It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

We should all aim to go to our grave being called “the servant of the Lord.” This requires consistent humble service over a lifetime. Joshua was such a person. My goal has always been to be “found faithful.” This objective forces me to prove this over decades, one day at a time.

And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

It’s likely that someone so committed to the Lord won’t enjoy his inheritance until he’s dead. Perhaps this is the way it should be.

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.

One good man can influence many for good, and those in his sphere of influence can carry on that good influence. What’s difficult is the transfer of the baton to the next generation. It’s the leader’s responsibility to not stop reminding those he leads of what the Lord has done, in his and their generations.

Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.

We honor our dead by following through on their wishes, and this usually occurs at a memorial service. But a truly great man will think long and hard about what matters most to him and will take pains to deposit these hopes in the minds of the next generation. These aims are normally preceded by “when I’m gone, I hope that you’ll remember….”

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

If you live long enough you’ll recall a time when giants i.e. truly great men, roamed the earth. You can lament about their absence or become one yourself! Sadly, for many, formative time is squandered. But not in the cases of men like Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Caleb and Eleazar. All lived strong. All finished strong. Case in point: Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron singlehandedly checked the plague on the sons of Israel with heroic action (Numbers 25:8). The apple does not fall far from the tree!