In Chapter 13, much of the Promised Land has been conquered under the leadership of Joshua, but much remains before formal inheritance of the land spoken through Moses can be granted to Israel.
God promises to drive the inhabitants out before Israel. Even before this happens, God commands Joshua as an act of obedience, to apportion the land to the tribes so that they can take possession as the enemy is driven out.
The allocation is done by lot, in holy convocation with the Lord God Himself, led by the priests, Joshua, and the tribal leaders at the door to the tent of meeting. This promise of inheritance to Israel is extremely important to God.
So much so that I must ask: What is our inheritance as the Church of Jesus Christ, Himself God, that Jesus considers just as important as He did the inheritance to Israel?
Chapters 14-21 are mostly detailed descriptions of property, almost like verbal deeds in a real estate transaction. But tucked among the details are torches lighting the way to God’s perfect unity, commands, and never-ending love for his children.
The driving theme in these chapters is coded by the words “what God commanded through Moses” – to which I ask, what did command for us through Jesus?
In Chapter 14, Caleb, the one who “followed the Lord fully” when no one else other than Joshua had the courage, asks for the land God promised him through Moses.
In Chapters 15-17, we hark back to the previous blog, where God commands total victory against the enemy – Israel disobeys by failing to drive out people from some of the land they occupy. This will come back to haunt them in the future.
In Chapters 18-19, Joshua divides the land among the tribes by holy lot, and once that process is complete, the tribes respond in kind, awarding Hebron to Joshua, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
In Chapter 20, Joshua again responds to commands spoken through Moses for sanctuary cities and in Chapter 21 the same is true for cities for the Levites.
But now breathe in the last three verses of Chapter 21:
“So the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass” (NASB).
So if Israel’s inheritance was contained in all the good promises to Israel through Moses, isn’t our inheritance contained in all the good promises through Jesus? Yet we too must stand in perfect unity and total victory against the enemy – who is Satan, the fallen angel, the Devil himself.
I submit that this cannot be done until we obey in perfect unity what the Lord spoke through Jesus – all of it – just as Israel obeyed what the Lord spoke through Moses.
God promises to drive the inhabitants out before Israel. Even before this happens, God commands Joshua as an act of obedience, to apportion the land to the tribes so that they can take possession as the enemy is driven out.
The allocation is done by lot, in holy convocation with the Lord God Himself, led by the priests, Joshua, and the tribal leaders at the door to the tent of meeting. This promise of inheritance to Israel is extremely important to God.
So much so that I must ask: What is our inheritance as the Church of Jesus Christ, Himself God, that Jesus considers just as important as He did the inheritance to Israel?
Chapters 14-21 are mostly detailed descriptions of property, almost like verbal deeds in a real estate transaction. But tucked among the details are torches lighting the way to God’s perfect unity, commands, and never-ending love for his children.
The driving theme in these chapters is coded by the words “what God commanded through Moses” – to which I ask, what did command for us through Jesus?
In Chapter 14, Caleb, the one who “followed the Lord fully” when no one else other than Joshua had the courage, asks for the land God promised him through Moses.
In Chapters 15-17, we hark back to the previous blog, where God commands total victory against the enemy – Israel disobeys by failing to drive out people from some of the land they occupy. This will come back to haunt them in the future.
In Chapters 18-19, Joshua divides the land among the tribes by holy lot, and once that process is complete, the tribes respond in kind, awarding Hebron to Joshua, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
In Chapter 20, Joshua again responds to commands spoken through Moses for sanctuary cities and in Chapter 21 the same is true for cities for the Levites.
But now breathe in the last three verses of Chapter 21:
“So the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass” (NASB).
So if Israel’s inheritance was contained in all the good promises to Israel through Moses, isn’t our inheritance contained in all the good promises through Jesus? Yet we too must stand in perfect unity and total victory against the enemy – who is Satan, the fallen angel, the Devil himself.
I submit that this cannot be done until we obey in perfect unity what the Lord spoke through Jesus – all of it – just as Israel obeyed what the Lord spoke through Moses.
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