Joshua 22:11

Joshua 22:11 says,  And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.  The rest of the people of Israel noticed that the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had built an altar on the other side of the Jordan.  When we do something to worship God, other people should notice, especially other Christians.  Verse twelve states, And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.  The rest of the nation of Israel were ready to go to war against these two and a half tribes.  It might have been that they felt that God could only be worshipped and sacrificed to on their side of the Jordan and at a particular place.   We can never feel that the worship of God is limited physically to a particular group of people and a particular place.  Of course, in order to worship God, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but when we do, we are simply a part of the family of God throughout the world and are no better or worse than any believer anywhere else.  Verse thirteen says, And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,  At least they sent someone, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to get the facts about what was going on.  Before we go to war with other Christians about worship practices, we need to first seek God's guidance and then go to those that we may think there is a problem with and discuss it with them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  I don't believe that we should ever just condemn their worship practices simply because they don't agree with ours.  Verse fourteen adds, And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.  Phinehas took with him the heads of the nine and a half tribes of Israel.  This represented everyone on this side of the Jordan.  They were united in their stand against the other two and a half tribes.  Verse fifteen says, And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,   Then verse sixteen adds, Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?  Phinehas and those with him represented themselves as the spokesmen for the LORD and asked why the people of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had turned away from following the LORD and built their own altar.  We cannot assume that we are the only ones who are worshipping God in the right place or in the right way.  There might be a need to question others if they are doing things in the name of worshipping God that are contrary to the word of God, but that was not the case at this time.  They had simply built an altar at which they were worshipping God.  Verse seventeen continues, Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,  Phinehas and his group referred to a past sin of one of the people of God that they still had not been cleansed from.  We cannot allow what someone else did in the past to influence how we view those worshipping God today, but we should be certain that we nor they are allowing things to go on in the name of worshipping God that are not in agreement with God's word.  Verse eighteen declares, But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.  Phinehas and those with him were worried that God would punish them because of this altar built on the other side of the Jordan.  We are not told that they consulted God about their actions, but they seem to have simply acted because of what they feared that He would do.  If we have doubts about the worship practices of others, we should first pray about it and ask God what we should do.  Gathering facts and making accusations is never enough without seeking God's guidance first.  Verse nineteen says, Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over onto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle leith, and take possession among us, but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.  Phinehas and those with him told the two and a half tribes that if the land they had claimed was unclean, then come back over the Jordan with them to where the tabernacle was.  We need to remember that this land was given to them by Moses under the leadership of God, so it could not be unclean land anymore than the land on the other side if the Jordan was.  Phinehas was attempting to limit the worship of God to a particular place, and we can never afford to do that.  Verse twenty concludes, Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.  They were still basing their concerns not on what was happening now, but on what had happened in the past.  We cannot afford to judge people today based on what someone else did in the past, but must judge the acts of others based on God's word.  Even then, if we are to judge at all, it must be because what is being done brings dishonor to God and not simply because it does not agree with how we worship God.

Joshua 22:1

Joshua 22:1 says. Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Then verse two adds, And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:  Joshua called together the tribe of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh and told them they had fulfilled the commandment of Moses to them and had also done all that Joshua had commanded them.  We need to be just as faithful in our commitment to God, even when it is made to other people under the guidance of God.  Verse three states, Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.  These two and a half tribes had stood with the rest of the people of Israel in their fight to possess the land, even though their inheritance was already secure on the other side of the Jordan.  We cannot just rest secure in our own possessions when there are other people struggling  in their life, especially our fellow Christians, no matter where they may be.  Verse four declares, And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of Jordan.  Joshua gave God the credit for the victory and he acknowledged that God was their God as well.  God had given rest to all of them, and now it was time for these two and a half tribes to return to their land beyond the Jordan.  Until He returns, Christ will not give us the total victory over sin and death, but He will give us peace.  We will be scattered throughout the world until then, but as long as we are following God's guidance, then we will be where we should be.  Verse five adds, But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.  Joshua reminded them that even though they were to be physically separated that they were to still obey God's law.  So must we today, no mattwr where we are in the world.  Verse six says, So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.  Joshua actually pronounced the blessing of God on them I believe.  I don't believe that we can really bless people, but we can ask for God's blessing on them.  Verse seven states, Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,  At the same time, Joshua sent the half of the tribe of Manasseh on this side of the Jordan to possess their land with God's blessing on them.  Verse eight adds, And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.  They were to go and return with a lot of the spoils that they had gained and divide them with the other half of the tribe.  I don't believe that God expects us to hoard our possessions that He blesses us with, but that He expects us to share them with our fellow believers when they have need.  Verse nine continues, And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.  The two and a half tribes went on their way.  We may gather together at times today as followers of Christ, but eventually we go our own way physically, but we are still a part of God's people spiritually.  Verse ten concludes, And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.  When they got across the Jordan, they built an altar to God, for all to see.  We need to let people see today that we are worshiping God in all that we do.

Joshua 21:13

Joshua 21:13 says, Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,  The next several verses simply name the cities given to the priests, stating with the descendants of Aaron.  Verse fourteen states, And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,  Verse fifteen, And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,  Verse sixteen, And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.  Verse seventeen, And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,  Verse eighteen, Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities. Then verse nineteen concludes, All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.   Aarons descendants received a total of thirteen cities.  Verse twenty states,  And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.  Now, we have a list of the cities given to the descendants of Kohath, a Levite.  Verse twenty-one says, For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, Verse twenty-two, And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse twenty-three, And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,  Verse twenty-four, Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse twenty-five, And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.  Then verse twenty-six concludes, All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.  Kohath and his descendants received ten cities.  Verse twenty-seven says,  And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.  We now have a list of the cities given to the descendants of Gershon, another Levite.  Verse twenty-eight, And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,  Verse twenty-nine, Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty, And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,  Verse thirty-one, Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-two, And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.  Verse thirty-three, All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburb.  Gershon and his descendants received thirteen cities.  Verse thirty-four states, And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,  Now we have a list of the cities given to Merari and the rest of the Levites.  Verse thirty-five, Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-six, And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,  Verse thirty -seven. Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-eight, And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,  Verse thirty-nine, Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.  Then verse forty concludes, So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.  Merari and the rest of the Levites received a total of twelve cities.  These cities of the Levites were spread throughout the land of Israel, and each group included a city of refuge.  We today as Christians are spread throughout the world, and wherever we are should be a place of refuge from the sins of the world.  Verse forty-one says, All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.  Verse forty-two adds, These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.  The priests had a total of forty-eight cities and their suburbs.  Verse forty-three declares, And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.   God fulfilled His promise to the people of Israel, just as He always has and always will fulfill His promises.  Verse forty-four adds, And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.  God had defeated all their enemies when they were obedient to Him, and He will defeat all our enemies if we are obedient to Him today.  Verse forty-five concludes, There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.  Nothing good that God had promised to the people of Israel failed to be fulfilled, nor will what God promises us today.

Joshua 21:1

Joshua 21:1 says, Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;  The heads of the tribe of Levi came to the Eleazar the priest. Joshua, and the heads of the other tribes.  These people would have represented the entire nation of Israel, including those representing God.  Verse two states, And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.  The Levites said that the LORD had commanded Moses to give them cities for them and their cattle to live in.  Though they did not have a specified land, the Levites were promised a place of their own within the land.  God will always provide a place for those who are serving Him full time, though it may not be a place that they own outright.  Verse three declares, And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.  The people of Israel gave to the Levites certain cities, because they knew that it was the will of God.  They didn't complain about having to give up certain cities themselves, just as we shouldn't complain about giving to support those who work for God today, such as preachers and missionaries.  Verse four says, And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.  The cities, like the land itself, were chosen by lot.  We are also told that Aaron was a descendant of the Levites.  Verse five adds, And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.  This verse and the next few simply tell of the cities given to the Levites in particular areas.  Verse six adds, And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.  Verse seven continues, The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.  There were a total of forty-eight cities given to the Levites, and they were divided by God's guidance to the sons of Levi.  They were not confined to one geographic location, but were spread out throughout the whole land of Israel.  Those who are preachers and missionaries today are not confined to one location, but are spread out throughout the world, and should always be willing to go where God sends them, as should we all.  Verse eight says, And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.  The distribution was done by lot, which represented the guidance of God.  Verse nine states, And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,  Then verse ten adds, Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.  The children of Aaron had the first lot.  Verse eleven continues, And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.  The verse twelve concludes, But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.  Though the descendants of Aaron were given a particular city, the fields and the villages around it were given to Caleb.  God may not have given them everything that they thought they needed, but He gave them all that He knew that they needed.  We may at times feel that God hasn't given us all that we need, but we can be certain that He always will.  God just may not always give us everything that we want.

Joshua 20:1

Joshua 20:1 says, The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,  After the land was divided, God spoke to Joshua with further instructions.  When we have completed one thing that God has directed us to do, we should expect Him to give us our next task.  Verse two states, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:  God told Joshua to appoint cities if refuge, as He had instructed Moses to do.  Just because Moses was not there did not mean that God's plan was altered.  Even if we, as Christians, die before we complete God's plan for us, and His foremost plan is to share the gospel with everyone, it doesn't mean that His plan will change.  Someone else will be chosen by God to continue the task.  Verse three says, That the slayer that killeth anyperson unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.  The cities were to be a place of sanctuary for those who accidently killed someone so that they could not be avenged by the relatives of the one who was slain.  Christ is our spiritual refuge if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, because He removes the penalty of our sins from our lives.  Verse four states, And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.  The person seeking refuge had to stand before the city gate and tell the elders what he had done.  I am not sure if this really applied to women or not, since they were under the authority of a father or husband, but we can be certain that salvation applies equally to men and women.  Verse five adds, And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.  If the elders believe that he man did not deliberately kill his neighbor, then if someone comes pursuing him, he would not be turned over.  The man could not just come to the city without telling the elders what had happened and expect to find sanctuary.  We cannot come to God through faith in Christ without confessing our sins.  Verse six continues, And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.  The person who sought sanctuary in the city would remain there until the high priest who was in power when he sought sanctuary died, and then he was to return to his own city.  We as followers of Christ should never return to the state of sin that we lived in before putting our faith in Him, but then our High Priest, Jesus Christ, will never die.  Verse seven declares, And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.  Verse eight continues, And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.  This lists seven sanctuary cities, some on both sides of the Jordan.  Verse nine concludes, These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.  These sanctuary cities were for both the Jew and the stranger, just as God's salvation plan today is for all people.  It is stated once again that the man had to stand before the congregation and acknowledge what he had done before claiming sanctuary  We cannot accept the salvation of Christ without confessing our sins to Him.

Joshua 19:40

Joshua 19:40 says, And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.  Dan was the next tribe to receive their inheritance, and again we will simply list it.  Verse forty-one states, And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Irshemesh,  Verse forty-two, And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah,  Verse forty-three, And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron,  Verse forty-four, And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, andBaalath,  Verse forty-five, And Jehud, and Beneberak, and Gathrimmon,  Verse forty-six, And Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho.   Verse forty-seven declares, 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.  The people of Dan had not received less because they were the last to receive their inheritance, but we are told that they felt that it was too small for them, so they went to war against Leshem and defeated it.  We have to think that God was with them in this or they wouldn't have been successful.  I believe that if we feel that we need more than what God has blessed us with, we better make sure that He is with us if we reach out to claim more.  Verse forty-eight concludes, This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.  This was all the land of Dan.  Verse forty-nine declares, 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:  Once the land had been divided between the tribes of Israel, they then gave an inheritance to Joshua.  Though he did not represent one of the tribes of Israel, he was their leader and had been faithful to God all these years.  We, as followers of Christ, do not receive an inheritance because of the family that we are born into, but receive an inheritance of everlasting life because of our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse fifty adds, According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.  Joshua received the city that he had asked for, according to God's will.  When we ask for something from God today, it cannot simply be because we want it, but must always be because it is God's will for us to have it.  I don't believe that we can just decide what we want and then ask God to give it to us.  We must first be sure that we know that it is God's will that we are seeking.  Verse fifty-one concludes, 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.  This ended the dividing of the land, which we are once again told was done by God's guidance.  We today must seek God's guidance in all that we do, and should never attempt to claim anything that God has not blessed us with.

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.