Dwelling in the Land: Enjoying the Blessings and Holding Fast
Joshua 13 – 24
Joshua 13 – 24
Joshua 13 – 24. Now we come to the third division of the book. As we have previously seen, the book can be divided into three parts. A verse that summarizes these three parts is Deuteronomy 26:1, where we get three distinct phases of the conquest of Canaan: “when thou comest into the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein“. In Joshua 1-4 we have Israel coming into the land, in Joshua 5-12 we have them possessing the land, and in Joshua 13-24 we have them dwelling in the land. The final section of Joshua begins after the land has had rest from war. The people have crossed the Jordan, and defeated the major enemies. What remains is to dwell in the land that God had given them. This phase of the book is typical of the believer living in the good of their spiritual blessings in Christ. God had told the people that the land was given to them, wherever the soles of their feet would tread. But the land must be dwelled in. “I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land” (Ex. 23:29-30). These chapters give us the division of the land by tribe, and concludes with final notes and history.
O U T L I N E
Inheritance of Ruben, Gad, and Manasseh
Joshua 13
Joshua 13
Joshua 13. In this chapter we find that Joshua was very old. However, there could not be a huge amount of time in between because Caleb was only eighty-five years old. There was much land remaining to be possessed. The Lord spoke to Joshua and instructed him to divide the land among the tribes. He begins with the inheritance of Reuben, God, and the half tribe of Manasseh to the east of Jordan.
The Land Remaining to be Possessed (13:1-7)
CHAPTER 13
1 And Joshua was old, advanced in age, and Jehovah said to him, Thou art old, advanced in age, and there remaineth yet very much land to take possession of.
v.1 Much Land Remaining. Joshua was now quite old and the task of possessing the land was not complete. While some battles had been won, the full inheritance had not yet been taken. The Lord speaks to Joshua about this, not scolding him for being old, but giving him the realistic picture of his condition and the greatness of the task at hand, and adjusting the task. There is always a danger of settling with less than God intends for us. Joshua was faithful in leading the people through the battles, and now he’s given the work of dividing the inheritance.
2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the districts of the Philistines and all the Geshurites, 3 from the Shihor, which floweth before Egypt, as far as the borders of Ekron northward, and which is counted to the Canaanite; five lordships of the Philistines: of Gazah, and of Ashdod, of Eshkalon, of Gath, and of Ekron; also the Avvites; 4 in the south, the whole land of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongeth to the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; 5 and the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sun-rising, from Baal-Gad at the foot of mount Hermon to the entrance into Hamath; 6 all the inhabitants of the hill-country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians; I will dispossess them from before the children of Israel. Only, partition it by lot to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
vv.2-6 The Land Remaining. The Lord then listed out the land that remained. It’s not vague regions, but exact places. He names the Philistine lords, a river, and even specifies places like Gath and Mount Hermon. Although the major kings had been defeated, smaller groups and territories still remained. It wasn’t all completed in one big sweeping action. This is a parallel to our own Christian lives, how we have the full inheritance in Christ, and yet there are still battles to fight in practice. Further, there is patience needed in taking the land. If Israel were to wait to possess it until they had defeated every enemy by their own power, it would never be finished. Instead they needed to dwell in the land, and trust the Lord for help!
7 And now divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes, and to half the tribe of Manasseh;
v.7 The Nine and a Half Tribes. The nine and a half tribes were to be given their inheritance. The Lord had promised to drive them out (v.6), yet He commands Joshua to divide the land now, even before it’s fully conquered. The principle is this: the inheritance is sure even if the battles aren’t all completed yet.
The Inheritance of Ruben, Gad, and Manasseh (13:8-32)
8 with him the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of Jehovah gave them: 9 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, and all the plateau of Medeba to Dibon, 10 and all the cities of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon, to the border of the children of Ammon; 11 and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and the whole of Bashan to Salcah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, who remained of the residue of the giants; and Moses smote them and dispossessed them. 13 But the children of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites nor the Maachathites; but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites to this day.
vv.8-13 The Two and Half Tribes. The two and a half tribes had already received their inheritance before even crossing over into the land. But, while they had their land earlier, they were still responsible to help their brethren conquer the rest. They couldn’t just settle comfortably, and were warned that they would be guilty of discouraging their brethren if they would not help (Num. 32:7). The principle is this: we are responsible to help others. Again we see that God is very precise with these locations. Notice that Israel failed to expel the Geshurites and the Maachathites (v.13). That word ‘nevertheless’ suggests a failure. They did not fully obey, and those enemies remained among them. Partial obedience leads to future difficulties. As an example of this, Absalom’s mother was from the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, and her name was Maacah, suggesting some connection to the Maachathites, a neighboring people group. No doubt she was not a good influence on Absalom. Absalom hid in Geshur for safety after murdering Amnon.
14 Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance: the offerings by fire of Jehovah the God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them.
v.14 The Tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi was not to have a territorial inheritance. Instead of farmland to feed them, the Levites would subsist on “the offerings by fire of Jehovah the God of Israel”. His food was their food. See note on v.33. Notice the phrase, “as he said to them”, which shows that obedience must guide everything.
15 And Moses gave a portion to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families. 16 And their territory was from Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, and all the plateau by Medeba; 17 Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plateau, Dibon, and Bamoth-Baal, and Beth-Baal-meon, 18 And Jahzah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19 and Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar in the mountain of the vale, 20 and Beth-Peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth; 21 all the cities of the plateau, and the whole kingdom of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon, whom Moses smote, him and the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the chiefs of Sihon dwelling in the land. 22 And Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, did the children of Israel kill with the sword among them that were slain by them. 23 And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and its border. This is the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their hamlets.
vv.15-23 The Portion of Reuben. Balam was a prophet of wicked proportions, but we see that he finally came to his end in the victory of Israel over the Amorites and the princes of Midian. Balaam ultimately encouraged Israel’s downfall through worldly compromise, after be unable (through the Lord’s protection) to curse Israel for money.
24 And Moses gave a portion to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families. 25 And their territory was Jaazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer which is before Rabbah; 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; 27 and in the valley, Beth-haram, and Beth-Nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon the king of Heshbon, the Jordan and its border, as far as the edge of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward. 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their hamlets.
vv.24-28 The Portion of Gad.
29 And Moses gave a portion to half the tribe of Manasseh; and for half the tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families: 30 their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og the king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities. 31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, belonged to the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, to the one half of the children of Machir according to their families. 32 This is that which Moses allotted for inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan of Jericho, eastward.
vv.29-32 The Portion of the Half Tribe of Manasseh.
The Inheritance of Levi (13:33)
33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance: Jehovah the God of Israel is their inheritance, as he said to them.
v.33 The Portion of Levi. It is touching that Levi, who had no territorial inheritance, they were given a far better one — “Jehovah the God of Israel is their inheritance”. Their service was tied to spiritual things, not material possessions. So for us, in the ultimate sense our inheritance is Christ Himself, not just what we have through Him. We cannot overlook the privilege of direct relationship with the Lord.