Joshua 19:24

Joshua 19:24 says, And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.  We will continue to simply look at the list of the inheritance of the rest of the tribes of Israel, all allocated by the will of God, this time the tribe of  Asher.  Verse twenty-five states, And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,  Verse twenty-six, And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath;  Verse twenty-seven, And turneth toward the sunrising to Bethdagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthahel toward the north side of Bethemek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,  Verse twenty-eight, And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon;  Verse twenty-nine, And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:  Verse thirty, Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages.  Then verse thirty-one concludes, This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.  This concluded the land given to Asher, and next we have a list of the land given to the tribe of Nephtali.  Verse thirty-two states, The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.  Verse thirty three, And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan:  Verse thirty-four, And then the coast turneth westward to Aznothtabor, 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 Jordan toward the sunrising. Verse thirty -five, And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth,  Verse thirty-six,  And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor,  Verse thirty-seven, And Kedesh, and Edrei, and Enhazor,  Verse thirty-eight, And Iron, and Migdalel, Horem, and Bethanath, and Bethshemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.  Then, verse thirty-nine concludes, This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.  We are almost through with the listing of the inheritances, and there really is little to add to these verses.

Joshua 19:1

Joshua 19:1 says, 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.  Once more, the next several verses simply state the division of the land, so there is really little to add, starting with the tribe of Simeon.  Verse two states, And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,  Verse three, And Hazarshual, and Balah, and Azem,  Verse four, And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, Verse five, And Ziklag, and Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusah,  Verse six, And Bethlebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages:  Verse seven, Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: Then verse eight, And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalathbeer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Then verse nine concludes, 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.  We are told that the tribe of Simeon had their inheritance within the tribe of Judah, because the land was too much for the tribe of Judah.  This was still done by God's guidance.  We should be willing to share the blessings of God with others, especially if they are more than we really need.  Verse ten says, And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid:  Now we are given the description of the land of the tribe of Zebulun, as with all the tribes done by lot.  Verse eleven, And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam;  Verse twelve, And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chislothtabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,  Verse thirteen, And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittahhepher, to Ittahkazin, and goeth out to Remmonmethoar to Neah;  Verse fourteen, And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthahel:  Verse fifteen, And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. Verse sixteen, concludes, This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.  Now, we have the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar listed.  Verse seventeen, And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families.  Verse eighteen, And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,  Verse nineteen, And Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath,  Verse twenty, And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez,  Verse twenty-one, And Remeth, and Engannim, and Enhaddah, and Bethpazzez;  Vers twenty-two, And the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Bethshemesh; and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.  Then verse twenty-three concludes, This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.  I am not sure if the size of the land inherited was getting smaller or if the description was just getting easier, but whichever it was, it was still done according to God's plan.  We do not need to be concerned with what other people have been blessed with by God, but need to simply be thankful for what He has blessed us with.

Joshua 18:11

Joshua 18:11 says, 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.  The tribe of Benjamin were the next to receive their inheritance of land.  The next several verses simply specify the boundaries of their land.  Verse twelve says, 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.  Verse thirteen,  And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.  Verse fourteen, And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.  Verse fifteen states, And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:  Verse sixteen, 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,  Verse seventeen, 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,  Verse eighteen, And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah:  Verse nineteen says, And the border passed along to the side of Bethhoglah 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.  Verse twenty, 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.  This had specified the boundaries of the land of the tribe of Benjamin.  Then verse twenty-one states, Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,  Now the cities inherited by the tribe of Benjamin are listed.  Verse twenty-two says, And Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,  Verse twenty-three states, And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,  Verse twenty-four says, And Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:  Verse twenty-five adds, Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,  Then verse twenty-six, And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,  Verse twenty-seven continues, And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,  Then verse twenty-eight concludes, 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.  As with the other tribes, the tribe of Benjamin did not inherit just empty land, but cities that were already there as well.  Our heavenly home is not going to be just an emty land, but a place where Christ has already prepared a dwelling place for us.

Joshua 18:1

Joshua 18:1 says, 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.  All the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh, where they set up the tabernacle.  The promised land had been subdued, and now they were gathered to worship God.  We need to make sure that we remember and worship God when we have success in the world and not just enjoy the rewards of our success.  Verse two states,  And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.  So far, only five of the tribes had received the land that was to be their inheritance.  Still, they were all gathered together before the tabernacle.  It may seem that some Christians are more blessed than others today, but we cannot allow that to keep us form worshipping God together.  Of course, we will not be together physically, but we must be together spiritually, and need to remember that this world will never be our inheritance.  Verse three asks,  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?  Evidently the people of the other tribes were in no hurry to claim the land, and Joshua asked them how long were they going to wait to possess it.  I believe that today that it is important to gather to worship God, but it is even more important that we go into the world to share the gospel, so that others might possess the promise of salvation through faith in Christ.  God may be asking how long we are going to wait.  Verse four states, 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.  Joshua told the remaining tribes to supply three men each to go into the rest of the land and to describe it according to the inheritance to them, and then come back and report to him what they found.  Joshua did not send all the people of the tribes, just as we don't all go to the same place today to spread the gospel.  Sometimes, a few, like the missionaries, may go alone, physically, but they should never go alone spiritually.  They represent all of God's people.  Verse five adds, 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.  These men were to divide the rest of the land into seven parts, acknowledging the land that was already given to others.  Verse six continues, 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.  They were not to claim certain areas for their particular tribe, but were to come back to Joshua and he would cast lots before the LORD to divide the land.  We need to be content with allowing God to bless us according to His will and should not attempt to claim what He has blessed others with nor be jealous of what they have.  Verse seven declares, 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.  Once more, Joshua said that the tribe of Levi were to receive no land because being priests of God was their inheritance.  As followers of Christ today, this is also our inheritance.  Anything we gain in this world is going to one day be left behind, but our relationship with Christ is everlasting.  Verse eight says, 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.  The men arose and went to do as Joshua had commanded them to do.  We today as Christians need to arise each day and do what God instructs us to do.  Verse nine adds, 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.  This concludes that the men went and described the land in seven parts which were written in a book.  Again, they made no claims on any particular part, but were just united in describing it.  Verse ten concludes, 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.  Joshua cast lots before the LORD to divide the land after they returned with the descriptions of the seven divisions of the land.  We today need to bring all our cares and concerns before God and allow Him to bless us as He so desires.  Once more, I don't believe that we can simply decide what we want and then ask God to give it to us.  We must be content with what God blesses us with.

Joshua 17:12

Joshua 17:12 says, Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.  The children of Manasseh were unable to drive the people out of Canaan.  We are not really told why, but it either had to be a lack of faith and/or commitment on their part, or the fact that God didn't want them to  I would have to go with one of the first two, and that is what Matthew Henry says, since God had told them to drive all the people out.  I do know that we cannot afford to allow things contrary to the will of God to continue to exist in our lives.  Verse thirteen states, 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.  We need to remember that the children of Israel were not relying on their strength, but on the strength of God, so it was not a matter of becoming strong enough, but of being faithful enough.  Then, instead of driving the Canaanites out, the Israelites forced the Canaanites to work for them.  We can never hope to subject sin for our own purposes, but we must totally eliminate it from our lives.  Verse fourteen declares, 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?  The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, complained to Joshua about the size of their inheritance.  They said they were a great people, and therefore should have more land, even though they had failed to drive the Canaanites out.  We may often think that we deserve more from God because we believe that we are great in His sight, but we are instead to simply be thankful for what God has blessed us with.  Verse fifteen says, 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.  Joshua told them if the land was too small then they should go up into the mountains and claim the land of the Perizzites and the giants for themselves.  This was evidently not a part of the land that was being divided.  In effect, Joshua told them if they wanted more land they could fight for it.  I don't believe that we should expect God to bless us more than anyone else simply because we are a Christian.  We are called to live by faith and fight against the evil in the world.  Verse sixteen states, 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.  The children of Joseph then said that the land was not enough and that the Canaanites lived there and that they had chariots and iron.  Once more, the children of Joseph were looking at the problem instead of looking to God, as the people of Israel often did.  I believe that today we often concentrate on the problems around us instead of simply following Christ by faith.  Verse seventeen declares, And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:  Joshua told Manasseh and Ephraim that they were a great people and had a great power, so they would not have just one lot.  Then verse eighteen adds, 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.  Joshua told them that they would have the mountain, once they had driven the Canaanites out.  If they were going to declare themselves a great people, then it was time for them to put their faith in God and not worry about the chariots of the people of Canaan.  If we want more blessing from God today, we may first need to rid our lives of the things that shouldn't be there and put all our faith in God.  Eevn then, we should not attempt to specify what God will bless us with.

Joshua 17:1

Joshua 17:1 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.  This verse begins to tell of the inheritance of the tribe of Manasseh, who had half of his inheritance on each side of the Jordan.  First, we are told of Machir, who was a man of war.  Verse two states, 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.  We are told that here was also an inheritance for all the male children of Manasseh, who were named.  Verse three adds, 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.  One of Manasseh's great-grandsons, Zelophehad, had no sons, but had five daughters.  They were not listed among those receiving an inheritance, since males were generally the ones to receive the inheritance.  We today may feel that this is totally unfair, but it was the nature of the law then.  There may be things today that we see as unfair in the world, but we will never be able to make everything totally fair, but we should always do our best to overcome them with God's guidance and under His power.  Verse four declares, 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.  The daughters went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua, claiming the promise that Moses had made that they would receive an inheritance along with their cousins.  Eleazar and Joshua represented God to the people of Israel, so it was only right that these daughters went to them for help.  We today should go to God, and even those that are His spokesmen in the world, the preachers, if we have problems with someone else.  We should not have to look to the leaders of the lost world for guidance, but we should be able to settle our disputes ourselves under the guidance of God if we are followers of Christ.  Verse five says, And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;  The land of Manasseh was divided into ten parts on this side of the Jordan, as well as being divided in two parts on the other side of the Jordan.  Verse six adds, Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.  The daughter's of Zelophehad received an inheritance together, and not a separate inheritance for each daughter.  Verse seven states, 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.  Then verse eight adds, Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;  These verse again establish the boundaries of the land of Manasseh, given to his descendants.  It bordered on the land of Ephraim at times.  Verse nine says, 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:  We are once again told that some of the cities of Ephraim were in the land that Manasseh owned.  We might not have divided it that way, but this was done by the guidance of God, so we can say it was done for His purpose.  Though each tribe had their own inheritance, they also intermixed with each other, because they were all God's chosen people.  Even if we have our own land today, wherever we may be in the world, as followers of Christ, we are all God's people and none is more valuable than another.  Verse ten states, 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.  Verse eleven adds, 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.  This verse just further states the fact that the lands had some intermingling of the inheritance given to the different tribes.

Joshua 16:1

Joshua 16:1 says, And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,  This chapter deals with the inheritance of the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.  Joseph himself never left Egypt, but his descendants did, and they received an inheritance.  Verse two states, And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,  Verse three adds, And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea.  This specified the land that Manasseh and Ephraim were to receive.  It may or may not have been the land that they would have chosen, but it was the land that God had for them.  We may or may not get everything we want in life, but if it is what God blesses us with, then we should simply thank Him.  Verse four declares, So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.  Manasseh and Ephraim took their inheritance, just as we should take what God blesses us with joyfully today.  Verse five says, And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;   These verses begin to specify the land that Ephraim got for themselves.  They were two different tribes of Israel.  Even though we may be united in our worship of God as followers of Christ, we have our separate lives.  Verse six states, And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;  The next few verses simply define the boundaries of Ephraim.  Verse seven adds, And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.  Verse eight continues, The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.  Then verse nine declares, And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.  Some of the cities that were given to Ephraim were with the territory given to Manasseh.   Sometimes, what God blesses us with may overlap what He has blessed someone else with.  If so, we should just all be thankful.  Verse ten declares, And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.  They did not drive out all the Canaanites, and the Canaanites remained among them.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we must drive out all the foreign influences that exist in our lives.