Joshua 18-19

In school, as I've written before, I tended to be a procrastinator. Even when I was given several weeks to complete a big project or essay, I always waited until the last minute to start working on it. Non-research essays were especially dangerous, as I often wrote them the night before and still received grades that ranged from good to excellent. Of course, I look back on them now and hang my head in shame over how sloppy certain parts are, how facile some of the analysis is, and how much better they could have been had I actually spent more time on them. My writing process was eerily similar to that of Calvin's:

Now that I write stories of my own with no real deadlines, I'm running into another problem: Once I reach a major landmark, like completing the outline for a project or writing a bunch of meaty scenes, I tend to get too satisfied and want to relax for a day. Days turn into weeks, until I suddenly realize that I haven't worked on the story for a month. I wonder if the Israelites at this point had a similar attitude. They had just spent around five victorious yet strenuous years conquering Canaan; perhaps now they just wanted to kick back and relax. And yet Joshua has to mildly scold them, reminding them that their task isn't over yet: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?" (18:3). He then tells three men from each tribe to get their rears in gear, survey the land, and write an essay on their findings so that the Israelites can allot territory to each tribe.

And just to make sure that they don't forget, Joshua repeats his instructions (18:6, 8). Understandable; I know I tend to not process spoken words very well if my attention is focused elsewhere.

The dividing of the land provides two notes of interest. First, Simeon's territory is literally surrounded by Judah's--just like how Lesotho is plopped down right in the middle of South Africa. The Simeonites had to have great trust in the people of Judah--they had to travel through Judah to reach any location outside their own territory. Not an ideal situation, to say the least.

Second, the author makes a parenthetical statement presaging the plight of the Danites--they actually end up losing their territory. Not to worry, though; they take up new digs in Leshem--after conquering it, of course (19:47). The conquering just never ends, does it?