The final verse of the chapter is somewhat negative: Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
This verse is a comment written at a later stage, certainly after the death of Joshua and before the time of King Saul. And it is a reminder that God’s people—despite being given the best place, good examples, and great resources—are not able to render the perfect obedience that God rightly expects from us.
The Garden of Eden was the perfect place with the perfect resources and still Adam and Eve fell into sin. As their descendants, we have inherited a sinful nature and so we naturally follow in their ways just like the people of Israel. We are unable to keep God’s law perfectly, we are unable to render the obedience which he requires. And that means we must look beyond ourselves when it comes to a future in God’s land. Our works of service in this world cannot be the basis of our eternal inheritance. We need a king who will defeat the Jebusites. We need a king who can open the way into God’s presence.
The people of Judah had to wait until the coming of King David before the Jebusites were finally defeated. The city of Jebus became the city of Jerusalem. In this conquest King David was a type of messiah, a servant king from the line of Judah who defeated God’s enemies. And he anticipated the coming of a greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. The King who is known in the book of Revelation as the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5).
Christ is the King who would come to render the perfect obedience to God which is required for life in his presence. He is the King who always made the best use of the resources given to him, the King who always acted on the basis of God’s promises, the King who recognized God’s sovereignty and submitted to it even if it meant pain, suffering, and death. He is the King who would crush the head of the serpent, the King who would bind Satan, defeat death, and provide access to God the Father through his blood. He is the King who has gone ahead of us to be at the right hand of God where he is busy preparing a place for his people, a place in the new creation, a place where we can serve God for all eternity.
And that is exactly what we are going to do when Christ returns. We are going to serve him in the new creation. Paradise is not as the Muslims see it, namely a place of sinful indulgence where each man is given seventy virgins with a lot of wine and merriment—a place where we are served rather than being the ones who serve. No, in the new creation we are going to be busy with works of service. We will rule over the new earth with Christ (Matthew 25:34; 2 Timothy 2:12). In the presence of God we will serve him for all eternity.
63 But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.