15:1 lists the Desert of Zin as one of Judah's borders
15:61 lists the cities that would be in Judah's territory that were also in the desert
18:12 lists the desert of Beth Aven as one of the boundaries of Benjamin
20:8 designates Bezer in the desert on the plateau as a sanctuary city of Reuben
24:7, the last time 'desert' is mentioned in Joshua, is a quote from Joshua's review of Israel's history; he's actually quoting God at this point
" 'But they cried out to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.' "
Joshua went on to describe what God had done for the people to bring them to the place where they were settling into the land, where they live in cities they didn't build and eat the fruit of trees they didn't plant (24:13). Then he issues his famous challenge to the people to make a defining choice that day to serve the Lord, the God of Israel, and not the foreign gods of the people they had displaced. You know...the one that ends, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (v. 15).
I think this is interesting...the desert is part of their definition. Not only does it mark boundaries, but it is part of their shared experience that forged them into a nation. But the fact that it is, in the last bit of Joshua, history, says something crucial about the desert:
It doesn't go on forever. Sooner or later, the desert becomes history. The experience is crucial to character formation, but it does end.
Just a little nugget to ponder in this season.
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