The closing verses of this book briefly tell us about the burials of Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar, the priest. Verses 29-30 tell us that Joshua lived to a ripe old age. At 110 years old he died and was buried “in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.” Joseph’s burial ground was located in Shechem, the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Remember before Joseph died, he left words for the children of Israel to carry his bones out when they left Egypt. He knew the Lord would bring them into the promised land and he wanted to be buried there. So, his bones travelled with the children of Israel through the journey. Verse 32 tells us that he was finally laid to rest in Shechem. Eleazer, the priest, was buried at Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, in the land which Phinehas his son was given.
Briefly, verse 31 tells us the impact Joshua made. It says “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.” In other words, Joshua had lived such an influential life, leaving a godly example to those he led into Canaan, that even after he was gone, the influence he left behind impacted the people. This verse said that the people continued to serve the Lord through the days of the elders who survived Joshua. They were described as having known the deeds that the Lord had done for Israel. We can safely surmise that he left a rich legacy behind.
What we are not told was the inscriptions found on their tombstones. But we all know three epitaphs that can definitely be seen on every modern tombstone today: the date of birth of a deceased, the date he or she died and a hyphen ‘–’ in between. The hyphen is just a short dash that tells nothing, but it represents the most critical period of one’s life. It represents the activities that had taken place while the person was still alive. Joshua did much, “the dash” on his tombstone had spoken volumes. And so, did Joseph and Eleazar.
Ever thought of what will happen to the people who matter to us, when you depart from this earth? Will they continue to serve the Lord and experience His goodness all the days of their life? What sort of legacy are we leaving behind? To make an impact, let us live and love the best way we know how. We must also learn as much as we can, then let us leave a rich legacy behind like Joshua did.
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