Joshua 22:10-34 - The Altar of Witness

Joshua 22:10-34

An Altar by the Jordan

10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar. 11 Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.” 12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

13 Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, 14 and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel. 15 Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD? 17 Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, 18 but that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”

21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel: 22 “The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day. 23 If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself require an account. 24 But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel? 25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the LORD.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the LORD.’ 26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, 27 but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the LORD.“‘ 28 Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn from following the LORD this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.”

30 Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. 31 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, “This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.”

32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

The altar erected by the children of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh by the Jordan was a great and impressive altar, immense and unnerving to the rest of Israel who had settled on the other side of the river.  It was not built to replace the main and only altar as they were accused of doing, but was a replica and reminder that the LORD alone was their God.  It was a witness to that truth and not any kind of treachery or sinful rebellion as was automatically assumed by the rest who were ready to violently deal with the supposed upstarts on the other side of the river.  They actually never in to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or peace offerings on it because they knew fully well that the LORD Himself would require an account for that.  What they did build it for was for the very good reason of being a memorial and a future reminder that being physically separated from the rest of God’s people on the other side of the Jordan did not mean that they no longer had any part in the LORD or was a witness that they would be part of the people of God and not turn from Him as they gazed upon the replica of the true altar standing before the tabernacle reflecting the heavenly pattern (Exodus 25:40, Acts 7:44, Hebrews 8:5) in commitment to Him and spiritual solidarity with the whole.  This is a reminder to we who are in Christ of the true tabernacle in heaven and its altar of grace upon which the Son of God offered Himself up once for all (Hebrews 8:6, 9:23, 24, 26) His people on both sides of the river of life and death.  The cross then is an altar of the supreme sacrifice and a gateway of sorts to the true tabernacle in the heavenly realm before the Lord God where the Son lives to ever make atonement for us (Hebrews 10:12-13, 14) that never fails.  We have the cross as our witness and reminder of the altar in heaven where the Lamb of God has made and continues to make intercession for us which the earthly altar was only a mere shadow of the true on the other side of the river of life and death in heaven before the throne of God Himself.  “For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God,” as it is written.  This is also why all who name the name of Christ by faith and who have been transformed by His Spirit should not judge those in other places but who worship at this same altar of the cross, only finding fault with those who choose another altar of false idols or mediators other than Jesus Christ alone.  No earthly altar of system overrides our faith in and reliance on Christ alone to intercede for us.  To Him we come to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) in faithful unity and in truth (John 4:23-24, 14:17, 1 Corinthians 2:12), bound together by the same Spirit who makes us (Romans 8:9, 11, Ephesians 1:13, 14, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) His and worship at the only altar where Christ dwells.  We do not turn away from following or worshipping Him at any other altar but of grace alone through the sacrifice of Christ alone on that altar of the cross which was our curse of sin (Galatians 3:13) but is now where all God’s called and chosen children worship Him in the true heavenly tabernacle with open access to (Hebrews 4:16) His throne of grace.  The cross of Christ is our altar of witness to His glory and sacrifice which we dare not replace with any other.

Joshua 22:1-9 - Faithfulness Honored and Rewarded

Joshua 22:1-9

Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands

1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

This is an example of rewarded and honored faithfulness.  The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had promised to cross the Jordan and fight with their fellow families until they settled their lands, waging war and fighting for all their inheritance, while being promised they could leave their families on the uncrossed side of the river to settle for themselves and only return to set d roots when all had been won.  Now they were honored and rewarded with the promise of the LORD as given through Moses for their charge of the commandment of the LORD their God to this end.  He who honors Him (1 Samuel 2:30) will be honored!  We have that promise as well to honor our Lord Jesus (John 12:26) and be likewise honored to inherit the promised heavenly country to come as our reward for trusting Him and His sacrificial atoning work on the tree of sin’s curse that we carry to our eternal destination if not for His suffering and death there in our place.  Like these three familial tribes of ancient Israel, we too are to live acceptably because of our acceptance in the Lord and “keep His commandments, hold fast to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”  We are reminded of this in Luke 10:27 and other places as we are to keep the word of the Lord to please Him and demonstrate our true love and devotion to Him above all others and still love others as He does as well since we have such a promised inheritance in the rooms of the heavenly mansion, the New Jerusalem to come.  In the meanwhile, until we cross the river of death, we are to fight the good fight together to bring deliverance for all who hear the gospel call to righteousness in Christ, standing side by side and not leaving others to battle alone until we all find everlasting peace in Him and possess our inheritance there before His face forevermore.  Faithfulness is honored (Luke 19:17, 1 Corinthians 4:2, 2 Timothy 2:2, 4:7, Titus 1:9, Revelation 17:14) and rewarded (Luke 6:35, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 14, Hebrews 11:26, Colossians 3:24) in eternity.  May we then enter the land set before us (Hebrews 6:18, Colossians 1:4-5, Hebrews 6:18, 12:1-2, Titus 1:2-3) to possess as promised by the word of the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have trusted and follow into that place.  We therefore wage spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:11-12, 13, 16-17) together for the gospel against all opposition (Revelation 12:17) until we enter into glory.  

Joshua 21:1-45 - God’s Good Word Never Fails

God’s Good Word Never Fails 

Joshua 21:1-45

Cities of the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.” 3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their common-lands:

4 Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 5 The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 And the children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.

8 And the children of Israel gave these cities with their common-lands by lot to the Levites, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.

9 So they gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these cities which are designated by name, 10 which were for the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first. 11 And they gave them Kirjath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), which is Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, with the common-land surrounding it. 12 But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 Thus to the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Libnah with its common-land, 14 Jattir with its common-land, Eshtemoa with its common-land, 15 Holon with its common-land, Debir with its common-land, 16 Ain with its common-land, Juttah with its common-land, and Beth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes; 17 and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its common-land, Geba with its common-land, 18 Anathoth with its common-land, and Almon with its common-land: four cities. 19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their common-lands.

20 And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, the rest of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 For they gave them Shechem with its common-land in the mountains of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the slayer), Gezer with its common-land, 22 Kibzaim with its common-land, and Beth Horon with its common-land: four cities; 23 and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its common-land, Gibbethon with its common-land, 24 Aijalon with its common-land, and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: four cities; 25 and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with its common-land and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: two cities. 26 All the ten cities with their common-lands were for the rest of the families of the children of Kohath.

27 Also to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, from the other half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), and Be Eshterah with its common-land: two cities; 28 and from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its common-land, Daberath with its common-land, 29 Jarmuth with its common-land, and En Gannim with its common-land: four cities; 30 and from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its common-land, Abdon with its common-land, 31 Helkath with its common-land, and Rehob with its common-land: four cities; 32 and from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Hammoth Dor with its common-land, and Kartan with its common-land: three cities. 33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their common-lands.

34 And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land, 35 Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities; 36 and from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land, 37 Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities; 38 and from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land, 39 Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all. 40 So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. 42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities.

The Promise Fulfilled

43 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

As The LORD commanded through Moses to give cities to the Levite priests, so they did under Joshua when they entered the promised land and began dividing and settling it.  They kept the promise of the LORD as given through Moses by his successor’s hand.  He had given all the land promised to their forefathers because God’s good word never fails.  All came to pass just as He said, a promise of faithfulness which we continue to build the foundation of our faith on in the promises of Jesus Christ which are (2 Corinthians 1:20, Hebrews 10:23, Galatians 3:16, 17) just as certain because He is the same unchanging God of all His people.  All He says (Numbers 23:19) will certainly come to pass.  This includes the promise of eternal life that cannot be forsaken, forfeited, or taken away (John 5:24, 6:37, 40, 10:28-29, Ephesians 1:13-14) by the faithful God (1 Corinthians 1:8-9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) who promises nor by we who are never completely faithful to keep it by our own imperfect ability.  Like Israel before us, we will each receive the inheritance promised in Jesus Christ in the heavenly country promised us all in His grace in spite of our sin that has been completely and utterly (Colossians 1:20, Hebrews 7:25) atoned for forever.  Those who oppose the gospel, unfortunately, face the opposite (John 3:36, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, 2 Thessalonians 1:8) fate of disinheritance with not place before the throne of God through the only door (John 10:9, 14:6, Acts 4:12) to heaven.  We therefore trust in God’s word of good to us with the promise of eternal life and our inheritance as a kingdom of priests far better than the Levites, a guaranteed city (Hebrews 12:22, 23-24, 28, Revelation 3:12, 21:1) in the (Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 11:16, 1 Peter 1:4) heavenly kingdom of the promised land set before us.  God’s good word never fails.

Joshua 20:1-9 - True Sanctuary Cities

Joshua 20:1-9

The Cities of Refuge (Numbers 35:9–28; Deuteronomy 19:1–13)

1 The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 5 Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand. 6 And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

7 So they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron) in the mountains of Judah. 8 And on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.

The true sanctuary cites were for taking refuge when accused or suspected of committing a capital crime, namely murder.  They were definitely not for other criminals to hide persecution for lesser offenses as we see today with illegal immigration to shelter those hiding from accountability to the laws of the land.  These are therefore not issues of welcoming strangers as some would say Leviticus 19:33-34 means.  That passage dealt with immigrants who had a place there under the laws of that land in that time; in our time in this land which is not a theocracy, there are immigration laws to follow to be equally welcomed when entering into the land and its society.  If we were to impose the concept of sanctuary cities on our society out of that context, then it would be as if we were to take care of every widow and stranger as Deuteronomy 10:18-19 says when we read in 1 Timothy 5:3-4, 9-10 which puts rest of need and propriety on such care.  There, this passage on cities of refuge was a unique application of justice similar to current laws protecting the accused murderer until guilt or innocence is determined by law.  The accused is now kept in custody of a jail cell to avoid vigilante vengeance of an avenger by family, friends, or even a community lynch mob, but not in a special city as before in Israel.  It is not a case for other illegal activities nor to avoid facing justice.  It was solely for protection of accused murderers to lat justice determine if it was intentional and punishment would be given, or if it was unintentional as manslaughter was proven to protect the innocent until proven guilty or not.  Even in Israel the accused had to first present his case to be allowed to enter the refuge city and was not granted asylum automatically; he had to have a case to the law to enter for protection first, just as modern day asylum seekers should also do to be granted entry and protection and then treated as a welcome stranger to become a citizen of the land as in Leviticus 19:33-34.  It is interesting that the accused manslaughter innocent of murder was only allowed to stay until the reigning judge (high priest) died, then he had to leave to where he came from.  Another aspect or principle to consider in our modern day similar situations.  To sum it all up, true sanctuary cities were for refuge, not evasion of breaking laws, and our misinterpretation and misapplication of these scriptures to our societies is not wise nor justifiable as Christian ethics.

Joshua 19:1-51 - Inheritance Realized at Last!

Joshua 19:1-51

Simeon’s Inheritance with Judah

1 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. And their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. 2 They had in their inheritance Beersheba (Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen: thirteen cities and their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan: four cities and their villages; 8 and all the villages that were all around these cities as far as Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

9 The inheritance of the children of Simeon was included in the share of the children of Judah, for the share of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of that people.

The Land of Zebulun

10 The third lot came out for the children of Zebulun according to their families, and the border of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. 11 Their border went toward the west and to Maralah, went to Dabbasheth, and extended along the brook that is east of Jokneam. 12 Then from Sarid it went eastward toward the sunrise along the border of Chisloth Tabor, and went out toward Daberath, bypassing Japhia. 13 And from there it passed along on the east of Gath Hepher, toward Eth Kazin, and extended to Rimmon, which borders on Neah. 14 Then the border went around it on the north side of Hannathon, and it ended in the Valley of Jiphthah El. 15 Included were Kattath, Nahallal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 16 This was the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

The Land of Issachar

17 The fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families. 18 And their territory went to Jezreel, and included Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Haphraim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Abez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez. 22 And the border reached to Tabor, Shahazimah, and Beth Shemesh; their border ended at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

The Land of Asher

24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. 25 And their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal; it reached to Mount Carmel westward, along the Brook Shihor Libnath. 27 It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon; and it reached to Zebulun and to the Valley of Jiphthah El, then northward beyond Beth Emek and Neiel, bypassing Cabul which was on the left, 28 including Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 29 And the border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and ended at the sea by the region of Achzib. 30 Also Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob were included: twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

The Land of Naphtali

32 The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, for the children of Naphtali according to their families. 33 And their border began at Heleph, enclosing the territory from the terebinth tree in Zaanannim, Adami Nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; it ended at the Jordan. 34 From Heleph the border extended westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there toward Hukkok; it adjoined Zebulun on the south side and Asher on the west side, and ended at Judah by the Jordan toward the sunrise. 35 And the fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.

The Land of Dan

40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41 And the territory of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Jethlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46 Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the region near Joppa. 47 And the border of the children of Dan went beyond these, because the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem and took it; and they struck it with the edge of the sword, took possession of it, and dwelt in it. They called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Joshua’s Inheritance

49 When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it.

51 These were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the country.

The remaining seven tribes of Israel, that were Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan were given the land promised and divided to each.  Simeon shared the inheritance with Judah because they were a small family, with Zebulon gaining Bethlehem as Benjamin had earlier inherited Jerusalem, two key cities in the history and lineage of the Messiah -Christ to come.  Finally, Joshua himself was given his inheritance in the mountains of Ephraim after the others had all gained the promised land divided among them by God’s lot of determined grace to each as He saw fit.  The distribution of the land set by God and confirmed by lots cast by His sovereign will at the hands of Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel was finished in God’s sight as promised.  They did this work at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, suggesting that holy worship and faithful administration of His will were done there for the LORD and all to witness the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:7, 13:15, Exodus 33:1, Acts 7:5) long ago as predetermined by God according to His Word and now appropriated by the same faith of Abraham (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:1, 16, Hebrews 11:8, 16, Galatians 3:6, 29) by which we now possess the heavenly land promised us in his seed, namely the Son of God and Man, the Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord and deliverer.  We await our division of the eternal inheritance as we sojourn through this world and through death to the resurrection of life everlasting where we will realize our inheritance in Him at last! 

Joshua 18:1-28 - God’s Lot of Grace

Joshua 18:1-28

The Remainder of the Land Divided

1 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. 2 But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.

3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you? 4 Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. 5 And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. 6 You shall therefore survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. 7 But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.”

8 Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 10 Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

The Land of Benjamin

11 Now the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot came out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. 12 Their border on the north side began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the mountains westward; it ended at the Wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 The border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz (which is Bethel) southward; and the border descended to Ataroth Addar, near the hill that lies on the south side of Lower Beth Horon.

14 Then the border extended around the west side to the south, from the hill that lies before Beth Horon southward; and it ended at Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.

15 The south side began at the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border extended on the west and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is in the Valley of the Rephaim on the north, descended to the Valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite city on the south, and descended to En Rogel. 17 And it went around from the north, went out to En Shemesh, and extended toward Geliloth, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 Then it passed along toward the north side of Arabah, and went down to Arabah. 19 And the border passed along to the north side of Beth Hoglah; then the border ended at the north bay at the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.

20 The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, according to its boundaries all around, according to their families.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to their families, were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar Haammoni, Ophni, and Gaba: twelve cities with their villages; 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Eleph, Jebus (which is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kirjath: fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

The nation was soon to be divided among the rest of the seven families not yet entering into their inheritance.  They had subdued the indigenous idolatrous peoples of Canaan but had not finished taking possession of the land promised to all twelve families, and so they assembled together to set things straight.  Joshua had to urge them on by demanding they each send a scouting party of three into their respective lands to walk them, surveying as they went, and then return for the casting of lots before the LORD who would then determine the final divisions by this process.  It was the oversight of God, not Joshua or the people, that determined the outcome.  First the lot fell to Benjamin and his families as we read of the cities they each inherited that was marked out to them by the LORD, from Jericho on the north to Luz and Kirjath Jearim for the western border, then the southern border was mapped out from Kirjath Jearim until it reached the north bay of the Salt (Dead) Sea.  The eastern border was along the Jordan River.  The cities inherited by the children of Benjamin included Jerusalem among them.  We learn then that God has mapped out the rooms of the earthly mansions for His first chosen people and will certainly set aside places for those in the New Jerusalem for the rest of His people chosen and called to be added (Romans 9:24, 11:17, Galatians 3:7, Ephesians 2:12-13, 15-16, 17-18) in through the reconciliation and calling of Jesus Christ to an eternal inheritance (1 Peter 1:3-4) that is incorruptible and forever, reserved for us (John 14:2-3) by God’s lot of grace cast for us.  Rejoice and survey the promised heavenly land of grace determined for us (Romans 9:23, 30, 2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:5, 11) we are given to enter into (Matthew 7:13, 25:23) to dwell in the joy of the Lord in this grace in which we stand. 

Joshua 17:1-18 - Contentious Rewards

Joshua 17:1-18

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph: namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given Gilead and Bashan. 2 And there was a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, the children of Helek, the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, the children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

3 But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the LORD, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 Ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the border descended to the Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea.

10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three hilly regions. 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

14 Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people, inasmuch as the LORD has blessed us until now?”

15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”

16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

The children of Joseph contended over their land distribution and half of Manasseh, his sons as recorded here.  His daughters were also promised an inheritance and complained about a Mosaic promise until they also were awarded a parcel.  The children of Joseph also did not completely drive away the Canaanites, but used them as forced labor (slaves) because they were determined to stay on the land and did remain even as lesser citizens of their land given away by God’s decree.  Then Ephraim and the other half of Manasseh complained that they were too numerous to just share one lot and were offered the mountain country.  They did not want that because of the formidable army of the Canaanites there but were told they had to,subdue them because that was their lot.  Not every inheritance is easy to obtain; sometimes it takes participation in clearing the way to enter in, just as we are to clear our lives of sin to reap the full rewards (Matthew 25:14-15, 29, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 13-14, 15-16, Colossians 3:24) of our eternal lot (Revelation 22:12) promised us in heaven.  May we not be contentious over the rewards of our inheritance, but faithful to possess them.

Joshua 16:1-10 - God Chooses our Inheritance

Joshua 16:1-10

Ephraim and West Manasseh

1 The lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to Bethel, 2 then went out from Bethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to Gezer; and it ended at the sea.

4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

The Land of Ephraim

5 The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as far as Upper Beth Horon.

6 And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. 7 Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.

8 The border went out from Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. 9 The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10 And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

Two more families of Israel were given their inheritance selected by God through the casting of lots (a lot was likely cast by tossing a stone or stones to decide questions or appoint persons for different reasons, the idea being it was not in a man’s control but God’s for the outcome of a seemingly random act).  The lots determined which piece of the promised land each familial tribe would inherit as determined by the LORD and not Joshua or Moses before him, and certainly not by a democratic system or through any influence by the recipient to get what they preferred.  It was completely removed from their hands and placed square in the sovereign hand of God so no complaints of unfairness could be made.  Here we read how Joseph’s children Manasseh and Ephraim received their inheritance from the LORD, first Ephraim here, followed by Manasseh in the next chapter of this book where the delineation was explained further between the two brothers.  The problems began when they were not obedient to the command of the LORD to completely drive out or destroy the idolatrous Canaanites living there in Gezer who would later become snares and thorns in their spiritual side as they were (Exodus 23:31, 32-33, 34:12-13, 15) warned.  They did, however, make them into forced laborers, a step above what we call slaves, that they might be under some control (Judges 1:28) and able to be watched and not intermarried with and corrupt their worship of the LORD.  This pattern would unfortunately be repeated by other tribes and caused such grief and conflict among the people of God for allowing idolatry and immorality to pollute them.  We need to likewise deal with false teachers and immoral behavior with the goal of repentance and restoration among the body for purity in worship and personal sanctification as well.  We do not hate or destroy the ungodly, but point them to cleansing and a right relationship with Christ instead.  This does mean that we keep out the ungodly ideas and influences that deny our Lord and His word, however.  Our lots have been cast by the Lord in His sovereign grace of His calling and choice and not our own; how can we then choose otherwise for anyone or even ourselves?  God chooses our inheritance. 

Joshua 15:20-63 - Judah’s Inheritance and Ours

Joshua 15:20-63

The Cities of Judah

20 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:

21 The cities at the limits of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the South, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (which is Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Bizjothjah, 29 Baalah, Ijim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

33 In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages; 37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Kithlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages; 42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages; 45 Ekron, with its towns and villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages; 47 Ashdod with its towns and villages, Gaza with its towns and villages—as far as the Brook of Egypt and the Great Sea with its coastline.

48 And in the mountain country: Shamir, Jattir, Sochoh, 49 Dannah, Kirjath Sannah (which is Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; 52 Arab, Dumah, Eshean, 53 Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; 55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; 58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; 60 Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi: six cities with their villages.

63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Judah inherited at least one hundred and one cities in the promised land as mentioned here, along with the small towns and villages surrounding them.  They were identified from the southern border, the lowland, the mountain areas, and in the wilderness.  The only city not in their reach at the time was Jerusalem, which would later be acquired (2 Samuel 5:6, 7) by King David.  According to the prophecy of Jacob (Israel) in Genesis 49:8–12, Judah would give birth to many kings in this city when it was taken at last, culminating eventually with the King of Kings, the Messiah who we call Jesus Christ.  When this account was written, Jerusalem was still out of reach of Judah, but it was still promised and eventually became the capital of Israel through Judah’s descendants.  Such was the earthly inheritance of this important family of Israel that led to our Lord and Savior coming to us with the promise of a far better promised land (John 14:2, Hebrews 11:15, 16) that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:26-27, 28) or taken away by any opposing adversary like the devil (Genesis 3:15, Romans 16:20, Ephesians 6:12, 1 John 5:4) or mortal enemy (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) like death.  Thanks be to God who gives us the final victory and the eternal inheritance as the spiritual tribe of true Israel (Romans 9:6, 8, Ephesians 2:13, 14-15, 16), of the promised land set aside for us all who have believed in His Son, and the work on the cross to reconcile us to Himself!  We then spiritually obtain Judah’s inheritance in the kingdom in and through Christ.