Israel’s Greatest General (1of 2)

Look at verse 1. We read, “...Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.”

When we consider Joshua’s age, we need to consider TWO things.

(1) Look at the phrase, “...stricken in age.” Today it seems many folks are fighting a battle with old age.

Illus: One man in Missouri said, “It is rough getting old alone. My wife has not had a birthday in years.”

Illus: Someone said, “The three ages of man are youth, middle age and, ‘My, but you are looking well today.’”

From the time we are born it is only a matter of time before the evidence of old age will strike. It can be seen in our eyesight, hearing, skin, teeth, and hair density and color.

Illus: you can look at the youngest baby in this congregation and not find any wrinkles in its face whatsoever, but if that child lives long enough he will lose the battle against aging and will look like a dried up prune.

Notice that the Bible, in Joshua 23:1, states that Joshua “...waxed old and stricken in age.”

(2) Look at the words, “waxed old.” What does this mean? Why did God not just tell us that he was “stricken in age” and leave it at that? God’s Word does not stop there because everyone advances in years, but not everyone “waxes old.”

The word “wax” makes us think of what a person puts on his car. For example,

Illus: A young man may be driving down the road and may see an old car that has been sitting in the weather for years. He may stop and inquire if it is for sale. He finds it is and he buys it. He then takes it home, washes it, spends hours waxing it and guess what -- that car shines like a new car. In fact, it shines so brightly that it looks like it has not been marred by the fierce weather it sat in for years in the slightest. As he drives down the road, men and women point at it and say, “Wow, look at that car! Look how it shines.” They would never guess it had been out in the weather for years.

The Bible tells us this was the way Joshua grew old -- he “waxed old.” He was not marred in the slightest by all the storms of life he had “weathered.”

Before Joshua was to leave this life, he wanted to give the children of Israel some priceless information that would help them long after he was gone. Because of his age and experience, he was qualified to give such advice as they needed from the Lord!

Illus: When Goldameyer was prime minister of Israel, the nation suffered hard times at the hands of their Arab neighbors. Goldameyer turned to President Nixon for some military assistance and President Nixon said, “I will be glad to send two of our greatest generals to see you through this ordeal.” He asked her which two generals she wanted. Facetiously she answered, “If I can have my choice of all the generals the U. S. has, I would like to have General Electric, and General Motors. Those are two of the greatest generals that America has.”

Seriously, one of the greatest generals that Israel had was JOSHUA! When Joshua was “...stricken with age,” he gave Israel some very sound advice and if they would have heeded that advice they would not have suffered the MANY DEFEATS and THE DISGRACE they suffered as a nation. However, before we can APPRECIATE THE SOUND ADVICE HE GAVE THEM, we FIRST have to APPRECIATE THE MAN WHO GAVE THE ADVICE. To help you do this we will take you back in time to when Joshua was a young man.

Remember, Joshua had been one of the young men who had served Moses at the time Moses was Israel’s leader. Moses commissioned Joshua, along with some eleven other men, to go spy out Canaan. A man had been selected from each of the twelve tribes of Israel and Joshua was the one chosen from his tribe. They were to look things over and come back after forty days and give a report about several things (Num. 13:17-20). They did exactly as they were told.

THE MAJORITY came back saying it would be impossible to go in and possess the land.

Look at Numbers 13:27-29; 31-33. We read, “And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.... But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”