Joshua 18
Content
JOSHUA 18 Introduction This chapter gives us the gathering of the children of Israel at Shiloh where the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle) was set up. In here also, Joshua blamed the slackness of the remaining seven tribes in claiming their inheritance. e sent men out to surve! the remainder of the land, which up to that time had not been divided into portions. Then when the men returned, the remaining land was divided b! lot. The remainder of the chapter (vv.""#$%) describes the lot of &en'amin. A. The Delay (vv.1-3) 1 (ow the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. )nd the land was subdued before them. 2 &ut there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not !et received their inheritance. 3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel* + ow long will !ou neglect to go and possess the land which the ,-./ 0od of !our fathers has given !ou1 a. Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there... (v.")* Israel2s central encampment had been at 0ilgal, near Jericho, where the! had observed several religious ceremonies. (ow the entire congregation moved to Shiloh, about "3 miles northwest of Jericho, where the! set up the tent of meeting or tabernacle and became an important religious center for the Israelites for several hundred !ears. owever, it was not to be the permanent place because 0od would choose a permanent site through /avid, which one da! would be Jerusalem. . Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: !ow long will "ou neglect to go and possess the land which the #$%& 'od of "our fathers has gi(en "ou) (v.4)* Instead of fulfilling 0od2s command to destro! the remaining 5anaanites, these seven tribes would often take the path of least resistance. )s nomadic people for more than fort! !ears, the! ma! have been reluctant to settle down, and sometimes the! prefer to depend on the people the! were supposed to eliminate. )nd whenever difficulties arose, the! could simpl! pack up and move. There are 5hristians who are 'ust like them. There are people who have left the wilderness of carnalit! and who have received the baptism of the ol! Spirit. The!2ve entered the 6romised ,and of the Spirit#filled life, and are e7periencing abundance8!et something prevent them to sta! in a 1
specific territor! or congregation. 6eople with this mindset think the!2re being led b! the Spirit, but in realit!, the! simpl! don9t want accountabilit! or responsibilit!. The! get involve onl! if it is comfortable for them, but if the!2re asked to do something that stretches them, the!2ll leave. !. The Di"#atch (vv.$-%) * 6ick out from among !ou three men for each tribe, and I will send them: the! shall rise and go through the land, surve! it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. + )nd the! shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territor! on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territor! on the north. , ;ou shall therefore surve! the land in seven parts and bring the surve! here to me, that I ma! cast lots for !ou here before the ,-./ our 0od. - &ut the ,evites have no part among !ou, for the priesthood of the ,-./ is their inheritance. )nd 0ad, .euben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance be!ond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the ,-./ gave them.< . Then the men arose to go awa!: and Joshua charged those who went to surve! the land, sa!ing, +0o, walk through the land, surve! it, and come back to me, that I ma! cast lots for !ou here before the ,-./ in Shiloh.< / So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the surve! in a book in seven parts b! cities: and the! came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. Three men from each of the seven tribes who hadn2t claimed their inheritance were sent to surve! the land. =here did the! learn this art and science of surve!ing1 /id the! learn it while wandering in the wilderness1 /id the! learn it while fighting in the 6romised ,and1 I suggest the! got the skill from >g!pt. The generation who left >g!pt, who would have been involved in all kinds of construction pro'ects re?uiring surve!ing skills, somehow passed on the knowledge to this generation who entered the promised land. Sometimes, !oung people sa!, +I want to be a missionar!. I want to start a church. =h! do I need to know math, histor!, or science1< The! don2t !et reali@e that the ,ord doesn2t waste a thing, the skills and understandings gained from school will be somehow beneficial and important in da!s to come. Therefore, I think we ought to remind our kids that learning is important because 0od will use it for is purposes in wa!s we don2t see !et. &. The Divi"ion !en'a(in (vv.1)-*8) "A Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the ,-./, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. "" (ow 2
the lot of the tribe of the children of &en'amin came up according to their families, and the territor! of their lot came out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. "$ Their border on the north side began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the mountains westward: it ended at the =ilderness of ð )ven. "4 The border went over from there toward ,u@, to the side of ,u@ (which is ðel) southward: and the border descended to )taroth )ddar, near the hill that lies on the south side of ,ower ð oron. "B Then the border e7tended around the west side to the south, from the hill that lies before ð oron southward: and it ended at Cir'ath &aal (which is Cir'ath Jearim), a cit! of the children of Judah. This was the west side. "3 The south side began at the end of Cir'ath Jearim, and the border e7tended on the west and went out to the spring of the waters of (ephtoah. "D Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before the Ealle! of the Son of innom, which is in the Ealle! of the .ephaim on the north, descended to the Ealle! of innom, to the side of the Jebusite cit! on the south, and descended to >n .ogel. "F )nd it went around from the north, went out to >n Shemesh, and e7tended toward 0eliloth, which is before the )scent of )dummim, and descended to the stone of &ohan the son of .euben. "% Then it passed along toward the north side of )rabah, and went down to )rabah. "G )nd the border passed along to the north side of ð oglah: then the border ended at the north ba! at the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundar!. $A The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of &en'amin, according to its boundaries all around, according to their families. $" (ow the cities of the tribe of the children of &en'amin, according to their families, were Jericho, ð oglah, >mek Ce@i@, $$ ð )rabah, Hemaraim, ðel, $4 )vim, 6arah, -phrah, $B 5hephar aammoni, -phni, and 0aba* twelve cities with their villages: $3 0ibeon, .amah, &eeroth, $D Mi@pah, 5hephirah, Mo@ah, $F .ekem, Irpeel, Taralah, $% Helah, >leph, Jebus (which is Jerusalem), 0ibeath, and Cir'ath* fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of &en'amin according to their families. &en'amin means Ison of m! right handI: the tribe, therefore, emphasi@es the glor! of our ,ord Jesus 5hrist, who is reigning at the right hand of the Jather. &en'amin eventuall! included Jerusalem as one of its cities (v.$%), which was on the border of Judah (ch."3*D4). )nd this is a perfect picture, because authorit! (i.e. &en'amin) and praise (i.e. Judah) are beautifull! united in this capital cit! which became 0od9s center in /avid9s reign. In the histor! of Israel, Judah and >phraim were often rivals: since, &en'amin is located between them, it pla!ed the role of a peacemaker. Territoriall!, &en'amin was the smallest of the tribes: but the inheritance that was given to them is ver! strategic because in his borders were Shiloh, Jericho, ebron, 0ibeon and Jerusalem.
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&onclu"ion (ow that the boundaries are carefull! drawn, the inheritance of each tribe are finall! settled (v."A). )ll selfish claims were prevented b! the wise guidance of 0od, who allotted the hill and the valle!, the corn and the pasture, the brooks and the rivers, and the towns and the cities. (ow that we are a child of 0od, is the lot given to !ou causes !ou to suffer1 .e'oiceK 0od allows it for a purpose, let im do what e sees right in !our life. -r are !ou in prosperit! and peace1 .emmember, it is blessing from above: be humble, because !ou don9t reall! deserve it. (ever forget to thank im and alwa!s be read! to give it back at his command.
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specific territor! or congregation. 6eople with this mindset think the!2re being led b! the Spirit, but in realit!, the! simpl! don9t want accountabilit! or responsibilit!. The! get involve onl! if it is comfortable for them, but if the!2re asked to do something that stretches them, the!2ll leave. !. The Di"#atch (vv.$-%) * 6ick out from among !ou three men for each tribe, and I will send them: the! shall rise and go through the land, surve! it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. + )nd the! shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territor! on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territor! on the north. , ;ou shall therefore surve! the land in seven parts and bring the surve! here to me, that I ma! cast lots for !ou here before the ,-./ our 0od. - &ut the ,evites have no part among !ou, for the priesthood of the ,-./ is their inheritance. )nd 0ad, .euben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance be!ond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the ,-./ gave them.< . Then the men arose to go awa!: and Joshua charged those who went to surve! the land, sa!ing, +0o, walk through the land, surve! it, and come back to me, that I ma! cast lots for !ou here before the ,-./ in Shiloh.< / So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the surve! in a book in seven parts b! cities: and the! came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. Three men from each of the seven tribes who hadn2t claimed their inheritance were sent to surve! the land. =here did the! learn this art and science of surve!ing1 /id the! learn it while wandering in the wilderness1 /id the! learn it while fighting in the 6romised ,and1 I suggest the! got the skill from >g!pt. The generation who left >g!pt, who would have been involved in all kinds of construction pro'ects re?uiring surve!ing skills, somehow passed on the knowledge to this generation who entered the promised land. Sometimes, !oung people sa!, +I want to be a missionar!. I want to start a church. =h! do I need to know math, histor!, or science1< The! don2t !et reali@e that the ,ord doesn2t waste a thing, the skills and understandings gained from school will be somehow beneficial and important in da!s to come. Therefore, I think we ought to remind our kids that learning is important because 0od will use it for is purposes in wa!s we don2t see !et. &. The Divi"ion !en'a(in (vv.1)-*8) "A Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the ,-./, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. "" (ow 2
the lot of the tribe of the children of &en'amin came up according to their families, and the territor! of their lot came out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. "$ Their border on the north side began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the mountains westward: it ended at the =ilderness of ð )ven. "4 The border went over from there toward ,u@, to the side of ,u@ (which is ðel) southward: and the border descended to )taroth )ddar, near the hill that lies on the south side of ,ower ð oron. "B Then the border e7tended around the west side to the south, from the hill that lies before ð oron southward: and it ended at Cir'ath &aal (which is Cir'ath Jearim), a cit! of the children of Judah. This was the west side. "3 The south side began at the end of Cir'ath Jearim, and the border e7tended on the west and went out to the spring of the waters of (ephtoah. "D Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before the Ealle! of the Son of innom, which is in the Ealle! of the .ephaim on the north, descended to the Ealle! of innom, to the side of the Jebusite cit! on the south, and descended to >n .ogel. "F )nd it went around from the north, went out to >n Shemesh, and e7tended toward 0eliloth, which is before the )scent of )dummim, and descended to the stone of &ohan the son of .euben. "% Then it passed along toward the north side of )rabah, and went down to )rabah. "G )nd the border passed along to the north side of ð oglah: then the border ended at the north ba! at the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundar!. $A The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of &en'amin, according to its boundaries all around, according to their families. $" (ow the cities of the tribe of the children of &en'amin, according to their families, were Jericho, ð oglah, >mek Ce@i@, $$ ð )rabah, Hemaraim, ðel, $4 )vim, 6arah, -phrah, $B 5hephar aammoni, -phni, and 0aba* twelve cities with their villages: $3 0ibeon, .amah, &eeroth, $D Mi@pah, 5hephirah, Mo@ah, $F .ekem, Irpeel, Taralah, $% Helah, >leph, Jebus (which is Jerusalem), 0ibeath, and Cir'ath* fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of &en'amin according to their families. &en'amin means Ison of m! right handI: the tribe, therefore, emphasi@es the glor! of our ,ord Jesus 5hrist, who is reigning at the right hand of the Jather. &en'amin eventuall! included Jerusalem as one of its cities (v.$%), which was on the border of Judah (ch."3*D4). )nd this is a perfect picture, because authorit! (i.e. &en'amin) and praise (i.e. Judah) are beautifull! united in this capital cit! which became 0od9s center in /avid9s reign. In the histor! of Israel, Judah and >phraim were often rivals: since, &en'amin is located between them, it pla!ed the role of a peacemaker. Territoriall!, &en'amin was the smallest of the tribes: but the inheritance that was given to them is ver! strategic because in his borders were Shiloh, Jericho, ebron, 0ibeon and Jerusalem.
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&onclu"ion (ow that the boundaries are carefull! drawn, the inheritance of each tribe are finall! settled (v."A). )ll selfish claims were prevented b! the wise guidance of 0od, who allotted the hill and the valle!, the corn and the pasture, the brooks and the rivers, and the towns and the cities. (ow that we are a child of 0od, is the lot given to !ou causes !ou to suffer1 .e'oiceK 0od allows it for a purpose, let im do what e sees right in !our life. -r are !ou in prosperit! and peace1 .emmember, it is blessing from above: be humble, because !ou don9t reall! deserve it. (ever forget to thank im and alwa!s be read! to give it back at his command.
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