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.

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.