Joshua 18:2-3 — And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you? (Joshua 18:2-3)

I can’t honestly recommend the work of Larry The Cable Guy. Too much “R-rated” material! But his catch phrase is one that resonates with me.

Yesterday I mentioned the idea that God often wants us to do what we’re doing, but to do it right! Sometimes though, we haven’t even got that far. Sometimes we know what we’re supposed to be doing — but we just haven’t got started! (I keep saying “we” — if this doesn’t ever apply to you, you’re excused).

This story of the allocation of land to the remaining seven tribes of Israel is a great case in point. The people knew that they were supposed to divide the land and go and claim it, but it seems there were several excuses (which no doubt they called “reasons”) for not getting started.

First, the process of allocating territories had been interrupted by the selection of Shiloh as the new center of national worship, and the associated mass transfer from Gilgal twenty miles to the Southeast. I suppose we should let that reason stand. But with the transfer complete, the process of division and occupation of the land was still not resumed.

It seems the people of Israel were pretty happy in the lush land they found themselves in. I’ve put things off pretty often myself when I was feeling comfortable and happy. It’s an excuse that even sounds reasonable — “I’m doing fine here — why should I change anything?”

The next issue seems to have been that the seven tribes had got accustomed to the aimless wandering life that the previous generation had condemned them too by their lack of faith in God. Well, I have to confess that their have been times when the lack of clear goals has allowed me to get involved in some pretty purposeless activities.

The last issue that I think might have allowed the Israelites to not “Git R Done” was the fact that they didn’t have a deadline. It’s all to easy to delay when there isn’t a timetable. (Actually, if you’re an expert procrastinator like me, you might delay starting to the last moment anyway!)

The Israelites did have one thing going for them. Joshua did have a sense of urgency. He wasn’t getting any younger, and he wanted to see the job finished before he died. It’s provides a good example. When you have a job to do, it’s great if you can let somebody know, so that they can be your taskmaster.

One last thing … You might wonder what prompted me to write this today. I’m not going to tell you! But I’ll Git R Done … I promise!