Dividing the land Joshua 13 Bible Basics 12

Dividing the land Joshua 13 Bible Basics 12 November 2016 Wildfell Hall, Catford

Chapter 12 is a list of defeated enemies • This shows God: - wanted His people − Israel − to possess Canaan - was faithful to His promise they could do this - had the power to accomplish His will to the fullest extent. • The same is true for Christians − His people today − when it comes to possessing their spiritual blessings (Eph. 1: 3, 13 -14, 19 -23).

Take possession of the land! • Chapter 13, verse 1 starts a new section of the book. • God exhorts Joshua to possess the land as He exhorted him to enter and conquer it in chapter 1. • It was ‘a good land’ (Deut. 8: 7 -10), but Israel had to prove this by possessing all of it (Josh. 13: 1 -7). • Are we energetically going in for and enjoying our many spiritual blessings in the heavenlies (Eph. 1: 3, 4: 3; 6: 10 -18)? redbubble. com

It’s important (13: 1 -6 a) • Joshua was old − time is against us in this life so we need to possess our blessings urgently (v. 1 a; Eph. 5: 16 etc. ). • These verses show: - God delights to bless His people (Josh. 13: 1 b; Eph. 1: 3) - His blessings are real and specific (Josh. 13: 2 -6 a; Eph. 1: 4 -8) - we should all enjoy them now (Josh. 13: 6 b; Eph. 3: 14 -19).

We’re slow − Satan’s crafty • Israel was slow to possess all the land as we sometimes are to go in for all our blessings. • Satan positions his forces to try to stop us (Josh. 13: 2 -6 a; Eph. 6: 12). • Many of Israel’s enemies were left on the fringes of the land − see the map. • Our enemies will attack us from the ‘places’ we do not possess (Eph. 4: 17 -5: 12). The Sidonians and Amorites (vs. 4, 6) The Philistines, Gittites and Avites (vs. 2 -3) The Geshuri (v. 2) The Giblites and inhabitants of Lebanon (vs. 5, 6)

Why divide the land? (v. 6 b) • The land was God’s inheritance (Ex. 15: 6) but He possessed it through His people as each tribe occupied its part in an orderly and effective way (Josh. 13: 7) – one people; twelve tribes. • It‘s a matter of pleasure and glory for God that we each possess our spiritual blessings as members together of the body of Christ (Eph. 1: 5, 6; 2: 6, 11 -22). • He used the Apostle Paul to reveal the way the truth of the assembly, which is Christ’s body, should be worked out in practice (1: 22 -23; 3: 1 -4: 16) as Joshua was responsible for dividing the land. dreamstime. com

Why only 9½ tribes? (vs. 7 -13) • 2½ tribes did not go over the Jordan with Joshua − they preferred the wilderness side of the river because it was better for grazing their herds of cattle (Num. 32: 1 -5; 19). • God confirms the territory Moses His servant gave these tribes (Josh. 13: 8) after defeating Israel’s enemies there (v. 12), but they did not fully possess it (v. 13). PINNACLE development and coaching

What do we learn from this sad story? • To possess our spiritual blessings we have to ‘go over Jordan’ − know what it is to have died with Christ, and to be risen with Him (Col. 2: 11 -13) and seated in the heavenlies in Him (Eph. 2: 5 -6). • We lose out more than we think when we put our interests before God’s blessings (Ex. 3: 8) − the 2½ tribes were the first to be conquered (2 Kgs. 10: 32 -33). • Did Reuben and Gad cause the division in Manasseh (Num. 32: 5 -7)? − we should encourage one another and keep our eyes on our Joshua (1 Thess. 5: 11; Heb. 12: 1 -2 − see also Phil. 3). www. riverdeben. org

The happy story of the Levites (v. 14) • They received the portion of the offerings of God by fire (Lev. 7: 35) rather than a part of the land (Deut. 18: 1 -8; Num. 18: 20 -32). • They deserved judgment (Gen. 49: 5 -7) but God turned this to blessing (Deut. 33: 8 -11; Ex. 32: 19, 26 -29; Mal. 2: 4 -7; Jer. 33: 19 -22; Ezek. 44: 15 -30) − recovery is possible! • They inherited cities in the portions of the other tribes even among the 2½ tribes (Josh 21: 1 -3; compare the rest of ch. 21 with ch. 20). • We have privileges and responsibilities Godward and manward as holy and royal priests (1 Pet. 2: 5, 9), which we should enjoy and fulfil as Paul did (Eph. 3: 20 -21; 5: 19 -20, Heb. 13: 15 -16). Pattern Pictures. com

Reuben, Gad and ½ Manasseh (vs. 15 -32) • Joshua allots portions to these tribes on the wilderness side of the Jordan as Moses had instructed him (Num. 32: 28 -29; Josh. 14: 1 -3). • Israel had already killed Balaam, the soothsayer and author of their fornication at Baal-peor (v. 22; Num. 25; 31: 16; 1 John 3: 8). • All the more reason to go over the Jordan!

The Levites again (v. 33) • The portion of the Levites − with the 9½ tribes in the land − is Jehovah, the God of Israel. • The more we possess our spiritual blessings, the more we become occupied with the One in whom they all centre. • He dwells in our hearts (Eph. 3: 17 … we know His love (v. 19) … we know Him, gain Him (Phil. 3: 8, 10) … He is everything to us (Col. 3: 11) …

Judah, Ephraim and ½ Manasseh • Eleazar the priest, Joshua and the elders allot portions to these tribes (Josh. 14: 1): - Judah (15: 1 -63) - the children of Joseph: - Ephraim (16: 1 -10); - the other half-tribe of Manasseh (17: 1 -13). • It’s a serious matter to be entrusted something by God, but we can count on Him to help us (2 Tim. 1: 14).

Compare the two Manassehs Joshua 13: 29– 32 Joshua 17: 1– 13 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: 1 And the lot came to the tribe of Manasseh (for he was the firstborn of Joseph), to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war, and he had Gilead and Bashan. 2 There was also a portion for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these are the children of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, 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. 3 And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. And he gave them according to the commandment of Jehovah an inheritance among the brethren of their father. This description reminds us of King Og, and may indicate his memory continued to have an influence on that part of the land. This description is full and includes the names of those of were involved. The daughters of Zelophehad were exercised to secure their inheritance. The portion of the tribe is described as touching the portions of the surrounding tribes – indeed there was some overlap of settlements – which implies interdependence among the people of God. 5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which are beyond the Jordan. 6 For 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 Micmethath, which is before Shechem, and the border went on the right hand toward 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 torrent Kanah, south of the torrent. These cities were Ephraim's among the cities of Manasseh. And the territory of Manasseh was on the north side of the torrent, and ended at the sea. 10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. And they touched upon Asher on the north, and upon Issachar on the east. 11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and Ibleam and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages, the three hilly regions.

eatingthebibleblog. files. wordpress. com Joseph and Judah • 1 Chron. 5: 1 -2 tells us: - Reuben’s birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel (Gen. 49: 22 -26; Deut. 21: 17 − Ephraim = ‘double fruitfulness’; Josh. 14: 4 a) - Judah prevailed among his brethren, and from him rather than Reuben came the chief ruler (Gen. 49: 3 -4, 8 -11). • Every right and blessing will belong to the Lord Jesus when all things in heaven and on earth are headed up in Him (Eph. 1: 10; Phil. 2: 9 -11; Ps. 72: 2, 7, 15 -17). • But we can possess our spiritual blessings in Him even now. jmslifejoy. wordpress. com

The remaining seven tribes • Israel was still slow to possess the land so Joshua exhorts them again (Josh. 18: 1 -7; Eph. 4: 1 -16): - Benjamin (Josh. 18: 11 -28) - Simeon (19: 1 -9) - Zebulun (10 -16) - Issachar (17 -23) - Asher (24 -31) - Naphtali (32 -39) - Dan (40 -48).

Joshua’s own inheritance • Joshua waits patiently until He has completed dividing the land between the tribes (Josh. 19: 49; Acts 20: 17 -35). • The children of Israel give him the portion he asks for in his own tribe − Timnath-serah, meaning ‘abundant portion’ (Josh. 19: 50 a). • He lives there although it is a difficult and dangerous part of the land (19: 50 b; 17: 15 -18). • He was a leader who watched over Israel and whose life had lasting effects after his death (24: 31; Heb. 13: 11, 17). Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

A good land … • Canaan, the land of promise, has four natural borders: desert in the south (Num. 34: 3), the Great Sea to the west (v. 6), mountains in the north (v. 7), the Jordan on the east (v. 12). • It was a land of natural resources and great beauty and variety (Deut. 8: 7 -10), and the home of the patriarchs (Gen. 15: 7, 13 -16; Heb. 11: 9). • There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was God’s intention to give Canaan to His people as their land (Gen. 17: 8; Ex. 6: 4; Num. 13: 17 -25; 32: 5). www. taringa. net

But what was its special feature? • God placed His name there and gathered His people around Him (Deut. 12: 11; Ex. 23: 14 -17). • Joshua 19: 51 says: ‘These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country. ’ • We will enjoy our spiritual blessings in heaven with Christ in peace and rest before our God and Father fully and forever, but we can possess them now in the heavenlies in Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit − why don’t we? Read Eph. 3: 14 -19 again. www. plastik-mp. com