Joshua 15:63 Still There

Joshua 15:63 Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.

Stubborn stains in clothing can be especially troublesome. Some stains just don’t seem to want to come out. It is as if they are clinging to the material with all their might. (Notice how I just gave human properties to chemicals!)

It is not must stains that seem to get a grip. Sometimes habits can grip us and seemingly put their tentacles deep into the fabric of our being. Some habits last for years, despite our prayers and best efforts. They can be stubborn.

We have been reading about the conquest of the Promised Land by Israel in the first generation after their entry into the Land. They spent forty extra years wandering in the dessert as a discipline for their rebellion. Only two people of the original Egypt Exit-ers were still alive.

And now the land that has been conquered is being divided. But from the first twelve chapters of this book it would seem that every one of the previous inhabitants of the Land had been conquered. It sounded as though they had all been defeated and wiped out.

But this isn’t the way it happened. There were initial battles and defeat of the enemies, but not every inhabitant was dislodged. But this was not unexpected. The LORD had said that He would drive them out slowly so that it would not be taken over by wild animals. Their own population would have to grow in order for the land to be stewarded appropriately.

So as the Land is being allotted to the various tribes and clans of Israel, the note is made that some of the people remained alive and continued to live among the Israelites. This is exactly what was NOT supposed to happen. They were to be cleared out, one way or the other.

Our text tells us about one such group who remained. The Jebusites still lived in Jerusalem. And “to this day”, the time when this was written down, these original inhabitants were still living there among the people of Judah.

Now this was a problem. These people could have an influence on the Israelites, especially a religious one. They still had their foreign gods, idols, and worship practices. And as we read later in the Scriptures, these people did have a negative affect on Israel.

So why did the Israelites allow them to stay? As far as I can tell, there is no answer given that answers this question directly. But if we look at our own stains and habits, we might get a clue that will help us understand both ourselves and the Israelites.

In my life, it takes effort to make and keep changes. It is not easy to keep up the effort for the long haul. We can all make a change for a little while, but permanent change is much harder.

Clearing out the Land of its inhabitants would take generations of effort. They had to grow in number in order to inhabit the whole land with sufficient force to deter invasion. Babies take nine months to make and a lifetime to mature, so we are talking many decades to accomplish the task.

But even more than that. After you have been living in a land with foreigners, they become your neighbors, your trade partners, your customers. It becomes increasingly hard to drive them out of their homes and lands.

The same is true for our habits and stains. We get comfortable with them. They become part of who we are. They become increasingly difficult to drive out.