Kozi ya Kina ya Yoshua — Sehemu ya 10: "Chagueni Hivi Leo" (Hitimisho)Joshua Intensive — Unit 10: "Choose This Day" (Capstone)

Yoshua 23 inaanzia pale ambapo kila utii wa muda mrefu hatimaye huishia. "Ikawa baada ya siku nyingi, BWANA alipokuwa amewapa Israeli raha mbele ya adui zao wote waliowazunguka, na Yoshua alikuwa mzee, mkongwe sana" (Yoshua 23:1). Sura hiyo inaendelea mstari mmoja baadaye kuandika sentensi rahisi ambayo imekuwa ikielea juu ya kitabu hiki kwa muda sasa: alikuwa "anakwenda njia ya dunia yote" (23:14). Jemadari aliyetembea usiku kucha kwenda Gibeoni, aliyesimama chini ya jua lisilosogea, aliyewakatilia mbali Waanaki, aliyezigawia kabila kumi na mbili nchi — Yoshua huyo sasa ni mzee anayesema maneno yake ya mwisho kwa watu aliowabeba kwa miaka arobaini na mitano.Joshua 23 begins where every long obedience eventually ends. "And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age" (Joshua 23:1). The chapter goes on a verse later to record the simple sentence that has been hovering over the book for some time now: he was "ready to go the way of all the earth" (23:14). The general who marched all night to Gibeon, who stood under the unmoving sun, who cut down the Anakim, who allotted the land to twelve tribes — that Joshua is now an old man saying his last words to a people he has carried for forty-five years.

Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA.As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Kitabu kizima cha Yoshua kimekuwa kikielekeza hapa. Wayne anaeleza muundo wa kuaga huku katika mistari minne inayofanana na kuaga kwa Musa kwa sehemu tatu katika Kumbukumbu la Torati. Yoshua anaziaga kabila za mashariki katika sura ya 22 (tulipitia tukio hilo katika Sehemu ya 9 pamoja na madhabahu ya ushahidi, Edi). Anawaaga viongozi — wazee, waamuzi, na maakida — katika sura ya 23. Anawaaga watu wote huko Shekemu katika sura ya 24. Kusudi la hotuba zote tatu ni moja: kuwafanya watu waazimie kumtumikia Mungu. Yoshua anatoa changamoto katika 24:15 — "Chagueni hivi leo mtakayemtumikia… lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA."The whole book of Joshua has been pointing here. Wayne lays out the structure of the farewell in four lines that mirror Moses' three-fold farewell in Deuteronomy. Joshua bids farewell to the eastern tribes in chapter 22 (we walked that scene in Unit 9 with the altar of witness, Ed). He bids farewell to the leaders — the elders, judges, and officers — in chapter 23. He bids farewell to all the people at Shechem in chapter 24. The purpose of all three speeches is the same: to get the people to resolve to serve God. Joshua issues the challenge in 24:15 — "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Sehemu hii ni hitimisho la Kozi ya Kina ya Yoshua. Tumetembea kuanzia kuvuka Yordani katika Sehemu ya 1, kupitia Yeriko katika Sehemu ya 4, Akani katika Sehemu ya 5, udanganyifu wa Wagibeoni na Siku Ndefu katika Sehemu ya 6, ushindi wa kaskazini katika Sehemu ya 7, kugawanywa kwa urithi katika Sehemu ya 8, na miji ya makimbilio katika Sehemu ya 9. Sasa maisha ya Yoshua yanafikia mwisho, kitabu kinafikia mwisho, na swali linawekwa mkononi mwa kila msomaji. Utamtumikia nani?This unit serves as the capstone of the Joshua Intensive. We have walked from the Jordan crossing in Unit 1 through Jericho in Unit 4, Achan in Unit 5, the Gibeonite deception and Long Day in Unit 6, the northern conquest in Unit 7, the inheritance allotment in Unit 8, and the cities of refuge in Unit 9. Now Joshua's life closes, the book closes, and a question is placed in the hand of every reader. Whom will you serve?

Kifungu cha I kinakaa na Yoshua 23 na kuwaaga viongozi — onyo analowaachia kuhusu miungu ya kigeni ambayo bado iko katika pembe za nchi. Kifungu cha II kinafungua Yoshua 24 huko Shekemu, ambapo Yoshua anasimulia tena hadithi nzima ya uaminifu wa Mungu kuanzia Ibrahimu hadi siku ile. Kifungu cha III kinasimama kwenye mstari wa 15 wenyewe: "Chagueni hivi leo." Kifungu cha IV kinasikiliza kielelezo kikuu cha Wayne: jemadari mzee wa Prussia, Von Zealand, na mfalme aliyenyamaza hatimaye. Kifungu cha V kinarudi kwenye dhamira saba za imani ambazo Wayne anazitoa katika kitabu kizima cha Yoshua — imani katika ahadi za Mungu, imani inayomiliki, imani inayongoja, imani inayoabudu, imani inayokutana na Mungu uso kwa uso, imani inayozuiliwa na dhambi, imani inayozuiliwa na ukosefu wa maombi — na kuzitumia kama muhtasari wa mafundisho ya kozi. Kifungu cha VI kinafunga kitabu kwa kuzikwa kwa Yoshua na kuzikwa kwa mifupa ya Yusufu huko Shekemu, jambo lililongojewa kwa muda mrefu (Yoshua 24:32). Hitimisho linaomba sala ile ile ambayo Yoshua anaiomba juu ya kusanyiko na juu ya mwamini: lakini mimi na nyumba yangu.Section I sits with Joshua 23 and the farewell to the leaders — the warning he leaves them about the foreign gods still in the corners of the land. Section II opens Joshua 24 at Shechem, where Joshua rehearses the whole story of God's faithfulness from Abraham to the present day. Section III stands at verse 15 itself: "Choose you this day." Section IV listens to Wayne's centerpiece illustration: the old Prussian general Von Zealand and the king who finally fell silent. Section V returns to the seven faith-motifs Wayne pulls out of the entire book of Joshua — faith in God's promises, faith taking possession, faith waiting, faith worshiping, faith meeting God face to face, faith hindered by sin, faith hindered by lack of prayer — and uses them as the doctrinal summary of the course. Section VI closes the book with the burial of Joshua and the long-deferred burial of the bones of Joseph at Shechem (Joshua 24:32). The Closing prays the same prayer Joshua prays over the assembly and over the believer: as for me and my house.

Hotuba ya kwanza rasmi ya Yoshua ya kuaga ni kwa wazee, vichwa vya kabila, waamuzi, na maakida (Yoshua 23:2). Anasema na viongozi kabla ya kusema na kusanyiko kwa sababu uongozi ndio unaoamua kama kusanyiko litasimama imara. Sura hiyo ina mdundo wa mtu anayejua kilicho kweli na anaondoka angali bado anaweza kukisema waziwazi.Joshua's first formal farewell speech is to the elders, the heads of the tribes, the judges, and the officers (Joshua 23:2). He speaks to leadership before he speaks to the assembly because leadership is what determines whether the assembly will hold. The chapter has the rhythm of a man who knows what is true and is leaving while he is still able to say it cleanly.

Anaanza kwa ukweli. "Nanyi mmeyaona mambo yote ambayo BWANA, Mungu wenu, amewatenda mataifa haya yote kwa ajili yenu; kwa maana BWANA, Mungu wenu, yeye ndiye aliyewapigania" (23:3). Kitenzi hicho kinapita katika sura nzima: BWANA amepigana. Kitenzi kile kile kilichofunga vita vya kusini katika Yoshua 10:42 kinafunga hotuba ya kuaga ya kiongozi hapa. Maisha yote ya Yoshua yamekuwa na maelezo mamoja, na maelezo hayo si Yoshua. Ni BWANA aliyepigana.He opens with a fact. "Ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you" (23:3). The verb runs through the whole chapter: the LORD has fought. The same verb that closed the southern campaign in Joshua 10:42 closes the leader's farewell here. Joshua's whole life has had one explanation, and the explanation is not Joshua. It is the LORD who fought.

Kisha anahamia kwenye onyo. Bado kuna mataifa katika pembe za nchi — "mataifa haya yaliyosalia kati yenu" (23:4, 7, 12). Wafilisti pwani. Wageshuri upande wa kusini. Vijiji vya wavuvi vya Wasidoni huko kaskazini ya mbali. Vita vilisafisha kiini cha nchi; pembe bado zinakaliwa. Yoshua anawaonya viongozi kwamba mataifa hayo yaliyosalia si matatizo ya kisiasa tu. Ni matatizo ya kiroho. "Wala msiyataje majina ya miungu yao, wala msiape kwa hiyo, wala msiitumikie, wala msiiinamie" (23:7). Jaribu halitakuwa jeshi la Wakanaani lenye magari ya vita; jaribu litakuwa madhabahu ya Wakanaani yenye moshi unaopanda juu yake. Yoshua aliona kizazi kilichotangulia kikianguka katika jaribu hilo hilo huko Baal-peori katika Hesabu 25, naye ameazimia kwamba kizazi kipya hakitaanguka.Then he moves to a warning. There are still nations in the corners of the land — "the rest of the nations that remain among you" (23:4, 7, 12). The Philistines on the coast. The Geshurites in the south. Sidonian fishing villages in the far north. The campaign cleared the heartland; the corners are still under occupation. Joshua warns the leaders that those remaining nations are not just political problems. They are spiritual ones. "Make no mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them" (23:7). The temptation will not be a Canaanite army with chariots; the temptation will be a Canaanite altar with smoke rising over it. Joshua has watched the previous generation fall to that exact temptation at Baal-peor in Numbers 25, and he is determined that the new generation will not.

Kisha anamalizia kwa ahadi inayokwenda pande zote mbili. Viongozi wakiambatana na BWANA, "mtu mmoja wa kwenu atafukuza watu elfu; kwa kuwa BWANA, Mungu wenu, ndiye anayewapigania" (23:10). Lakini wakioana na mataifa yaliyosalia na kujiunga na miungu yao, "BWANA, Mungu wenu, hatafukuza tena mataifa haya mbele yenu; bali watakuwa mtego na tanzi kwenu, na mjeledi mbavuni mwenu, na miiba machoni mwenu, hata mtakapoangamia mtoke katika nchi hii njema" (23:13). Mungu yule yule aliyetoa nchi anaweza kuirudisha. Agano linakata pande zote mbili.Then he ends with a promise that runs both directions. If the leaders cleave to the LORD, "one man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you" (23:10). But if they intermarry with the remaining nations and join their gods, "the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land" (23:13). The same God who gave the land can take it back. The covenant cuts both ways.

Sura hii ni sura ya kiongozi. Wayne anaeleza kanuni hii: maneno ya mwisho ya kiongozi yanakuambia kile ambacho kiongozi huyo aliamini kwa kweli. Maneno ya mwisho ya Yoshua kwa viongozi si mkakati. Si ushauri wa kijeshi. Si hata kutia moyo kwa maana laini. Ni onyo kwamba vita vinavyofuata ni vya mioyo na madhabahu, na silaha pekee ya vita hivyo ni uaminifu kwa BWANA usiochanganywa. Kitabu cha Waamuzi, kinachoanza kwenye ukurasa unaofuata kabisa, kitasomeka kama somo la kile kinachotokea pale kizazi kinachofuata cha viongozi kisipotii onyo la Yoshua. Pembe za nchi zinakuwa mitego. Miiba inafika jichoni. Kitabu kinajieleza chenyewe kwa kutazama nyuma katika vizazi viwili.The chapter is a leader's chapter. Wayne notes the principle: a leader's last words tell you what the leader actually believed. Joshua's last words to leadership are not strategy. They are not military advice. They are not even encouragement in the soft sense. They are a warning that the next battle is for hearts and altars, and the only weapon for that battle is unmixed loyalty to the LORD. The book of Judges, opening on the very next page, is going to read like a study in what happens when the next generation of leaders does not heed Joshua's warning. The corners of the land become snares. The thorns reach the eye. The book reads itself in retrospect across two generations.

Kuaga kwa mwisho kwa Yoshua kunafanyika huko Shekemu. Mahali hapo pana sauti kubwa kitheolojia. Shekemu ndipo Ibrahimu alipopokea kwa mara ya kwanza ahadi ya nchi katika Mwanzo 12:6–7. Shekemu ndipo Yakobo alipozika miungu yake ya kigeni chini ya mwaloni katika Mwanzo 35:4. Shekemu ndipo mifupa ya Yusufu ilipokuwa ikingoja ardhini — mifupa ambayo Israeli waliibeba kutoka Misri miaka mia nne iliyotangulia kwa nguvu ya kiapo (Mwanzo 50:25). Yoshua anachagua Shekemu kwa makusudi. Anataka kusanyiko lisimame juu ya ardhi ya agano anapowauliza swali la agano.Joshua's final farewell happens at Shechem. The location is theologically loud. Shechem is where Abraham first received the promise of the land in Genesis 12:6–7. Shechem is where Jacob buried his foreign gods under the oak in Genesis 35:4. Shechem is where the bones of Joseph were waiting in the ground — bones Israel had carried out of Egypt four hundred years earlier on the strength of an oath (Genesis 50:25). Joshua picks Shechem on purpose. He wants the assembly standing on covenant soil when he asks them the covenant question.

Na kabla hajauliza swali hilo, anasimulia hadithi. Yoshua 24:2–13 ni mojawapo ya hotuba kuu ndefu katika Agano la Kale — BWANA akinena kupitia Yoshua, akifupisha historia nzima kuanzia Ibrahimu hadi wakati huo katika mistari kumi na miwili hivi. Angalia jinsi Yeye anavyoanza. "Baba zenu walikaa ng'ambo ya Mto zamani za kale, yaani, Tera, baba yake Ibrahimu, na baba yake Nahori; nao walitumikia miungu mingine" (24:2). Sentensi ya kwanza ya BWANA kuhusu mababu ni kwamba walikuwa waabudu sanamu. Ibrahimu hakumchagua BWANA; BWANA alimchagua Ibrahimu kutoka katika nyumba ya mwabudu sanamu. Israeli hawawezi kusimama Shekemu na kutazama nyuma kwenye urithi wa imani safi. Wanatazama nyuma kwenye neema.And before he asks the question, he tells the story. Joshua 24:2–13 is one of the great extended speeches in the Old Testament — the LORD speaking through Joshua, summarizing the entire history from Abraham to the present in a dozen verses. Notice how He begins. "Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods" (24:2). The LORD's first sentence about the patriarchs is that they were idolaters. Abraham did not pick the LORD; the LORD picked Abraham out of an idolater's house. Israel cannot stand at Shechem and look back on a heritage of pure faith. They look back on grace.

Hadithi inaendelea. Nikamtwaa baba yenu Ibrahimu… nikampa Isaka… nikampa Yakobo na Esau… nikawatuma Musa na Haruni… nikawapiga Wamisri… nikawatoa… nimewapa nchi… Mistari ya 2 hadi 13 ni mfululizo wa vitenzi vya nafsi ya kwanza kutoka kwa Mungu. Israeli hawakustahili hata kimoja kati ya hivyo. Wasifu wote wa taifa uko upande wa mapato katika daftari la hesabu la Mungu. Kufikia wakati hotuba inapofika mstari wa 13, msikilizaji amemsikia BWANA akisema Mimi karibu mara ishirini katika simulizi moja.The story goes on. I took your father Abraham… I gave him Isaac… I gave Jacob and Esau… I sent Moses also and Aaron… I plagued Egypt… I brought you out… I have given you a land… Verses 2 through 13 are a string of first-person verbs from God. Israel did not earn one of them. The whole national biography is on the credit side of God's ledger. By the time the speech reaches verse 13, the listener has heard the LORD say I nearly twenty times in a single recital.

Kisha mstari wa 14: "Basi sasa." Maneno mawili ambayo uzito wote wa sura unazungukia juu yake. Historia ya neema inadai jibu, na jibu ambalo Yoshua analitaja ni dhahiri kabisa. "Basi sasa mcheni BWANA, mkamtumikie kwa unyofu na kweli; kaondoleeni mbali hiyo miungu ambayo baba zenu waliitumikia ng'ambo ya Mto, na huko Misri; mkamtumikie BWANA" (24:14). Miungu ile ile aliyoitumikia Tera, miungu ile ile iliyotumikiwa Misri, bado iko katika nyumba fulani ya Waisraeli mahali fulani kambini. Yoshua hataji majina. Anasema tu: iondoleeni mbali. Chochote kilicho katika mfuko wako kutoka Mesopotamia au katika sanduku lako kutoka Misri, kiondoe. Mtumikie BWANA.And then verse 14: "Now therefore." Two words on which the entire weight of the chapter pivots. The history of grace requires a response, and the response Joshua names is exact. "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD" (24:14). The same gods Terah served, the same gods Egypt served, are still in some Israelite household somewhere in the camp. Joshua does not name names. He simply says: put them away. Whatever is in your bag from Mesopotamia or in your trunk from Egypt, put it away. Serve the LORD.

Hotuba hii ni kielelezo kwa kila mwamini anayejitathmini mwishoni mwa kipindi chochote cha utii. Simulia tena hadithi ambayo Mungu ameiandika kwa kweli. Tambua kwamba kila sura iliyo upande wa mapato ni yake. Kisha, kwa msingi huo, iondoe miungu ambayo umekuwa ukiibeba pamoja naye. Unyofu peke yake hautoshi; unyofu lazima uje pamoja na rafu iliyosafishwa.The speech is a model for any believer's reckoning at the end of any season of obedience. Rehearse the story God has actually written. Recognize that every chapter on the credit side belongs to Him. Then, on that basis, put away the gods you have been carrying alongside Him. Sincerity is not enough; sincerity has to come with a clean shelf.

Kisha unakuja mstari ambao kitabu kizima kimekuwa kikielekea. "Kama mkiona ni vibaya kumtumikia BWANA, chagueni hivi leo mtakayemtumikia; kwamba ni miungu ile ambayo baba zenu waliitumikia ng'ambo ya Mto, au kwamba ni miungu ya Waamori ambao mnakaa katika nchi yao; lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA" (Yoshua 24:15).Then comes the verse the whole book has been moving toward. "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).

Wayne anatoa mambo kadhaa katika mstari huu yanayostahili kusomwa kwa makini.Wayne pulls out several details about this verse that deserve close reading.

1. Uchaguzi Ni wa Kila Siku1. The Choice Is Daily

Kiebrania kilicho nyuma ya maneno "hivi leo" kina msisitizo. Yoshua hawapi Israeli wiki kadhaa za kufikiri. Haitishi baraza la kitaifa. Haundi tume ya uchunguzi. Anasema, hivi leo — leo hii. Uchaguzi ni wa wakati uliopo. Uchaguzi wa kesho hautakuokoa na kuteleza kwa asubuhi ya leo. Imani inayoendesha vita virefu si uamuzi mmoja wa zamani uliohifadhiwa ghalani; ni uamuzi wa kila siku unaofanywa upya asubuhi ya kila vita vipya. Wayne anaeleza kwamba katika uzoefu wake mwenyewe wa kichungaji hii ndiyo tofauti kati ya waamini wanaoendelea kukua na waamini wanaosimama njiani. Mwamini anayekua anauchukua Yoshua 24:15 kama mstari wa Jumanne, si mstari wa ushuhuda wa kuokoka tu.The Hebrew underneath "this day" is emphatic. Joshua does not give Israel weeks to consider. He does not call for a national synod. He does not appoint a study commission. He says, this day — today. The choice belongs to the present. Tomorrow's choice will not save you from this morning's drift. The faith that runs the long campaign is not a single ancient decision held in storage; it is a daily decision made fresh on the morning of each new battle. Wayne notes that in his own pastoral experience this is the difference between believers who continue to grow and believers who plateau. The growing believer treats Joshua 24:15 as a verse for Tuesday, not just a verse for the conversion testimony.

2. Uchaguzi Ni wa Kweli2. The Choice Is Honest

Yoshua anazitaja njia mbadala zilizo hai bila kuzilainisha. Miungu ya Mesopotamia. Miungu ya Misri. Miungu ya Waamori. Yoshua hajifanyi kwamba njia hizo mbadala zimestaafu. Anasema, waziwazi, kwamba kuna machaguo halisi mezani na kwamba Israeli wanaweza kuchagua lolote kati yake wakitaka. Hii ni mojawapo ya alama za mahubiri ya kweli. Mhubiri anayezipunguza njia mbadala anawabembeleza wasikilizaji; mhubiri anayezitaja kwa uaminifu analazimisha uamuzi halisi. Yoshua anachukua njia iliyo ngumu zaidi. Anawapa Israeli orodha nzima.Joshua names the live alternatives without softening them. The gods of Mesopotamia. The gods of Egypt. The gods of the Amorites. Joshua does not pretend the alternatives have been retired. He says, plainly, that there are real options on the table and that Israel can pick any of them if it chooses. This is one of the marks of honest preaching. The preacher who minimizes the alternatives flatters the audience; the preacher who names them honestly forces a real decision. Joshua takes the harder road. He hands Israel the menu in full.

3. Uchaguzi Ni wa Kielelezo3. The Choice Is Exemplary

Nusu ya mstari inayonukuliwa zaidi inakuja mwisho. "Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA." Yoshua halidai kusanyiko kuchagua kile ambacho yeye mwenyewe hajakichagua tayari. Hasimami katika uwanja wa kutokuwamo na kuwaomba watu watangaze msimamo. Anasimama juu ya msimamo wake na kuwaomba watu waungane naye. Viongozi wanaowaomba watu wao kuchagua kile ambacho wao wenyewe hawajakichagua ni walaghai. Yoshua ni kinyume chake. Amechagua, na nyumba yake pamoja naye, na kutoka ndani ya uchaguzi wake uliokwisha kufanywa analiita kusanyiko kufanya uchaguzi ule ule.The most quoted half of the verse comes last. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua does not require the assembly to choose what he himself has not already chosen. He does not stand on neutral ground and ask the people to declare a position. He stands on his position and asks the people to join him. Leaders who ask their people to choose what they themselves have not chosen are charlatans. Joshua is the opposite. He has chosen, and his house with him, and from inside his already-made choice he calls the assembly to make the same choice.

4. Uchaguzi Ni wa Familia Nzima4. The Choice Is Family-Wide

Na ni "mimi na nyumba yangu." Kitengo cha uchaguzi si dhamiri ya mtu binafsi peke yake; ni nyumba nzima. Yoshua hasemi kwamba yeye amechagua na watoto wake wanaweza kuchagua wenyewe watakapokua. Anasema kwamba yeye na nyumba yake, kama kitengo kimoja cha agano, watamtumikia BWANA. Sentensi hiyo imewaleta watoto wengi zaidi kanisani Jumapili asubuhi kuliko mpango wowote katika historia ya kanisa. Wayne anasisitiza kanuni hii kwa wazazi na mababu wanaosoma somo hili: nyumba yako ni sehemu ya uchaguzi wako. Huenda usiweze kuwachagulia kile watakachoamua wenyewe hatimaye, lakini hakika unaweza kuchagua kile ambacho nyumba yako inasimamia ingali ni nyumba yako. Yoshua alifanya hivyo. Nyumba yake ilijua. Kusanyiko lilisikia.And it is "me and my house." The unit of choice is not the individual conscience alone; it is the household. Joshua does not say that he has chosen and his children may pick on their own when they grow up. He says that he and his house, as a single covenanting unit, will serve the LORD. That sentence has put more children in church on Sunday morning than any program in church history. Wayne emphasizes the principle for parents and grandparents reading this lesson: your house is part of your choice. You may not be able to choose for them what they will eventually decide for themselves, but you can absolutely choose what your house stands for while it is your house. Joshua did. His house knew it. The assembly heard it.

5. Uchaguzi Unaweza Kukataliwa5. The Choice Is Rejectable

Na mwisho, mstari wa Yoshua una maneno yanayotikisa "kama mkiona ni vibaya kumtumikia BWANA." Anakiri uwezekano wa kukataliwa. Hajifanyi kwamba dai la BWANA ni jema waziwazi kiasi kwamba hakuna awezaye kulikataa. Analipa kusanyiko heshima ya kukataa. Huo ni mtazamo wa juu ajabu wa uwajibikaji wa mwanadamu. BWANA hataki wapenzi wa kulazimishwa. Anataka wale wanaomchagua. Uchaguzi lazima uwe halisi la sivyo si uchaguzi. Yoshua anauweka hivyo na kuliacha kusanyiko lijibu.And finally, Joshua's verse contains the unsettling phrase "if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD." He acknowledges the possibility of rejection. He does not pretend the LORD's claim is so obviously good that no one could refuse it. He grants the assembly the dignity of refusal. That is a remarkably high view of human responsibility. The LORD does not want forced lovers. He wants chosen ones. The choice has to be real or it is not a choice. Joshua frames it that way and lets the assembly answer.

Mistari ya 16 hadi 18 inaandika jibu lao. "Hasha! Sisi tusimwache BWANA… sisi nasi tutamtumikia BWANA; kwa kuwa yeye ndiye Mungu wetu." Kusanyiko linajibu. Yoshua anawabana tena, kwa nguvu zaidi, katika 24:19–20, akiwaonya kwamba BWANA ni Mungu mtakatifu na Mungu mwenye wivu ambaye hatawasamehe makosa yao wakimwacha. Wanathibitisha tena. Anasimamisha jiwe chini ya mwaloni huko Shekemu kuwa shahidi, na sura inaishia kwa watu kuruhusiwa kwenda kila mtu kwenye urithi wake.Verses 16 through 18 record their answer. "God forbid that we should forsake the LORD… we also will serve the LORD; for he is our God." The assembly responds. Joshua presses them again, even harder, in 24:19–20, warning that the LORD is a holy God and a jealous God who will not forgive their transgressions if they turn from Him. They reaffirm. He sets up a stone under the oak at Shechem as a witness, and the chapter ends with the people sent away to their inheritance.

Kielelezo kikuu cha Wayne kwa Yoshua 24:15 kinafika hadi Prussia ya karne ya kumi na nane. Jemadari mkuu kuliko wote wa Frederick Mkuu alikuwa mtu aitwaye Von Zealand. Von Zealand alikuwa Mkristo. Mfalme alikuwa mdhihaki. Siku moja mfalme alikuwa akifanya mizaha michafu kuhusu Mwokozi, na mahali pote palikuwa pakivuma kwa vicheko vikubwa vya watumishi wa ikulu na wajipendekezaji waliomzunguka. Ilikuwa zaidi ya kiasi kwa mzee Von Zealand — jemadari aliyeshinda vita vingi zaidi na vikubwa zaidi kwa ajili ya Prussia, aliyekaribia kuiweka taji kichwani mwa mfalme. Jemadari huyo mzee, kwa ukakamavu wake wa kijeshi wa Kijerumani, alisimama, na katikati ya ukimya wa wajipendekezaji, akitikisa kichwa chake cha mvi kwa uzito, akasema:Wayne's centerpiece illustration for Joshua 24:15 reaches into eighteenth-century Prussia. Frederick the Great's greatest general was a man named Von Zealand. Von Zealand was a Christian. The king was a scoffer. One day the king was making coarse jokes about the Saviour, and the whole place was ringing with the guffaws of laughter from the courtiers and parasites who surrounded him. It was too much for old Von Zealand — the general who had won the most numerous and the greatest battles for Prussia, who had almost put the crown on the king's brow. The old general, with his German militariness, stood up, and amid the hush of the flatterers, shaking his gray old head solemnly, he said:

"Mfalme, unajua sijaogopa kifo; unajua nimekupigania katika vita thelathini na nane, na vita thelathini na nane nimeshinda; lakini, mfalme, nywele zangu zina mvi, mimi ni mzee, na hivi karibuni nitapaswa kwenda mbele za aliye mkuu kuliko wewe — Mungu mwenye nguvu, aliyeniokoa na dhambi yangu, Bwana Yesu Kristo, unayemkufuru. Mfalme, siwezi kuvumilia kusikia Mwokozi wangu akisemwa jinsi ulivyomsema. Nakusalimu, mfalme, kama mzee anayempenda Mwokozi, ukingoni mwa umilele.""Sire, you know I have not feared death; you know I have fought for you in thirty-eight battles, and thirty-eight battles I have won; but, sire, my hairs are gray, I am an old man, and I shall soon have to go into the presence of a greater than thee — the mighty God, who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom you are blaspheming against. Sire, I cannot stand to hear my Saviour spoken of as thou hast spoken of him. I salute thee, sire, as an old man, who loves the Saviour, on the edge of eternity."

Naye akaketi. Frederick Mkuu, kwa sauti ya kutetemeka, akasema, "Jemadari Von Zealand, naomba unisamehe. Naomba unisamehe." Watu wakatawanyika kimya. Usiku ule mfalme alitafakari, kama ambavyo hakuwahi kufanya kabla, juu ya Yule aliye mkuu kuliko Frederick mkuu wa Prussia, ambaye jemadari wake alimheshimu kuliko hata mfalme wake anayeonekana (J. Robertson).And he sat down. Frederick the Great, with a trembling voice, said, "General Von Zealand, I beg your pardon. I beg your pardon." The company dispersed in silence. The king reflected that night, as he never had done before, on the One greater than the great Frederick of Prussia, whom his general reverenced even above his visible sovereign (J. Robertson).

Huo ndio Yoshua 24:15 katika sare ya karne ya kumi na nane. Von Zealand alimchagua Mfalme wake mwanzoni mwa maisha yake ya Kikristo, lakini alikuwa bado akimchagua Mfalme wake ukingoni mwa umilele, mbele ya mfalme wa duniani aliyemtumikia vitani mara thelathini na nane. Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA. Matumizi ambayo Wayne hupenda kuyasisitiza hapa ni wazi: "Simama kwa ajili ya Kristo. Kuwa mwungwana katika hilo. Hupati kitu kamwe kwa kujificha. Simama kwa ajili ya Yesu. Shuhudia kama mtu huyu alivyofanya, na nguvu ya Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai, Mwokozi wako, itakuwa juu yako nyumbani mwako, moyoni mwako, sokoni, nafsini mwako, na milele yote."That is Joshua 24:15 in eighteenth-century uniform. Von Zealand chose his sovereign at the beginning of his Christian life, but he was still choosing his sovereign at the edge of eternity, in front of an earthly king he had served thirty-eight times in battle. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. The application Wayne is fond of pressing here is plain: "Stand up for Christ. Be noble in it. You never gain anything by sneaking. Stand up for Jesus. Testify as this man did, and the power of the living Son of God your Saviour will be upon you in your home, in your heart, in the market, in your soul, and in all eternity."

Tukio la Von Zealand pia ni tukio la uongozi. Yeye ndiye aliyekuwa askari mwenye heshima nyingi kuliko wote chumbani. Alikuwa na kila kitu cha kupoteza. Alikuwa amemtumikia mfalme muda mrefu kuliko yeyote aliyekuwepo. Na mbele yao wote alisimama na kusema, waziwazi, kwamba kulikuwa na Mfalme aliye mkuu zaidi ambaye hivi karibuni angesimama chini ya msamaha wake, na kwamba dhihaka ya mfalme dhidi ya Mfalme huyo ilikuwa jambo ambalo hangeweza kwa dhamiri kulisikia na kunyamaza. Mfalme hakumwadhibu. Mfalme aliomba msamaha wake. Wayne anaeleza kwamba hili ndilo hutokea mara nyingi mwamini anapochagua uaminifu katika wakati unaogharimu kitu. Chumba kinatarajia kulipiza kisasi. Kinachokuja badala yake ni, wakati mwingine, kuomba msamaha — na karibu kila mara, ukimya wa dhamiri unaodumu kwa miaka.The Von Zealand moment is also a leadership moment. He was the most decorated soldier in the room. He had everything to lose. He had served the king longer than anyone present. And in front of all of them he stood up and said, plainly, that there was a greater Sovereign whose pardon he would soon stand under, and that the king's mockery of that Sovereign was something he could not in conscience hear and stay silent. The king did not punish him. The king begged his pardon. Wayne notes that this is what often happens when a believer chooses honesty in a moment that costs something. The room expects retaliation. What comes instead is, sometimes, an apology — and almost always, a hush of conscience that lasts for years.

Yoshua huko Shekemu na Von Zealand katika ukumbi wa Frederick wanafanya jambo lile lile katika karne thelathini na tatu zilizowatenganisha. Kila mmoja wao anasimama. Kila mmoja wao anazitaja njia mbadala kwa uaminifu. Kila mmoja wao anashika msimamo na kulialika kusanyiko liushike pamoja naye. Kila mmoja wao ni mzee anayekaribia mwisho wa utumishi wake kwa mfalme anayeonekana, tayari kwenda mbele za aliye mkuu zaidi. Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu.Joshua at Shechem and Von Zealand in Frederick's hall are doing the same thing across thirty-three centuries. Each of them stands up. Each of them names the alternatives honestly. Each of them takes a position and invites the assembly to take it with him. Each of them is an old man near the end of his service to a visible sovereign, ready to go into the presence of a greater. As for me and my house.

Wayne anatoa mtindo wa mwisho wa mafundisho kutoka katika kitabu kizima cha Yoshua — dhamira saba za imani zinazopita katika sehemu kumi tulizotembea pamoja. Inafaa kuzikusanya katika hitimisho kwa sababu zinaunda muhtasari wa mafundisho ya kozi.Wayne pulls a final teaching pattern out of the entire book of Joshua — seven faith-motifs that thread the ten units we have walked together. They are worth gathering at the capstone because they form a doctrinal summary of the course.

1. Imani Inaamini Kwamba Mungu Hutimiza Ahadi Zake1. Faith Believes God Keeps His Promises

Wayne anataja kitabu cha ibada maarufu cha Herbert Lockyer, All the Promises of the Bible (Ahadi Zote za Biblia), na anaeleza kwamba kitabu cha Yoshua ni uthibitisho halisi kwamba ahadi ambazo Lockyer anaziorodhesha zilitimizwa kwa kweli. Mungu alikuwa amewaahidi mababu nchi. Ahadi hiyo ilionekana haiwezekani kwa karne nyingi. Israeli walikwenda Misri na wakawa utumwani kwa miaka mia nne. Lakini hatimaye Mungu aliwapa nchi waliyokuwa wameahidiwa. Yoshua 21:45 ndiyo stakabadhi: "Halikukosa hata neno moja katika mambo mema yote BWANA aliyoyanena." Imani inaanzia hapa, kwa uhakika kwamba Mungu aliyesema atatenda.Wayne mentions Herbert Lockyer's classic devotional All the Promises of the Bible, and notes that the book of Joshua is the on-the-ground proof that the promises Lockyer catalogues actually paid out. God had promised the patriarchs a land. The promise looked impossible for centuries. Israel went to Egypt and was in slavery for four hundred years. But finally God gave them the land that had been promised. Joshua 21:45 is the receipt: "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken." Faith starts here, with the conviction that the God who said it will do it.

2. Imani Inadai Kumiliki2. Faith Requires Taking Possession

Mungu anakabidhi hati; mwamini anaitembea nchi. Hata katika Yoshua ilibidi awepo mtu wa kwanza kuingia majini. Ilibidi wawepo watu kumi na wawili wa kuuzunguka Yeriko wakilibeba sanduku, hata walipokuwa hawaoni matokeo yoyote. Wayne anarejea kabila mbili na nusu zilizoamua kubaki upande usiofaa wa Yordani. Walikuwa wachungaji na walipenda nyanda zenye majani. Lakini kwa sababu hiyo walikosa baraka nyingi za Mungu, na walikuwa wa kwanza kushindwa baadaye uvamizi ulipokuja.God hands the deed; the believer walks the land. Even in Joshua there had to be a first man to step into the water. There had to be twelve men to circle Jericho carrying the ark, even when they could see no results. Wayne points back to the two and a half tribes who decided to stay on the wrong side of the Jordan. They were shepherds and liked the grassy plains. But as a result they missed many of God's blessings, and were the first to be defeated later when invasions came.

Jemadari Booth, mwanzilishi wa Jeshi la Wokovu, alikuwa akisimulia hadithi ya mtu aliyekuwa akifa kwa njaa aliyepokea hundi kutoka kwa rafiki yake ikiahidi kumlipa kiasi fulani cha fedha. Aliishika juu na kucheza kuzunguka chumba kwa furaha yake. Mkewe akamtazama na kusema, "Maskini mtu huyu, niliogopa jambo hili lingemzidi. Ameteseka hadi akili zake zimevurugika." Mume akajibu, "Mke wangu, nitaiweka kwenye fremu na kuitundika ukutani. Nitaitungia muziki na tutaiimba kila siku." Booth alieleza kwamba angeweza kuiweka kwenye fremu, na angeweza kuitungia muziki na kuiimba kila siku ya maisha yake, saa baada ya saa hadi kufa kwake, na isingemfaa kitu kama hangeichukua hundi hiyo na kudai malipo. "Ndivyo tunavyozitendea ahadi za Mungu. Hazina thamani tusipozileta mbele zake na kuziamini" (J. Wilbur Chapman, Present Day Parables). Yoshua 1:3 ni hundi ambayo BWANA aliiandika: "Kila mahali vitakapopakanyaga nyayo za miguu yenu nimewapa ninyi." Israeli waliidai malipo ya hundi hiyo kwa miaka saba katika vita viwili. Mwamini anaidai kila siku.General Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, used to tell the story of a starving man who received a check from a friend promising to pay him a certain amount of money. He held it up and danced around the room in his glee. His wife looked at him and said, "Poor man, I was afraid this would be too much for him. He has suffered until he is unsettled mentally." The husband replied, "Wife, I am going to have it framed and hang it up. I will have it set to music and we will sing it every day." Booth observed that he could have it framed, and could have it set to music and sing it every day of his life, hour after hour until he died, and it would not do him any good if he did not take the check and demand payment. "It is thus we treat God's promises. They are valueless without we present them to Him and believe them" (J. Wilbur Chapman, Present Day Parables). Joshua 1:3 is a check the LORD wrote: "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you." Israel cashed it for seven years across two campaigns. The believer cashes it daily.

3. Imani Inamaanisha Kumngoja Mungu3. Faith Means Waiting on God

Wana wa Israeli walipofika Mto Yordani walilazimika kungoja siku tatu. Maakida walipita katikati ya kambi siku ya tatu na kutoa amri. Kungoja huko hakukupotea bure; kulikuwa maandalizi. Yesu aliwaambia wanafunzi wakati wa Kupaa kwake wangoje nguvu kutoka juu. Pentekoste haikuja siku ambayo wanafunzi waliitamani; ilikuja siku ambayo Mungu aliiweka. Imani inangoja kwa uhakika, si kwa wasiwasi.When the people of Israel got to the Jordan River they had to wait three days. The officers passed through the camp on the third day and gave the order. The waiting was not wasted; it was preparation. Jesus told the disciples at the Ascension to wait for the power on high. Pentecost did not come on the day the disciples wished it would; it came on the day God appointed. Faith waits with confidence, not with anxiety.

4. Imani Inamaanisha Kumwabudu Mungu4. Faith Means Worshiping God

Kabla ya kuuendea Yeriko, wanaume wote walitahiriwa huko Gilgali. Wakati wa kupona huko walikuwa hatarini kushambuliwa. Mawe kumi na mawili ya ukumbusho yalisimamishwa pia huko Gilgali — alama za kuvuka mto. Ibada inakuja kabla ya vita katika kitabu cha Yoshua. Mwamini anayejaribu vita bila ibada ataishiwa nguvu kabla vita havijaisha.Before moving against Jericho, all the men were circumcised at Gilgal. During that recovery they were vulnerable to attack. Twelve stones of memory were set up at Gilgal as well — markers of the river crossing. Worship comes before warfare in the book of Joshua. The believer who tries the warfare without the worship will run out of strength before the battle is over.

5. Imani Inamaanisha Kukutana na Mungu Uso kwa Uso5. Faith Means Meeting God Face to Face

Yoshua alipokuwa karibu na Yeriko aliona mtu mbele yake mwenye upanga uliofutwa. Akaita, "Je! Wewe u upande wetu, au upande wa adui zetu?" Yule akasema, "Sivyo; lakini nimekuja sasa, nili amiri wa jeshi la BWANA." Yoshua akaanguka kifudifudi na kuuliza, "Bwana wangu ana neno gani kumwambia mtumishi wake?" Amiri huyo akasema, "Vua viatu vyako miguuni mwako; kwa maana mahali hapo unaposimama ni patakatifu" (Yoshua 5:13–15). Kabla kazi yoyote kubwa haijafanywa kwa ajili ya Mungu, mtendakazi lazima kwanza akutane na Mungu uso kwa uso. Viatu vya Yoshua vinavuliwa. Vita vinaanzia juu ya ardhi takatifu.When Joshua was walking around Jericho he saw a man in front of him with a sword drawn. He called out, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" The figure said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Joshua fell on his face and asked, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" The Commander said, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy" (Joshua 5:13–15). Before any great work can be done for God, the worker must first meet God face to face. Joshua's sandals come off. The campaign begins on holy ground.

6. Imani Inazuiliwa na Dhambi (Akani)6. Faith Is Hindered by Sin (Achan)

Hadithi ya Akani katika Yoshua 7 ni picha-hasi ya hadithi ya Yeriko katika Yoshua 6. Jeshi lile lile. Jemadari yule yule. Mungu yule yule. Wiki tofauti. Tofauti ni kwamba dhambi iliyofichwa ya mtu mmoja ilikuwa imevunja kifuniko cha agano. Imani inashindwa si kwa sababu ahadi za Mungu zinashindwa bali kwa sababu dhambi iliyofichwa kambini inavunja mfereji ambao ahadi hupitia. Dawa ni ile tuliyopitia katika Sehemu ya 5: piga kengele. Fungua mkono. Bonde la Akori linakuwa mlango wa tumaini pale tu joho na fedha na kipande cha dhahabu vinapotolewa kutoka chini ya sakafu ya hema.The Achan story in Joshua 7 is the photo-negative of the Jericho story in Joshua 6. Same army. Same general. Same God. Different week. The difference is that one man's hidden sin had broken the covenant covering. Faith fails not because God's promises fail but because hidden sin in the camp breaks the channel through which the promises run. The remedy is the one we walked in Unit 5: ring the bell. Open the hand. The Valley of Achor becomes a door of hope only when the cloak and silver and wedge of gold come out from under the floor of the tent.

7. Imani Inazuiliwa na Ukosefu wa Maombi (Gibeoni)7. Faith Is Hindered by Lack of Prayer (Gibeon)

Na dhamira ya saba ni sura ya Wagibeoni. Yoshua alikuwa na njia aliyopewa na Mungu ya kumwuliza BWANA — Urimu na Thumimu katika kifuko cha kifuani cha kuhani mkuu — naye hakuitumia. Uongo ulikuwa wa udanganyifu, lakini kushindwa kulikuwa kwa Yoshua. Imani isiyouliza ni imani inayokwenda kipofu. Dawa ya tukio lijalo la mkate wenye ukungu ni ile ambayo Yakobo aliieleza wazi: "Mtu wa kwenu akipungukiwa na hekima, na aombe dua kwa Mungu" (Yakobo 1:5). Omba kwanza.And the seventh motif is the Gibeonite chapter. Joshua had a divinely-given mechanism for asking the LORD — the Urim and Thummim in the high priest's breastpiece — and he did not use it. The lie was deceptive, but the failure was Joshua's. Faith that does not ask is faith running blind. The cure for the next moldy-bread incident is the one James spelled out: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5). Pray first.

Ziweke dhamira hizo saba pamoja nawe utapata kiunzi cha mafundisho cha Kozi nzima ya Kina ya Yoshua. Ahadi zilizoaminiwa. Milki iliyochukuliwa. Kungoja kwa subira. Ibada iliyotolewa. Amiri aliyekutana naye. Dhambi iliyoondolewa. Maombi yaliyofanywa. Mwamini anayeishi kwa zote saba anatembea vita vile vile alivyotembea Yoshua, na anafika kwenye sura ile ile aliyofikia Yoshua: ninakwenda njia ya dunia yote, lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA.Take those seven motifs together and you have the doctrinal trellis of the entire Joshua Intensive. Promises trusted. Possession taken. Patient waiting. Worship offered. The Captain met. Sin removed. Prayer made. The believer who lives by all seven walks the same campaign Joshua walked, and gets to the same chapter where Joshua got to: I am ready to go the way of all the earth, and as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Kitabu cha Yoshua hakiishii kwa hotuba ya kuchagua. Kinaishia kwa mazishi matatu. Yoshua anakufa akiwa na umri wa miaka mia na kumi na anazikwa katika urithi wake mwenyewe huko Timnath-sera katika nchi ya milima ya Efraimu (24:29–30). Eleazari kuhani, mwana wa Haruni, anakufa na kuzikwa huko Gibea, mji aliopewa mwanawe Finehasi katika Efraimu (24:33). Na katikati ya makaburi hayo mawili kuna mojawapo ya sentensi nzuri sana kitheolojia katika Agano la Kale lote:The book of Joshua does not end with the choosing speech. It ends with three burials. Joshua dies at one hundred and ten years old and is buried in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim (24:29–30). Eleazar the priest, son of Aaron, dies and is buried in Gibeah, the city given to his son Phinehas in Ephraim (24:33). And in between those two graves is one of the most theologically beautiful sentences in the entire Old Testament:

"Na ile mifupa ya Yusufu, ambayo wana wa Israeli walikuwa wameileta kutoka Misri, wakaizika huko Shekemu, katika ile sehemu ya nchi ambayo Yakobo aliinunua kwa wana wa Hamori babaye Shekemu kwa vipande mia vya fedha; nayo ikawa urithi wa wana wa Yusufu." (Yoshua 24:32)"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." (Joshua 24:32)

Soma kile kilichotokea hivi punde. Yusufu alikufa Misri katika Mwanzo 50, na kitandani mwake alipokuwa akifa aliwaapisha ndugu zake kwamba Mungu atakapowatoa Israeli Misri, wangeichukua mifupa yake pamoja nao hadi Nchi ya Ahadi (Mwanzo 50:25). Israeli waliibeba mifupa hiyo kwa miaka mia nne. Waliibeba katika miaka arobaini ya kutangatanga jangwani. Waliibeba kuvuka Mto Yordani. Waliibeba kupitia Yeriko na Ai na Siku Ndefu huko Gibeoni na kukatiliwa mbali kwa Waanaki. Waliibeba katika miaka saba ya ushindi na katika miaka saba ya kugawanya nchi. Na sasa, hatimaye, mwishoni mwa kitabu cha Yoshua, mifupa hiyo inalazwa ardhini huko Shekemu — mahali pale pale ambapo Yakobo, baba yake Yusufu, alipanunua kwa wana wa Hamori kwa vipande mia vya fedha miaka mia nne iliyotangulia.Read what just happened. Joseph died in Egypt in Genesis 50, and on his deathbed he made his brothers swear that when God brought Israel out of Egypt, they would carry his bones up with them to the Promised Land (Genesis 50:25). Israel carried those bones for four hundred years. They carried them through forty years of wilderness wandering. They carried them across the Jordan River. They carried them through Jericho and Ai and the Long Day at Gibeon and the cutting down of the Anakim. They carried them through the seven years of conquest and through the seven years of allotment. And now, finally, at the end of the book of Joshua, those bones are laid in the ground at Shechem — the very place Jacob, Joseph's father, had bought from the sons of Hamor for a hundred pieces of silver four hundred years earlier.

Wayne anauita mstari wa 32 mahali ambapo mvuto wa ajabu wa Yoshua unaonekana zaidi. Mifupa haikujizika yenyewe. Kubebwa huko hakukutokea kwa bahati. Tangu siku Israeli walipotoka Misri hadi siku Yoshua alipokufa, daima kulikuwa na mtu aliyejua jeneza la Yusufu lilipo, na daima kulikuwa na mtu aliyehakikisha linaendelea kusonga kuelekea kaskazini. Yoshua, katika siku zake za mwisho akiwa kiongozi, alihakikisha kwamba ahadi ya miaka mia nne kwa babu aliyekuwa akifa inapata sura yake ya kufunga hatimaye. Aliizika mifupa ya Yusufu katika nchi ya baba yake Yusufu, katika urithi wa kabila la Yusufu mwenyewe, mahali pale pale ambapo BWANA alikuwa amemwahidi Ibrahimu nchi kwa mara ya kwanza karne sita zilizotangulia. Kitabu kinafunga kiapo kirefu kuliko vyote katika Agano la Kale.Wayne calls verse 32 the place where the wonderful influence of Joshua becomes most visible. The bones did not bury themselves. The carrying did not happen by accident. From the day Israel left Egypt to the day Joshua died, someone always knew where Joseph's coffin was, and someone always made sure it kept moving north. Joshua, in his last days as leader, made sure the four-hundred-year-old promise to a dying patriarch finally received its closing chapter. He buried Joseph's bones in Joseph's father's land, in Joseph's own tribal inheritance, on the very spot where the LORD had first promised the land to Abraham six centuries earlier. The book closes the longest oath in the Old Testament.

Funzo kwa mwamini ni la upole lakini thabiti. Mungu hutimiza viapo kwa karne nyingi. Huenda familia ya mwamini isione katika maisha haya urithi wote ambao Mungu ameuahidi. Mjukuu anaweza kuibeba mifupa hatua moja zaidi ya safari. Lakini Mungu anakumbuka. Alilikumbuka jeneza la Yusufu kwa miaka mia nne. Atakumbuka kiapo chochote ambacho watu wake wameingia naye kwa idadi yoyote ya vizazi. "Halikukosa hata neno moja katika mambo mema yote BWANA aliyoyanena."The takeaway for the believer is gentle but firm. God keeps oaths across centuries. The believer's family may not see in this lifetime the full inheritance God has promised. The grandchild may carry the bones one more leg of the journey. But God remembers. He remembered Joseph's coffin for four hundred years. He will remember any oath His people have entered with Him for any number of generations. "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken."

Na hivyo kitabu kinaishia. Yoshua anakufa. Eleazari anakufa. Mifupa ya Yusufu inafika nyumbani. Nchi inastarehe. Ukurasa unaofuata ni kitabu cha Waamuzi, nacho kitakuwa kitabu chenye giza zaidi, kwa sababu kizazi kinachofuata hakitatii kikamilifu onyo la Yoshua. Lakini kitabu hiki kinafunga kwa noti safi: maisha yaliyomfuata BWANA kwa ukamilifu, watu waliomchagua huko Shekemu, jeneza lililofika kaburini mwake hatimaye, na maneno kwa herufi kubwa katika mkondo mzima wa Agano la Kale: Mungu hulitimiza neno lake.And so the book ends. Joshua dies. Eleazar dies. Joseph's bones come home. The land rests. The next page is the book of Judges, and it will be a darker book, because the next generation will not entirely heed Joshua's warning. But this book closes on a clean note: a life that wholly followed the LORD, a people who chose Him at Shechem, a coffin that finally reached its grave, and a phrase in capital letters across the whole arc of the Old Testament: God keeps His word.

Kozi ya Kina ya Yoshua inaishia pale ambapo kila usomaji wa mwamini wa Biblia hatimaye lazima uishie — kwa swali. Yoshua analiweka huko Shekemu chini ya mwaloni. Roho Mtakatifu analiweka sasa mkononi mwa msomaji anayefunga sehemu hii ya mwisho. Chagueni hivi leo mtakayemtumikia.The Joshua Intensive ends where every believer's reading of the Bible eventually has to end — with a question. Joshua puts it at Shechem under the oak tree. The Holy Spirit puts it now in the hand of the reader closing this last unit. Choose you this day whom ye will serve.

Dhamira saba za imani zinaonyesha umbo la kila siku la kuchagua. Amini ahadi. Miliki urithi. Ngoja pale kungoja kunapohitajika. Abudu kabla ya vita. Kutana na Amiri uso kwa uso. Shughulikia dhambi iliyofichwa. Omba kwanza. Yoshua alitembea katika zote saba na akamaliza maisha yake kwa sentensi moja juu yake: alimfuata BWANA, Mungu wa Israeli, kwa ukamilifu. Kalebu alitembea katika zote saba na akapata Hebroni akiwa na miaka themanini na mitano. Von Zealand alitembea katika zote saba na akasimamisha dhihaka ya mfalme katikati ya kicheko. Mtoto yatima wa mitaani wa London na muuaji wa Kigibeoni bila kukusudia walipita katika lango lile lile — kwa jina lake — na wakakaribishwa.The seven faith motifs lay out the daily shape of the choosing. Believe the promise. Take the possession. Wait when waiting is required. Worship before warfare. Meet the Captain face to face. Deal with hidden sin. Pray first. Joshua walked all seven and finished his life with one sentence over it: he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. Caleb walked all seven and got Hebron at eighty-five. Von Zealand walked all seven and stopped a king's mockery in mid-laugh. The London waif and the Gibeonite manslayer walked through the same gate — in His name — and were welcomed.

Lango lile lile liko wazi kwa msomaji wa somo hili. Amiri ameshaufuta upanga wake. Kuhani Mkuu ameshakufa na kufufuka. Mifupa ya Yusufu imeshazikwa katika urithi. Siku Ndefu imeshaonyesha kwamba mbingu husogea maombi yanapotolewa. Hakuna kilichobaki kwa mwamini kufanya isipokuwa kusonga mbele, kuichukua hati, kulitembea shamba, na kutoka ndani ya uchaguzi uliokwisha kufanywa kusema, "Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA."The same gate stands open for the reader of this lesson. The Captain has already drawn His sword. The High Priest has already died and risen. The bones of Joseph are already buried in the inheritance. The Long Day has already shown that the heavens move when prayer is offered. There is nothing left for the believer to do except step forward, take the deed, walk the field, and from inside an already-made choice say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Wimbo wa Wesley ulikuwa hitimisho la Sehemu ya 9. Hitimisho la Sehemu ya 10 ni fupi zaidi. Ni mstari ambao Yoshua mwenyewe aliufanya hitimisho la maisha yake. Miaka arobaini na mitano baada ya kurudi kutoka Kadesh-barnea pamoja na Kalebu na taarifa ya wachache, miaka ishirini na mitano baada ya kuziongoza kabila kumi na mbili kuvuka Yordani, miaka saba baada ya ushindi kumalizika na nchi kustarehe kutokana na vita — siku ile aliposimama chini ya mwaloni huko Shekemu na kuliita kusanyiko kuchagua — Yoshua alisema jambo pekee ambalo mtu aliye mwishoni mwa utumishi wake anastahili kulisema:Wesley's hymn was the closing of Unit 9. The closing of Unit 10 is shorter. It is the verse Joshua himself made the closing of his life. Forty-five years after he came back from Kadesh-barnea with Caleb and a minority report, twenty-five years after he led twelve tribes across the Jordan, seven years after the conquest ended and the land rested from war — on the day he stood under the oak at Shechem and called the assembly to choose — Joshua said the only thing a man at the end of his service is qualified to say:

"Lakini mimi na nyumba yangu tutamtumikia BWANA.""As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Mungu amjalie vivyo hivyo kila mwamini aliyetembea katika sehemu hizi kumi. Kwa neema yake, maandishi yale yale ya kaburini na yawe tayari siku yetu ya mwisho itakapofika. Alimfuata BWANA kwa ukamilifu. Amina.God grant the same to every believer who has walked these ten units. By His grace, may the same epitaph be ready when our last day comes. He wholly followed the LORD. Amen.