as to why we need constant reminders of what God has done and is doing for us. For the people soon forgot God’s goodness, soon forgot the covenant they had made with Joshua to serve God, and began to worship the pagan gods of the people still living in Canaan. The book of Judges will detail for us the cycle and history of a people who forget God, and then remember Him when they find themselves in dire straits.