Joshua - Chapters 13-22

In chapters 13-22 of Joshua, the Jews enter the land promised to Abraham and conquer various cities. The land is divided among the tribes, with the Levites receiving cities instead of land. Caleb, one of the spies, receives Hebron as his inheritance. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh are released from their commitment and allowed to go home. However, before crossing the Jordan River, they build an altar which angers the other tribes. A confrontation is avoided when it is revealed that the altar is not for sacrifices but as a witness for future generations. I'm Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If, by chance, you want to contact me, you can do that at zab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapters 13 through 22 of Joshua. So far in Joshua, the Jews crossed over the Jordan River and have entered the land that the Lord promised Abraham way back in Genesis. They consecrated themselves, honored the sign of the covenant with the Lord by being circumcised because no one had been circumcised while traveling the 40 years in the wilderness. And then they observed Passover. Chapter 5 ended when Joshua met the commander of the army of the Lord, and then chapters 6 through 12 covered Joshua and the tribes conquering the land. The first city was Jericho, then Ai. Then they renewed their covenant with the Lord at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, which Moses had instructed them to do in Deuteronomy chapter 27. The Gibeonites made a peace arrangement with the Jews and they became their servants. Then Joshua and the warriors overtook five Amorite kings, which attacked the Gibeonites, and then the list of all the southern cities which were conquered, and then the northern kings that were defeated were listed. With Moses' leadership, they took the land on the east side of the Jordan River where two and a half tribes dwelt. But with Joshua and the second generation, they conquered 31 kings in all on the west side. This brings us to chapters 13 through 22, which covers the land that has not yet been taken and the land that has been taken is now divided up and given to the nine and a half tribes on the west side. Throughout this section it mentions that the Levites do not receive land because the Lord is their portion, but they do receive cities and surrounding areas for their livestock. Since Levi does not receive land, Joseph's two sons, which were born to him in Egypt, but blessed as his sons, so with Manasseh and Ephraim, that makes twelve tribes receiving land. Chapter 13 begins, When Joshua was old and very advanced in years, the Lord said to him, You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over. Maybe because I'm older now, but I just had to laugh out loud when I read that the Lord told Joshua he was old, and not just old, but very old. At least I'm not in that very old category yet. Then the Lord said, There is still much work to do. And I think I would have said, I know, I know. The Lord listed the land which still needed to be taken. And then in verses six, B and seven, the Lord told him, Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and a half of the tribe of Manasseh. Then the borders and land are described for each of the twelve tribes, Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan. Then the division on the west side of the Jordan was explained, Judah, Ephraim, half of Manasseh, Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. Now one thing to notice when lists are given like this is what is unique or what stands out from the pattern are things to really pay attention to. One of my professors, Dr. York, called these zones of turbulence. When something stands out from the pattern, usually it means something important. Some of these zones of turbulence are things like chapter 13, verse 22. It says, In addition to those slain in battle, the Israelites had put to sword Balaam, son of Beor, who practiced divination. His story is found in Numbers chapter 25, verses 1 through 8, and then Numbers 22 through 24. Balaam was hired to curse the Jews as they were taking the land on the east side of the Jordan, but the Lord would not allow him to, so instead he kept blessing them. Since he couldn't curse them, he told King Balak that if they intermingled with the Jews, they would fall into sin and then they would bring curses upon themselves. Balaam is even mentioned in the New Testament in 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 15, Jude 11, and Revelation chapter 2, verse 14. We learned in chapter 14, verse 1, that it was Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel who made the decision by casting lots which tribe would receive which land. We also learn in chapter 14 that Caleb, who was one of the two spies back in Moses' day that declared they could take the land, he said he was 40 years old back then and now 45 years later, at 85 years old, he was allowed to receive Hebron as his inheritance. Verse 14b says, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. We learn a little more about Caleb taking Hebron, which was in the land of Judah, in chapter 15, verses 13 through 19. In chapter 16, we learn of one of the sons from Manasseh's clan only had daughters and they were given land as an inheritance. We learned more about this in Numbers chapter 27 and then the last chapter of Numbers 36. There was concern that if these daughters married men outside their tribe that the land would be taken from their tribe, so the women agreed to marry men within their clan so the land would stay with their tribe. The rest of chapter 16, the allotment of Joseph, which was Ephraim and Manasseh, complained that they did not receive enough land, but Joshua told them it was their responsibility to go and take the forest and clear the land themselves. They complained that they could not because the Canaanites had iron chariots, but Joshua said, even if they do have iron chariots, you can do it. In chapter 18, we find that the tent of meeting, or the tabernacle, was set up at Shiloh, which was centrally located. We also learn that Joshua had sent men to survey and map out the land into seven parts. In chapter 19, we learn that Simeon's land was within Judah's land and verse 9 says, the inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah because Judah's portion was more than they needed, so the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah. We learn in chapter 19 verse 47 that the tribe of Dan had problems taking their land, so they went up and attacked Leshem and settled there and renamed it Dan after their forefather. Then in verses 49 and 50, Joshua was allotted the town, Timnasera, in the hill country of Ephraim and he settled there. Joshua was the other spy back in Moses' day that declared that they could take the land. Verse 51 reads, these are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by Lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and so they finished dividing the land. Chapter 20 covers the cities of refuge. There are three on the east side and three on the west side of the Jordan River. These were for people who accidentally killed someone so they could take refuge there, otherwise the avenger of blood or a blood relative of the one who was killed could kill them. Verse 6 tells us they stayed there until they stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest in that town. These cities were available for the Israelites as well as the aliens living among them. Then chapter 21 covered the towns of the Levites. There was a total of 48 towns with pasture lands given to the Levites and they were scattered throughout Israel and each tribe had either two or four depending upon its size. Chapter 21 ends with verses 43 through 45, so the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them. The Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed. Everyone was fulfilled. Now that the job of conquering the land and appointing it to the twelve tribes of Israel was finished, Joshua called the tribes who lived on the east side of the Jordan River, Reuben Gad and half of Manasseh. He commended them for doing what they said they would do and now they were freed from their commitment and could go home. But Joshua warned them to be careful to 1. Keep the commandment and the law of Moses, the servant of the Lord, 2. Love the Lord your God, 3. To walk in his ways, 4. To obey his commands, 5. To hold fast to them, and 6. To serve him with all their heart and all their soul, chapter 22 verses 4 and 5. Joshua then blessed them and sent them home. Now doesn't that sound like a lovely ending to the story? The problem is it isn't the ending. Before these two and a half tribes crossed the Jordan River, they decided to build an imposing altar, I think that means really big, on the west side of the river. This angered the Israelites because there was only to be one place to worship the Lord and that was at the tabernacle which was at this time located at Shiloh. The Jews on the west side were planning on going to war against the Jews on the east side. Thankfully, they had enough sense to send someone to talk first before fighting. In chapter 22 verse 13 says, They sent Phinehas son of Eliezer the priest, as well as ten men from each of the tribes on the west side. The Jews on the west side saw this altar as an act of rebellion against the Lord. They said if this is the case then please come over to the Lord's land where the tabernacle is and share our land with us. This made the Jews on the east side cry out, the mighty one God the Lord, the mighty one God the Lord, he knows and let Israel know. Chapter 22 verse 22, they explained that this was set up not to offer burnt offerings but as a witness between the two sides for generations to come that they would go to the Lord's sanctuary to worship. They would tell their descendants, look at the replica of the Lord's altar which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices but as a witness between us and you. In other words, it was like the standing stones when they crossed the Jordan River in order to remember what God had done that day. Verse 30 says, When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community heard they were pleased. They went back and reported the good news and they praised God. Verse 34 says, And the Reubenites and the Gaddites gave the altar this name, a witness between us that the Lord is God. So ladies let me challenge you like Joshua did with the tribes on the east side as they were going home. Let's keep the commandment and the law of Moses. Let's love the Lord our God. Let us walk in his ways. Let's obey his commands and hold fast to them and let us serve him with all our heart and all our soul. If we do that we will be blessed. Until next time and thanks so much for listening.