Joshua 13:1-7 – More Land to be Taken
Joshua
was old and well advanced in years. He
had conquered most of the land, but God told him that there were still large
areas of land to be taken. They would
not need to fight for it. God would do
it for them. They just needed to trust
God. God told Joshua to be sure to allocate
this land to Israel as He had instructed.
Joshua was to divide up the land among the nine tribes and half of the
tribe of Manasseh. (Joshua 13:1-7)
Principle: God will fight for His people.
When
has God fought for you?
How has
God conquered your enemies during your lifetime?
Joshua 13:8-33 – 14-19 – Joshua Divides the
Land
The
other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites and the Gadites had already
received their inheritance from Moses. This
land is described in verses 8-13. Remember back in Num. 32 theses tribes were referred to as the Transjordan Tribes? They decided they wanted to live east of the
Jordan where the land was sufficient for their livestock. However, they still would help the rest of
Israel conquer Canaan. Moses granted their
request, if they promised to fight alongside the others. They agreed and fought with Israel. The Levites was not given any land, since
their inheritance was the offerings to the Lord. (Joshua 14) Remember they
were the tribe of priests.
In
verses 15-31 is the description of
the land given to the tribe of Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh.
The
next chapters are descriptions of the division of the land:
Joshua 14 – Allotment
for Caleb
Joshua 15 – Allotment
for Judah
Joshua 16-17 –
Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh
Joshua 18 – Allotment
for Benjamin
Joshua 19 – Allotment for Simeon,
Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, and Joshua
There
are several passages that describe the inheritance of the tribes of
Israel. When we read these in the light
of God’s faithfulness, we are encouraged.
We, too have an inheritance.
There is a place reserved for every faithful Christian in God’s
kingdom. “Do not
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in
God, trust also in me. In my Father’s
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I
am.” – John 14:1-3.
Will
you receive the inheritance God has for you?
Will He
call you His faithful servant?
Principle: God has an inheritance for all of His
faithful people.
Joshua 20 – Cities of Refuge
God
told Joshua to designate cities of refuge as He had instructed Moses in Num. 35. These cities were for anyone who killed a
person accidentally. They could flee to these
cities for protection from those who wanted to take revenge. They would wait there until trial. Then if they were guilty they would be put to
death by the high priest, but if innocent they would be freed.
These
cities were strategically chosen so that anyone living in Israel or any
stranger could flee to them for refuge within a day or less.
These
cities of refuge are like a picture of Jesus.
We are all guilty and have sinned, but we can go to Jesus as our
refuge. He will forgive us and keep us
safe. We must confess that we’ve sinned. We don’t have to wait for death by the high
priest. Jesus who is our High Priest has
already died for us and is now alive and intercedes for us with the Father.
Who is
your High Priest?
Have
you confessed your sins?
Principle: Jesus who is our High Priest has already died
for us and is now alive and intercedes for us with the Father.
Joshua 21 – Levite Towns
The
family heads of the Levites approached the tribal families of each tribe of
Israel and reminded them that through Moses God commanded them to give the
Levite tribes town in which to live. So
each tribe gave the Levites towns and pasture lands out of their own
inheritance. The Levites didn’t need a
lot of land because they depended on the Lord.
There were 48 towns in all. By providing
these towns it kept God’s Word and His commandments among them.
How has
God provided for you this week?
Next
week we will study Joshua 22-24. See you here.
________________________________________
If you
have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share
this post with the buttons below.
You can also join this site by clicking on the blue button at the top left "Join this site" or you can "Subscribe by Email". If you follow by email, you will receive an email every time there is a new post.
