Joshua 17-19

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Joshua 17:1-18

“There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by 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 were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by 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 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, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. 5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of Jordan; 6 because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead. 7 And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah. 8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; 9 and the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea: 10 southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. 11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out. 14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? 15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. 16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. 17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: 18 but the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED625]

“We come, in the 17^th chapter, to the tribe of Manasseh, we ended with some things that he said to us about the children of Ephraim, we are looking at the tribe of Joseph. But the Ephraimites did not drive out the Canaanites, but they put them to tribute, which is a condemnation of the Ephraimites, because if they became strong enough to put them to tribute, they were that powerful, they were also powerful enough then to drive them out as they had been instructed by the LORD. But there are too many things, aren’t there, in all of our lives that we’d rather not drive out, we just put them to tribute, and we let them live there. As we come into chapter 17, we’re still looking as it were at Joseph, we’re looking at Manasseh here. Ah, half the tribe of Manasseh, you remember Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh took up, asked Moses before they entered into the land, ‘Could we have our inheritance here?’ in the area of Gilead. And Moses was furious at first, and they said, ‘No, no, look, we’ll go and we’ll fight with our brethren until everybody has received their portion, then let us come back here.’ And as we go into this we’re going to see some interesting things. if you remember in Genesis chapter 48, there, as Jacob and the children of Israel are in Egypt, and Joseph has been revealed to them, Jacob comes to Joseph and says ‘These two sons of yours, Manasseh and Ephraim, they from now on, they’re mine,’ [for purposes of legal adoption] and Joseph says ‘They’re yours.’ And he brought his sons, and it says they stood between Jacob’s knees, ‘And he put forth his hands to pronounce a blessing upon them,’ Joseph positioned them so Manasseh would be under his right hand and Ephraim under his left, because Manasseh was the first-born, Manasseh was the older, and it says when Jacob reached out he crossed his hands, and he put his right hand upon Ephraim and his left hand upon Manasseh, and Joseph said “Not so, my father,” and Jacob says ‘No, I know what I’m doing,’ and this is what the LORD has decreed. And very interesting, hundreds of years before this (in chapter 17 of Joshua) God had clearly said that the greater blessing would end up to be upon Ephraim and not upon Manasseh. [Comment: And here’s an interesting point, one the Jews don’t like to admit, but in Genesis 49 Jacob prophecied that to Judah, the Jews, would be given the scepter of kingship, leading to the Messiah, {including king David being in that line of kings}, and to Joseph, being the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh was to go the birthright blessings of land and great wealth, as well as their possessing “the gates of their enemies.” These birthright blessings are repeatedly promised by God “to the Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” in Genesis 12 through 48, and ending up going to Joseph’s two sons which became the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, whoever they are now, as they’ve become historically lost after 721BC. This division of the promise of Sceptre and Birthright, both given to Abraham, but later divided up between Judah and the sons of Joseph, is clearly spelled out in 1^st Chronicles 5:2, where it says “For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s” In Genesis 48 Jacob prophecied Joseph’s two sons would become “one great nation,” Manasseh, and a “company of nations,” Ephraim. They both are currently historically lost, but the prophetic riddle can be easily solved by looking for two kindred nations, one a “company of nations” and one “great nation,” both speaking the same language, and up till recently (the 20^th century), both possessing “the gates of their enemies.” If you figure it out, you’ll plainly see Ephraim did get the bigger blessing of lands and wealth during the 1800s into the early 1900s, and Ephraim ended up possessing more “gates of their enemies” than Manasseh, as their Empire spanned the globe. The Jews don’t like to hear stuff like this, nor do conventional Christians, but when the LORD regathers the 12 tribes back to the Promised Land after the Tribulation (World War III), these secondary truths will become evident. For now, believe what you want to on this subject.] And it’s for you and I, it’s interesting, God of course pronounced his blessing upon the 2^nd birth, hasn’t he, not on the first birth, and it’s necessary for us to be born-again, and his blessing is pronounced upon the second birth, not upon the first. We see those types in Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, we see it in other places. But as we move into this, we’re going to see now him pronouncing a blessing upon Manasseh, and what you and I want to remember is, if you’re familiar and you should be to some degree, with Genesis chapter 49 where Jacob blesses the tribes, and in Deuteronomy chapter 33 where Moses reiterated that blessing, here's something that God said about these tribes hundreds of years before this event [and don’t forget, Jacob said in Genesis 49 that these were prophecies for these tribes as they would become nations, during the end-times, which most don’t realize is now, and not merely hundreds of years after Jacob spoke this prophecy, but it’s about what and who each tribe would become as a nation. We know that wherever the tribe of Dan would go, he’d place his name there, and you have the Danube river, Denmark, which is pronounced Danmark by the Danes, and the founding tribe of Ireland is called in Gaelic Tuatha de Danaan, which translates as Tribe of Dan, and Dannebrog, is the name for the ancient flag of Denmark. So Genesis 49 is really a prophetic description and a set of clues as to what each tribe would become as a nation. We’ll know for sure who the other seven tribes are when Jesus regathers them after his 2^nd coming and brings them back into the Promise Land of Israel. Israel is waaay more than just the Jews, those of the tribe of Judah]. And now the Talmud’s telling us at this point in time, lots are being drawn up to divide up the land, that the names of the tribes are in one pot, and the names of the territories and descriptions are in the other, and that the priest, Eleazar is simultaneously drawing out a description of a lot with the name of a tribe, but we know to the Jew [people of the tribe of Judah] the lot is not gambling. They accept the fact that the dice are loaded before this process starts, and then it tells us in the Book of Proverbs the lot falls out the way the LORD wants it to. So it’s very fascinating to go back and read through Genesis 49, particularly Deuteronomy 33, and then you see these things falling out the way they had been described long before this. What’s important about that for you and I is that the LORD also has described our inheritance, he’s already told us what our inheritance would be like, what our eternal state would be like, he’s already told us about things that have not fallen out to us yet, and we can trust him. He knows without mistake, without error, exactly the way these things would fall out, and he knows in our lives what’s coming. I can’t imagine, and I don’t know about you guys, watching the news today and not having a Bible, that would be a difficult undertaking for me. You know, I just check the news to see where we are in the Bible [for a glimpse of what’s coming on the world, based on prophecy and history of what’s already gone before, see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm]. Because they don’t know, but we do know. So, we have this interesting process put in front of us here.

The Daughters of Zelophehad, God Doesn’t Leave Women Out

It says, “There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.” (verse 1) we had looked at Ephraim, the other son of Joseph. And then the lot of the children of Manasseh fell out, I’m not going to give you all of these names, I probably wouldn’t pronounce them properly, but you wouldn’t know that anyhow. The territory is described and the children that these lots fell out to. Verse 3 says “But 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. And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us” remember back in Numbers chapter 27 “an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. And there fell ten portions to Manasseh,” now this is Manasseh that is inside the land of Israel “beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan; because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.” (verses 3-6) Look, take note of this girls, there is as much as an inheritance, as much a promise to the single woman as there is to the married woman. If any of these daughters of Zelophehad had been married, their inheritance would have been with the men they had married, and whatever tribes they were in. These were single women. And they were willing to take a stand. In fact, the others, their brothers, the men, half the tribe of Manasseh, actually settled for less they were willing to settle for, they settle for their inheritance on the other side of Jordan [actually, in land area, the inheritance in square miles on the eastern side of Jordan, in Bashan, was larger than the land area of Manasseh’s inheritance within the land of Israel, and they actually complain to Joshua about that, as we’ll see]. Here are these single women, the daughters of Zelophehad, that had come to Moses back in Numbers 27, now they’re reiterating the promise, and they’re saying ‘No, just because we’re women and our father had no sons, it means there’s no inheritance? That’s not right,’ and Moses sought the LORD, and the LORD said ‘You’re right,’ so now an inheritance is falling out to them, and they aren’t slighted at all, because they’re single, they’re not slighted at all because most of the inheritance fell to men. And my exhortation to you single gals that are here, is not to settle for less. You can sit around and look at everybody that’s married and say, ‘It’s easy for them to do, they’ve got a husband…’ look, our inheritance first of all is spiritual, our inheritance is the Lord [just like the tribe of Levi], and don’t think because a woman is married she has an advantage over you. Because it’s after you get married you find out the Lord is a way better inheritance than a husband is anyway. And it’s way easier to be single and want to be married than it is to be married and want to be single. So take inventory where you are, don’t settle for less, don’t compromise, don’t give yourself away sexually, don’t give yourself away in anything for less, do not compromise. These daughters of Zelophehad were single women that stood and said “We will not settle for less.” Would to God the world was filled with single women like that today. Because the world is telling you of a different standard, forcing a different culture down your throat. Now let me tell you something, first of all, any Christian guy who says he loves you, and won’t wait until you get married, loves himself and loves his own pleasure and doesn’t love you at all. And I’ll make sure that’s clear with my daughters, and it has been. If he loves you, he’ll wait, and do what the Lord says he should do in honouring you. And if he’s trying to do anything other than that, you come and tell us, tell him to close his eyes, let him have it. A right-cross, give him a biblical punch. But look, don’t settle for less. Here are these single women, the married women in Israel had no advantage over them, these daughters of Zelophehad, came again to Joshua and Eleazar and said ‘You know what Moses said, we want our inheritance,’ and it says because the daughters of Manasseh, they had an inheritance among his sons, and yet the rest of Manasseh’s sons, they settled for less than the daughters did. So noteworthy to take note of this. And God’s Word being fulfilled, and look it’s interesting when the census was taken in the Book of Numbers, Manasseh outnumbered Ephraim. Now that they’ve come to settle in the land, we find Ephraim outnumbering Manasseh, just as Jacob had said, and all of this known.

Are You Content To Let Something Dwell In Your Life That Shouldn’t Be There?

So, verse 7 says this, “And the coast of Manasseh” if you’re interested in coasts you can read that, “was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.” now look, it goes down to verse 11, I’m not going to torture you will all of that, but again, to the tribe of Manasseh this was very important, all of this was treasure, all of this was something given by God’s grace and God’s promise to them. [see this link]

Yet it says in verse 12, “Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.” Notice, “Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.” (verse 13) that’s when they could have driven them out. Again, if they’re strong enough to put them to tribute they’re strong enough to drive them out. In your life and my life, there are those things sometimes as we mature, become stronger, sometimes we’re just content to let something dwell there that shouldn’t be there, because maybe it’s not on the front page of the newspaper, it’s not on the overhead here at church and everybody can’t see it, sometimes we’re content to let it dwell there, and pay us, stroke us, pay us some kind of tribute. No, we are to take fully the things that God has given to us. Now look, there is, for each of us, an inheritance in Christ, there is that eternal inheritance, and then there are great and precious promises that says whereby we partake of the divine nature, having overcome the corruption that’s in this world through lust.’ For you and I it’s a matter of possession, the land has been given, where we are victorious in Christ. That’s not the question. It’s all been handed to us, and the challenge for you and I is to take possession of those things, and I guarantee you, look, he’s the same yesterday, today and forever. And we can go to him and say ‘Father, I’m struggling with this, your Word promised me a victory here, and yet I’m really having a struggle Lord, would you, Lord, please give me strength and give me victory here.’ He will not deny himself. If he’s promised it, he’ll grant it. Now, again, some things come little by little, you know, he told some of the tribes ‘I’m not gonna give you all the land at once, but by little by little,’ but our process is one of growth, you and I, again, we’re being conformed into an image. We’re not just headed for a destination, but the destination is also an image, and God is working, conforming us into the image of his Son. So, here we see a problem, it’s always a problem, they did not drive them out, they had the Captain of the LORD’s host with them, he appeared to Joshua back in chapter 5, shouldn’t have been a problem, the problem was not with the LORD, the problem was one way or another with them, they proved, that even when they became strong, they didn’t exercise authority and drive them out.

Ephraim Complains To Joshua About Not Getting Enough Land

Verse 14, “And the children of Joseph” we’re going to find out, we’re talking about Ephraim here, “spake unto Joshua saying, Why hast thou given me but one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD has blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” (verses 14-15) Now look, Joshua is allowed to give them a very straight forward answer, because Joshua is from the tribe of Ephraim. And Ephraim is a tribe that gives Joshua a hard time here, that gives Gideon a hard time, that will give David a hard time, the Ephraimites seem to have this problem, they’re the major tribe in the north, and yet they’re coming to Joshua here, maybe expecting some kind of favoritism, maybe hoping to temp him because he’s from Ephraim, and they’re saying ‘Hey, we’re strong, we’re big, we want more,’ there’s some entitlement, ‘we deserve this, we deserve that,’ it’s interesting for us to watch Joshua, because he’s way too much of a man to succumb to any of this. And there’s a great lesson in it, he won’t get involved here in gossip, he won’t stoop to carnal means, Joshua, we’re going to find waits till everyone in the land has their inheritance, then he asks for what he wants, the very last, he’s very content, because his inheritance is the LORD. And there are people in our tribes, sometimes, in our family, in our immediate family and in the tribe we hang around with, there are lots of tribes here in church, I see you. And sometimes within those tribes there are people that want to push us towards discontentment or gossip or ‘We deserve more than this,’ or that kind of thing. It’s very interesting to see Joshua turn right around, ‘So ya, you’re a great, big, tough people, well go on into the mountains and kill the giants then, like Caleb my buddy, he was 85 years old, he said ‘Give me Hebron, I’m ready to fight like when I was 40, stab those giants in the knees, when they bend over I’ll stick ‘em in the eye.’ Caleb had no problem at all. You want me just to hand you something, the next generation, you just want it handed to you? Don’t you know we fought for it, we were in the Wilderness for 40 years, don’t you know that Caleb and I wanted to go in 38 years ago, don’t you know about the seven wars of Canaan, and you just want it handed to you? It’s there, the same God is with you. If you want it, you think the portion that is handed to you is too small, well go on up into the forest then, cut down the wood for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if Mount Ephraim, if it’s too narrow for you.’ Verse 16, “And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people,” ‘well that’s what you just told me,’ “and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: but the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.” (verses 16-18) that’s God’s Word, that he would drive out the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, you go through that, he had promised them. He says ‘If you say you are what you are, you have no problem. Go, it’s yours, take it and develop it, cut it down, cut down the forest, drive out the giants, there’s plenty of land there.’ You know, great men don’t just inherit, if all we leave our own kids, or all we leave the next generation is something that a lawyer can settle, you haven’t left them anything at all. Inheritance has to be much more than that. And character and vision and hope and faith and determination, someone whose willing to take a little bit of rough terrain and subdue it and fight for it, and cultivate and turn it into something fruitful, that’s the kind of inheritance that we want to leave to our children, we want to leave to the next generation. It’s interesting when we get to Judges, it’s going to say there that God left some of the Canaanites in the land to teach the next generation how to do battle. He doesn’t need swordsmanship and chariots and horses, he needs “fall on your knees and cry out to me,” that the LORD would be on their side and they would come into the land the way the children of Israel came out of Egypt when the Red Sea was divided when and the children of Israel came into Canaan and the Jordan River was divided, the way the walls of Jericho fell down, and the sun and the moon stood still in the Valley of Ajalon, the next generation needs to learn those things, it doesn’t need to just have something handed to it like there’s entitlements. Along with that, of course, is always that exhortation, that instruction, “You’re great, you’re powerful, go get ‘em, let’s see, take it, cut it down, cultivate it, drive out the inhabitants, drive out the giants, let it be yours, the sky is the limit, because you and Jesus Christ are always the majority.” David would say ‘Though ten thousand fall at my right,’ David understood that completely. Nobody has slighted anybody in this room, nobody has overlooked anybody in this room, a man’s or a woman’s gifts, they make room for themselves, and the eyes of the Lord go to and fro in the whole earth, looking for someone whose heart is right, that he might show himself strong on their behalf. And here Joshua’s speaking to his own tribe, and I’m glad it was his own tribe, because if it wasn’t his own tribe he’d have left and they would have talked about him when he was gone. This, by the way, when he walked away, they said ‘How’d he get in this tribe anyway, where’d he come from?’ He says ‘It doesn’t matter that they have iron chariots,’ he challenges them, he’s too spiritually minded to be tempted by his own tribe, I really appreciate that, if you want to be any good for your tribe, whatever it is, be too spiritually minded to be tempted by the things they put in front of you that are wrong.”

Joshua 18:1-28

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. 2 And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. 3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? 4 Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me. 5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north. 6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither 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, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them. 8 And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh. 9 And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. 10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions. 11 And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. 12 And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven. 13 And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of nether Beth-horon. 14 And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kijath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter. 15 And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah: 16 and the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel, 17 and was drawn from the north, and went forth to Enshemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah: 19 and the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast. 20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families. 21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz, 22 and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel, 23 and Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, 24 and Chephar-haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, 26 and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, 27 and Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, 28 and Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.”

“Chapter 18 says this, “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle there. And the land was subdued before them.” (verse 1) it wasn’t all possessed, it was subdued. Now, look, Shiloh is more in the middle of the land, we used to be able to visit there when we went to Israel, it’s in the West Bank, it’s way too tense now. A lot of the remarkable things about going to Shiloh, and it’s startling when you go there, is where the tabernacle was set up itself is kind of on a lower hill with a flat top, and of the hills around Shiloh are higher. And you can look down, it will stagger you, you can see the broken down stone wall that was outside where the Tabernacle was set up. And you look down there, and think Samuel was there. The great men were there, you look down there and think Eleazar was there, and Joshua was there, Shiloh’s still there. Very interesting thing, there was a tradition developed amongst the Israelites that when they came for the Feasts, they came to partake, that whenever they partook of anything that was cooked or bred, they would always do it in view of the tabernacle. So on the hills, they’re all higher than Shiloh, everywhere there’s broken pottery, everywhere you go, and it’s deep, it’s thick. The only place there’s no pottery, is you walk behind a little hill or a higher hill, and there’s no view of where the tabernacle was, there’s no pottery at all there. Because they all believed, and you stand there, and you imagined the hundreds of thousands of Israel gathered, looking down at the Tabernacle, and it’s staggering. The Tabernacle is moved now to Shiloh, which is in the center of the land, and it will remain there until shortly before the days of David, David will be the one ultimately to bring it to Jerusalem, but interesting this move now to Shiloh, which means “rest.” “And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.” (verse 2) So this is what’s happening, you have Reuben, half the tribe of Manasseh (and Gad) on the other side, you have half of Manasseh and Ephraim in the north, the major tribes, Judah the major tribe on the south, God allowed it to be that way, and then there’s seven other tribes that have not yet inherited, they have not yet taken their possession. Look in verse 3, “And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?” past tense, it’s already given to them, a gift, “how long are ye slack to possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.” (verses 3b-4) seven tribes, 21 men, this is what’s happening at this point in time. Seven tribes, and evidently there’s a lull here, evidently there must be some time between when Ephraim and Judah have inherited, that these other tribes are content, they’re in the land, they’re living there, but they haven’t said ‘Yo, what about our portion?’ And Joshua seems to be bothered by this, and says ‘How long will you be slack, why aren’t you coming saying Where’s our portion? where’s our tribe? where’s our inheritance? How long will you be lazy?’ that’s the word for “slack” there, you guys know what a slacker is, no one who owns a business wants a slacker working for them. He says ‘You guys are slackers, how long are you going to be like this?’ ‘You know, this is the dream of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, you’re in the land, most of it’s been divided, there are seven tribes that haven’t received, what are you doing?’ And he says to them what God said to Abraham, ‘arise, walk through the land, view it all, take it all in.’ Josephus tells us that these 21 men were expert in geometry and drawing maps, and that they had skills that Israel had learned when they were in Egypt, so these men chosen specifically, evidently, and they were sent forth to go through the rest of the land, to walk through it, to view it, to map it out, and then to come back and divide what’s left into seven portions for the seven tribes that haven’t received. And then, well look, I’m getting ahead here, I’m too excited. “Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me. And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.” the Lion in the south, the Ox in the north, “Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.” (verses 4-6) So the land is to be viewed by the natural eye, there’s human skill involved, go look, go appraise, go make an assessment, come back with suggestions, tell me what you see. But the dividing of it is by completely different means. Imagine, these 21 now representing their tribes, they go, it doesn’t tell us how long it takes. And they go through the land like Abraham, through the length of it, and through the breadth of it, and they measure it out and they look at it. And they come back then to Joshua and they say ‘This is what the land is, this is what it looks like, these are what it would make sense to make seven portions divided up this way, here’s natural boundaries, here’s rivers, here’s mountains, here’s desert, here’s springs, here’s streams,’ and Joshua says ‘Alright, then let’s write those descriptions down, let’s put them here, and we’re going to cast lots to see who gets what.’ I wonder if anybody’s blowing steam out of their ears, ‘after all this mapping, all this work, everything we’ve done, now it’s going to be divided by prayer? now they’re going to bring some hyper spiritual idea here?’ There doesn’t seem to be any of that complaining [except the tribe of Dan didn’t think they got enough land, so they’re told to go up north and conquer some more land, which they did], that God uses our natural abilities, and the land was viewed by natural means. But the division of it was by a very, very different means, and they honoured it, and they understood that God is the one, he knows our gifts, he apportions one thing to one and another thing to another. And the dividing of the lots was not equal, as a matter of fact. Judah, because they were the largest tribe, they received a larger inheritance. In Numbers Moses said it was going to be divided according to the size of the tribe, and so they were not all equal. Jesus in Matthew 25:14 tells us about a householder who goes away, and he gives five talents to one man, he gives two talents to another man, and one talent to another man, according as every man’s ability that he divides. And he expected them to take that, and to develop it, and to bring a return on it. And the rewards they receive were according to their faithfulness, not necessarily production. Look, I’m sure there are some grandma’s and grandpa’s in this church that have been more faithful in their calling than I have been in mine. And in that day that tale will be told, there are some folks here that have been more faithful in the thing that God has put in front of them, and nobody’s really noticed their ministry very much. And there are people that are in very visible positions that have not been all that faithful. God views all of this a very different way than you and I would. So they come with all of this description, very pragmatic, very much done with human ingenuity, their minds, their skills, and as they come, then he says “that I might cast lots for you here” in Shiloh “before the LORD our God. But the Levites have no part among you: for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them. And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.” (verses 6b-8) “And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.” (verses 9-10) As our Joshua does, it says the Spirit divides every man severally as he will, our Jesus does the same. And it begins to give us now the lots, ok. We won’t labour here, we’re going to move through some of this, but it says here “And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin” son of my right hand, Benjamin “came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.” (verse 11) because Benjamin’s brother was Joseph, interesting to see his lot fall out right here [between the northern border of Judah and the southern border of Joseph, Ephraim]. It you read Deuteronomy 33, Moses prophecied that he would be between the shoulders, very interesting to see him here between the two largest tribes, that his lot fell out exactly where it is said, very interesting to see him here between the two largest tribes, that his lot fell out exactly where it was said it would fall out. [Fascinating, Moses gives prophecies about the 12 tribes in greater detail than Jacob did in Genesis 49, and Joseph (Ephraim & Manasseh) get the birthright blessings of great wealth from both the land and sea, keeping in step with the birthright promises bestowed in them by Jacob in Genesis 48.] No mistakes, nothing to complain about, God in charge. We’re told much the same in Romans chapter 8, ‘Whom he did foreknow he did predestine…’ “And their border on the north side” it begins to describe, verse 14 it tells us it compasses southward, verse 16 the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the son of Hinnom on that side, it gives, there by Jebusi, Jerusalem, the end of verse 16 was part near the border of Benjamin. The border passed along the side, verse 19, Beth-hoglah northward giving us the borders, and verse 28 says this, see we got through Benjamin, you were worried, we got through, “And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.” We’re going to find out other areas have more cities, fourteen cities.

Joshua 19:1-51

“And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even 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 And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah, 3 and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, 4 and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, 5 and Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, 6 and Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages: 7 Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: 8 and all the villages that were round about these cities to Baal-athbeer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. 9 Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. 10 And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families; and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid: 11 and their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam; 12 and turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia, 13 and from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah; 14 and the border compasseth it on the north side to Hanna-thon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el: 15 and Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages. 17 And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families. 18 And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem, 19 and Haphraim, and Shihon, and Anaharath, 20 and Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez, 21 and Remeth, and Engannim, and Enhaddah, and Beth-pazzez; 22 and the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Beth-shemesh; and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages. 24 And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. 25 And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph, 26 and Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath; 27 and turneth toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reacheth to Zebulun and to the valley of Jiphthah-el toward the north side of Beth-emek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand, 28 and Hebron [must be a different Hebron because this is near Zidon], and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto Zidon; 29 and then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city of Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib: 30 Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty two cities with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages. 32 The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali even for the children of Naphtali according to their families. 33 And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan: 34 And then the coast turneth westward to Aznoth-tabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon the Jordan toward the sunrising. 35 And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth, 36 and Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor, 37 and Kedesh, and Edrei, and Enhazor, 38 and Iron, and Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages. 40 And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41 And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, 42 and Shaal-abbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, 43 and Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, 44 and Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baal-ath, 45 and Jehud, and Benebberak, and Gath-rimmon, 46 and Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. 47 And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and 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. 49 When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: 50 according to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein. 51 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.”

Introduction: Lots Divided Amongst The Seven Remaining Tribes

“The second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families:” notice this, “and their inheritance was within the inheritance of Judah.” (verse 1) Now Genesis 49, it said they had no inheritance in the land, that they wouldn’t have any borders, very interesting here, because Simeon and Levi went in and slaughtered the sons of Shechem, Jacob said they were evil and angry men, Simeon is completely contained within another tribe, so it has no border like the rest of the tribes, and it has no inheritance then as it were, it become assimilated into Judah, the very inheritance of Simeon was completely inside the tribe of Judah. Very interesting, Ephraim is screaming for more, Judah very gracious to let this tribe fall out right in their midst and we hear no complaint. Verse 10, “And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid:” you want to read again, Genesis 49, Deuteronomy 33, “and their border went up toward the sea,” toward the Mediterranean. Ah, the 4^th, down in verse 17, “And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families.” it gives you there then the borders of the families of Issachar, 24, verse 24, “And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.” [Comment: I grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, and the local neighborhood boy I befriended was a Jewish boy named Bobby, and his parents, very strangely to me at the time, named his baby sister Happy, Happy. It was strange until I learned the Hebrew name for Happy is Asher, one of the children of Jacob was named “Happy,” and Mr. & Mrs. Patkin were naming their newborn daughter after one of the 12 tribes of Israel, Asher, Happy Patkin. Here’s another good one, a Jewish pants manufacturer in Fitchburg, MA, whose name is not Asher btw, named his company and the building it was in “The Asher Pants Company,” it was a Hebrew joke, he named his company and the building it was in “The Happy Pants Company.” It’s now been turned into an apartment complex, where one of my adoptive daughters lives with her son and boyfriend. She lives in “The Happy Pants Building.”] ‘Asher shall dip his foot in oil,’ we have in Deuteronomy 33. Everybody’s up there with oil rigs, drilling and drilling and drilling trying to hit oil, I don’t know if they’re going to hit it in Asher, but there’s more olive groves in Asher than anywhere in Israel, but they have olive oil, but God bless ‘em if they hit oil that’s fine too. [Here’s where the tribe of Asher was located in the land of Israel:

Twelve Tribes of Israel]

Ah, some prophecies have more than a one-fold fulfillment, I don’t know [like I’ve been saying about Ephraim and Manasseh all along, plus all of Genesis 49 was spoken by Jacob to his 12 sons, “for the time of the end,” which is now, not then, who they’d all be as nations at the times of the end, Genesis 49:1 says “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” That’s very specific, if you ask me, “in the last days…this is who you will be, what you’ll be like as nations.” Don’t forget God’s promise to Abraham, as he renamed him from Abram to Abraham, “that kings and nations would come out of your loins,” not just tribes, but nations. Each tribe of Israel was prophecied to become a separate nation, Ephraim a company of nations, Manasseh one great brother nation, both possessing great wealth, resources, rich lands and “the gates of those who hate you.” (Genesis 35:9-12, 48 & 49), Denmark is pronounced Danmark by the Danes, and the original founding tribe of Ireland is called Tuatha de Danaan in Gaelic, translated “Tribe of Dan.” Then you have the children of Ishmael becoming 12 tribes, which became nations in North Africa and the Middle East. Esau became Edom, and a large portion of Edomite princes and people moved to ancient Persia (the ancient king list for Persia is identical to what’s found in Genesis 36) and they became the Turks, which migrated east, forming nations all the way to the end of Siberia and past the Chinese border, before they migrated back to what is now Turkey. All the Turk “stans” in Siberia are of Turk descent, as a matter of fact there are more people of Turk descent living in Siberia than in all of Turkey, outnumbering them by multiple millions. And we haven’t even gotten into who the sons of Abraham by Keturah have become as nations. God keeps his Word when he makes a promise. The Jews are not the only nation that came out of Abraham, as they’d like you to believe.] Ah Naphtali, look down in verse 32, “The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.” Now of course, beautiful prophecy in Matthew 4, verses 13 through 16, about “Zebulun and Naphtali have seen a great light.” because their area was the area of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee and north, and of course Christ came and walked through the territory of those tribes [but of course, because the 10 northern tribes had been taken captive and deported by the Assyrian Empire in 721BC, it was Jews living in that territory by the time Jesus walked inside that territory]. What an incredible blessing that Jehovah-God taking on human flesh and walking on the ground that these tribes, they’ve seen great light, blessing for those tribes [actually, the tribe of Judah living there].

Now Let’s Look At The Tribe Of Dan

Verse 40, “And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.” And it gives the coasts there of their inheritance, Zorah, Eshtaol, I can’t pronounced all of them, you see the coast there, and it says in verse 47, “And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.” It wasn’t too little for the LORD, notice it doesn’t say that. [Also notice, early on, the people of the tribe of Dan got in the habit of naming places they conquered or traveled through after their father Dan, Danube, Danmark, Tuatha de Danaan, Dnieper river, Don river. Dan, like the other tribes, after their captivity ended, travelled northwest into Europe and the Irish Isles and Denmark.] It was too little for Dan, “therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.” Now this is a very, very interesting lesson, those of you going with us next week, we will be standing in Dan, and of course Dan is the tribe that was not content, very important lesson, with its inheritance. Ah, ‘this is too little for us,’ not for the LORD, the rest of the tribes believed it was by God’s divine guidance that their inheritance fell out. This then become idolatry, before it ever manifests as idolatry it become idolatry [and strangely enough, or maybe not so strange Ireland becomes powerfully bonded to Roman Catholicism, which many believers in Jesus believe is a very idolatrous church, some even believing it will become the false church of Revelation 13 & 17], because stubbornness is as the sin of idolatry. We read Samuel describe that here. This tribe of Dan said, ‘No, we don’t want this.’ God is not surprised by this, he’s not surprised by stubborn children, he’s not surprised when we’re hardheaded and we head off for something he hasn’t told us to go to. It’s very interesting, in fact in Genesis chapter 14, when Chedorlaomer and the five kings of the north [Assyrians invading south, even in the time of Abraham] and carry away Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham and his 300 armed servants pursue them, and it says he pursued them, Moses writing, to Dan, which would be fifty years after this [Pastor Joe’s timing is waaay off, when this invasion by Chedorlaomer took place was well over 400 years earlier in Abraham’s time, Jacob hadn’t been born yet, the 12 sons of Jacob and all their possessions hadn’t even gone down into Egypt yet, can’t figure out where he’s going with this.] their inheritance was in the south [including the port city of Joppa], remember Samson of the tribe of Dan, and then they would migrate northward. And yet Israel becomes known as the land that goes from Dan to Beersheba, from the north to the south. And Moses, writing the book of Genesis says that Abraham pursued those kings northward through Dan, and then to Damascus. Very interesting, when you go there today, I’ve been there many times, there is the oldest freestanding mudbrick gate in the world at the city of Dan, it is over 4,000 years old. And you think when you go down to the Liberty Bell you’re seeing something old, you’re just getting started, that ain’t nothing. [What I think he’s indicating, is that Moses knew the people of the tribe of Dan, and knew their inheritance wouldn’t satisfy them, and that they’d end up taking Lachish, which is called Leshem here in verse 47 here. The Danites in the 800s AD through 900s AD, during the reign of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, founding king of England, would try to conquer all of England, the British Isles, as the Sword Danes, being allied with their brothers in Ireland. The BBC series “The Last Kingdom” portrays these wars against the British people by the Sword Danes, which were Danish Vikings. Jacob said this about his son Dan in Genesis 49:16-17, “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” That’s not very complementary, but does anyone remember the period of time called “The Troubles,” and the Irish Republican Army, the I.R.A. fighting the British in Northern Ireland? I’m old enough to remember the nightly news reports about this and the IRA bombings. Watch Patriot Games staring Harrison Ford, and Boondock Saints starring Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery for a graphic picture of the Danites, the modern day Sword Danes and Tuatha de Danaan.] When you go to Israel, something from Herod’s time 2,000 years ago, that’s kind of new. But when you look at this gate and realize this gate was here over 4,000 years ago, and it says that Abraham went to Dan, and then went to Damascus, you realize Abraham stood at this gate, yelling ‘Hey, my nephew Lot in there?’ Moses, Deuteronomy 34, it says God took him up into Mount Pisgah, and showed him all of the land. Now it’s describing things over 200 miles away, so it’s not with the natural eye that Moses is seeing, and in the description it goes from north to south, and Dan is described there in the north, long before it happens. God’s showing him the land, no doubt the way it would be, the hills of Jerusalem, one hill called Golgotha no doubt, the land brought before the eyes of Moses. Of course he would sneak in, on the Mount of Transfiguration he would ultimately get in there [it’s debatable as to whether that was a vision about the future coming Kingdom of God or a reality]. But this land will be known as the land that stretches from Dan to Beersheba [named Beersheva now in Israeli Hebrew]. The thing you want to take note of is, when idolatry is set up in the northern part, the golden calves are set up at Bethel and at Dan, and that golden calf that was set up at Dan is just a manifestation of the dissatisfaction that they had earlier. When they looked around and said what God has given us is not enough, that’s when idolatry begins, that’s when idolatry begins. Because the LORD says ‘I’m the LORD thy God, you shall have no other gods before me,’ that doesn’t mean ‘in line, I’ll be number one, I don’t care if you have a number two god, number three god, number four god,’ that’s not what the Word means, the Word means ‘in my presence, there shall be no other gods before me, in my presence, as I look, as I view’ and he sees everything. And for the tribe of Dan, they were not content with what God had given to them. He had given them boundaries, they were measurable, they were visible, they were marked out, there were battles attached to them. And for some reason, they were not content, that’s where the idolatry began. Because once they got to the north, once Jeroboam became king, once the country became divided [into the ten-tribed nation or kingdom of Israel, and the kingdom of Judah to the south during the reign of Rehoboam son of Solomon], then it’s no big thing for both Dan and Bethel to become religious centers, and say ‘Ya, we’ll set up a golden calf here so everybody doesn’t go down to Jerusalem to worship’ where they were supposed to worship, because long ago they had stepped outside of God’s will and God’s parameter for their lives, and this is what happens. If you or me, if we step outside of the parameters that God has given to us, and they’re divine, but look, we have them. OK? ‘What should I do in this relationship, is it ok to have sex or not ok to have sex, what should I do in this relationship? Can I smoke POT, it’s natural?’ Look, let me tell you something right now, it’s an open-book test, it’s an open-book test. If you don’t get a 100, I don’t want to go beyond that in my commentary, but you should. It’s an open-book test, and God has given us parameters. And look, some people, because of covetousness and idolatry, they perceive parameters as strangling, as constrictive, you guys that have raised children, you know why you put a fence around your yards, so they don’t get squashed on the street. You have parameters because you love them, because safety and freedom is within those parameters. Health, wellbeing, growth. And we so often think ‘Oh, God’s set up a parameter in regards to relationships, or set up a parameter in regards to sobriety, he set up a parameter in regards to gambling, and that’s restrictive,’ it isn’t restrictive at all, it’s your freedom, it will liberate you [from pain], it will liberate you, because again, the goal of all of this is to discover the right Master, the goal of life is to find the right Master, drugs is a cruel master, money is a cruel master, good servant, but a cruel master. Alcohol [the abuse of it], sex, cruel master, it’s ridiculous, you know, Jesus Christ is the Master that hung on the cross and died for us and shed his blood, the Master we’ve always looked for, he’s the One. And very interesting, it puts Dan [the tribe of Dan] in front of us last here, and it says ‘But for Dan there went out too little for them,’ not for the LORD but for them, “therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.” (verses 47b-48)

Joshua Gets A City For His Inheritance, And Our Joshua, Jesus Gets A City & So Do We

“When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel” after everything else is done, “gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them:” Joshua, a selfless leader here, “according to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.” (verses 49-50) Back in Numbers, God had promised both Joshua and Caleb they could pick the areas they’d gone through, they could make a choice. “in mount Ephraim” the tribe of Ephraim said ‘We don’t have enough territory,’ he said ‘Go on up into the mountain, cut down the trees, kill the giants.’ Then finally it comes to him last, they say ‘What do you want?’ ‘I want Timnath-serah up in the mountain of Ephraim, where the giants are.’ Caleb had taken Hebron where the giants were. It says they gave him his portion “which he asked, even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.” He cultivated it, he developed it, “and he dwelt therein.” Now look, interesting picture, Joshua doesn’t get a territory, he gets a city, because that’s our Joshua, he also gets a city, Revelation chapter 21 and 22 [the New Jerusalem, but that city is the future Headquarters city for the entire Universe], our Joshua, the city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven as a bride, adorned for her husband. Because all of us will fit in there, and more. [To learn about the New Jerusalem, click on http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%20%2021-22.htm] I could get lost there, maybe my two favorite chapters in the Bible, Revelation 21 and 22, this city, 1,500 miles long on a side, 1,500 miles high, perfect cube [I believe it will be a triangle, like a pyramid, we’ll have to see], like the Holy of holies in the Tabernacle and the Holy of holies in the Temple. Billions of people can dwell in it. [It’s the city for the Bride of Christ, which I believe will include all believers who have lived and died, from righteous Abel to the two witnesses who are the very first resurrected to immortality, as described in Revelation 11:3-12, which also includes everyone mentioned in the Faith chapter of Hebrews 11] The description is staggering, it would go from Atlantic City, I think, to Denver, imagine a city that big, and that high, that square [or a pyramid]. This Joshua here, that’s what he asks for, a city, and Timnath-serah means “the abundant portion” that’s what Timnath-serah means. For him the abundant portion was in the mountains, in the woods, where the giants were, he had a score to settle, because 38 years ago, plus the seven years, 45 years before this, he wanted to go and stick giants in the kneecap then, and it didn’t happen. Now here he is, he’s over 100, he’s older than Caleb, he says ‘Timnath-serah, that’s my choice, in the mountain of Ephraim, where all the rest of my tribe is whining about, that’s what I want, I want the territory amongst my own tribe that everybody else says was too tough, to fanatical.’ You know, be that Joshua, be that person in the middle of your own tribe that’s willing to take on the toughest things, because that’s where there’s an abundant portion, that’s where there’s an abundant portion. So it 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.” (verse 51) I’m sure you’re glad we’ve got that done. Now, we’re obviously not going to get to it tonight, if you’ll read ahead, we will be looking at the division of the land that’s left in regards to cities of refuge and cities of Levites, which don’t have an inheritance in the land, some remarkable chapters left here. If you’re bored, read through Judges, that’s where we’re going next, read ahead, become familiar with the Book of Judges, because there’s some remarkable, remarkable things there. Ah, let’s stand, let’s pray. Again, single gals, don’t settle for less than what the Bible says God has for you. Do not settle for less. And let me say the same thing, single guys, do not settle for less. Don’t spend your time envying, coveting someone else’s gift, someone else’s calling, someone else’s territory, God is in control, this is fallen out, he is ultimately wise, and he loves you. And sometimes if you just stop long enough, and look around, you’re right in the middle of a place you might flourish. I love Joni Eareckson’s daily devotional, because she talks about the lot that fell out to her, I’ve mentioned it before, and she said “As I looked, as a quadriplegic, I sat there,” she said, “my portion was an old lot full of broken shopping carts and rusty cans and trash, and here I was a quadriplegic, I looked, other people had streams and mountains and verdant areas, I had this old ratty, broken down life,” but I may not know anyone who has developed a portion that’s fallen out to them as she has developed hers and touched hundreds of thousands of lives. In fact she said, “I would rather know the Lord the way I know him now in this wheel chair, then be back with my health and how little I knew him then,” she said “this wheelchair has become my pulpit, he’s opened unimaginable doors for me.” For us, you have a home, you have kids, you have a wife, you have things right in front of your eyes, you have a husband, you have territory, you have an allotment, don’t let the television put some other thing in front of you. If you’re struggling with pornography get a filter for your computer, I have other suggestions but they’re expensive, be wise, be wise, let God purify your heart, let Jesus live through you, let him have the eyes that he paid for [he’s waxing eloquent now, as he wraps up] with his blood. Let him have the hands and the feet that he purchased with an unimaginable price, let him have the mouth that he would speak to a lost world through. You have an inheritance that is unimaginable, a portion incomprehensible has fallen out to you, the Spirit, the Spirit of God makes those things real to us, let them weigh more than the world around us that would pull us in a thousand other directions, because he’s coming, he’s coming. I was talking to my Bible class the other day, looking at Revelation 19, four times the word Hallelujah is mentioned, it’s a Hebrew synonym, but the only time in our English Bible you have the word Hallelujah is there. And you know it’s interesting, when I look at the scene in heaven, it says we’re going to be singing “Worthy are you” and so forth, it doesn’t tell us the language we’re going to be singing it in, I don’t think it’s going to be English, it doesn’t say in the Bible, we don’t even speak English, we speak American, but it doesn’t say everybody in the world is going to speak English when we get to heaven [more accurately, when we get to this New Jerusalem], it tells us what we’re going to say, but it doesn’t tell us words. The one word we have from the heavenly dialect is Hallelujah. We’re going to go to Israel Monday, if the Lord tarries till Monday, a hundred of us or so, and you want to learn Borcatolph, Good Morning, Aratoph, Good Evening, Toff, Good, just a few things if you’re going somewhere. We’re going to heaven [the New Jerusalem], isn’t it interesting, the one word it gives to us of the dialect is Hallelujah, which means Praise the Lord, because the first thing you’re going to want to say in heaven’s dialect, when you are caught up, and you see the Lamb with the marks of slaughter, the first thing you’re going to say is “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah,” it’s a gift that God gives us, that word ahead of time, he’s given us so much, so much…[transcript of a connective expository sermon given on Joshua 17:1-18; Joshua 18:1-28 and Joshua 19:1-51 by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]