Taken in and taking up
"Now, vigilantly guard your souls : Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They'll be nothing but trouble to you —horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you're the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you." (Joshua 23:11-13) Joshua is about to turn over the control of the nation at the point of his death. He gathers the leaders, priests, and elders together. In the moments which pass, he gives them sound advice on how God expects them to live in the land they have been given as an inheritance - a place of permanent settlement after years and years of wandering the deserts. His first piece of advice: Stay alert ! Why? The work was not done - nations still had to be dealt with. Know this, my friends, OUR work...