Joshua Chapter 18-21
Survey
Now
we read here in V.1 our text that The land of Canaan has been pretty well
subdued
A) Most of the land had been allotted and occupied
B)So far five tribes have been given their inheritance by Joshua, / But now we see that Joshua moves the camp to Shiloh in the territory of E'phraim.
C)This location is much more central and convenient for the tribes. –
1) But here in this Chapter we see a Problem that arose – where 7 tribes were Procrastinating in Possessing their Inheritance
D)Worth noting the Hebrew sentence structure in (v2) implies that a significant amount of time had elapsed since the settlement of the 1st 5 tribes
WHY were they
Procrastinating ?
A)It seems that these seven tribes had grown complacent. They're satisfied with life on the western bank of the Jordan.
B) They're not eager to be involved in the warfare
required to claim their own respective territories.
C) It would seem that they were content to live in
the promised land yet live as nomads
1) Just Wandering around with no responsibility to take
care of any certain
area / They
were idling in neutral.
A)They are born again by the Spirit of God / But
they want to live without any spiritual responsibilities
B)They want to just sort of fly about like spiritual
butterflies/ meeting / meet
BUT -
Never responsible to do a SPECIFIC task in the body of Christ
C) Have you
ever watched your Little kids and
thought: "Wow... wouldn't it be nice to just come and go with so
little responsibility other than to make your bed and brush your teeth.
The Same thing is
true Spiritually – to whom much is given – much is required –
A)Our Church Blessed – Reason involved in Missions –
[Contrast w/ Oregon]
B) What is true of us Corporately is also true as
individuals - Some of you have been in the Lord a
long time You Know the Bible well –
1) You might be tempted to sit back & say – I am
going to CRUISE FOR A WHILE – KICK BACK –
C)Sometimes what we need is a spiritual kick in the
pants – HS convicts us or someone else comes along as his instrument to say:
Get involved
1) None of us want to go thru this life in the Lord
w/ nothing to show for it
C) Not waiting
for the Lord to Return: Love life – Enjoy serving JESUS – 1) Life is Hard – to make an impact
in someone else’s life
D) SO Joshua
gives them a kick in the pants so to speak – You guys need to get moving -
E)Now in V. 11 thru the end of the Ch. land allotted
to Benjamin
Summarize: The tribe of Benjamin was Placed between
the tribes of Judah & Reuben
A)These were the two largest tribes... And often rival tribes
Therefore Benjamin was in a tough spot
B)It
was a small area of only 25 miles from east to west/ It was relatively
mountainous
1) Yet in this area there were some significant cities / Gibeon... Jericho.... Jerusalem.... Bethel
C) And Having Jerusalem within it's boundaries we have a
fulfillment of prophecy in Deut. 33
1) There Moses told that the tribe of Benjamin would be the place where the house of God would be built
Deut. 33:2 [And] of
Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; [and
the LORD] shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his
shoulders.
D) So even though they were small – they possessed land that would be very significant in future yrs in the Broad scope of God’s plan
1)
Lesson a person might feel small & insignificant – yet
you never know what the Lord is going to do w/ your life
CH.19: v. 1 The second lot
came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their
families. And their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of
Judah.
Here we see that Simeon was
placed in the southern most part of Israel within the boundaries of Judah { they didn’t have
their own inheritance
A)As a result, many of the tribe of Simeon migrated to the North... When we come to 2 Chron.15 we find Simeon dwelling with the Northern Tribes
B)Why didn’t Simeon have their own allotment ? Simeon had NO allotment in the land according to a curse placed upon Simeon Genesis 49
C) See In Genesis 34, Levi and Simeon went and slaughtered the men of Shechem because of the rape of their sister Dinah
1) Jacob was incensed over this: "You have made me to STINK before the inhabitants of this place"
E) He held this in his heart up to his deathbed: So in Gen 49
Simeon and Levi
[are] brethren; instruments of cruelty [are in] their habitations........ Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was]
fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and
scatter them in Israel.
BUT later on in the book of Exodus we see how God reversed this curse as it related to the tribe of Levi [ Priestly tribe
A) In the case of Levi, God said: "You will have NO inheritance in the land... BUT - I
will be your inheritance"
B) From this brother who was a murderer came the Priestly tribe - They were placed throughout the whole land to serve the Lord
1) But that wasn’t the case w/
the tribe of Simeon / His tribe became insignificant
C) What was the difference between these two tribes?
1) WHY was Levi ultimately blessed even though he had
sinned, while Simeon remained weakened and insignificant? The answer is found
in Ex 32
Scene is the
incident w/ the Golden calf – God commanded that those who engaged in this
idolatry were to be executed -
Ex. 32:26-27 Then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side?
[let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together
unto him. And he said unto them, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, [and] go in
and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother,
and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
A) Well ONLY the Levites came forward & They slew their own relatives according to the direction of the Lord
B)The Levites had fallen But there was a change of heart/ They were ready and willing to move on with the Lord no matter what the cost!!!!
C) There in lies the difference -
Both had sinned... Both were cursed..... But ONE was launched into a greater place in the Kingdom of God
1) because of how they LATER responded to the Lord
D)
The other was placed within the boarders of Judah and virtually never to be heard of again
1) Lesson to be learned there for our lives – Important to respond to the Lord’s call – { Expand our Borders
E) Known people who have felt a calling on their life – didn’t respond & 5 or 10 yrs later they are wasting away – Frustrated
Now
the rest of Ch. 19 deals w/ the allotment of land given to the tribes of
Zebulun / Issachar Asher Naptilli { Jesus
ministered there }& Dan
A)Interesting Historical note about the tribe of Dan
B) See Dan was originally in the southern part of Israel by Benjamin and Judah but They migrated north to the northern most part of Israel - WHY?
C)When we get into the Book of Judges we will see that the people of Dan had tremendous difficulty warring against the remaining Amorites in the hills of their inheritance
D)
They could NOT handle the battles so they went north where the fighting was less intense - Do you know what happened?
1) Where the fighting was LESS intense they began to fall
farther and farther away from the Lord
E) And Being away from the place of temple worship they built their own altar and sacrificed to other gods
1) They became a CENTER of idolatry and iniquity
APPLICATION: When you try to get out of the
fight.... Try to make it easy on yourself spiritually...... Run from the
challenges ahead of you.......
A) You are in danger and vulnerable to fall away from the Lord
B) In the middle of the fight you are FORCED to hang on to the Lord
1) But when you
try to find the easy way out you become vulnerable to idolatry Rd
v.49-51
This
is beautiful AFTER all the others got their land, Joshua receives his What does he ask for?
A)A very barren, mountainous land Not seeking to be served but serving
Great sign of a Servant leader – takes the hardest Job
B)Joshua was willing to carve out a nitch that no one else wanted
1) This city is eleven miles north of Shiloh, set in heavily forested land slopes of Mount E'phraim that has never been cleared or cultivated.
C)Joshua takes a city that is lying in ruins, that must be
rebuilt. He acts on his own advice to the complaining tribes of Joseph: "You are a Great People & you have great Power –
this land is yours to Possess
D)This is a tremendous initiative of faith. He rebuilds an uninhabitable city and makes it habitable.
1) Is there something in your life – that is lying in ruins – reluctant to take up reluctant to rebuild ?
Perhaps you
have been saying: "I can't get along with my wife." "My husband
and I can't communicate." "I can't discipline the kids as I
should." "I can't stop overeating." "I can't find the time
to pray." "I can't quit gossiping." "I can't control my
temper." And so on and so on.
B) But If Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Lord, then we are the recipients of limitless ability to change,
1) And incredible strength to do battle personally with destructive habits.
C)Paul writes, (Phil 4:13). "I
can do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me"
"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
Peter says, 2 Peter 1:4). talking about Jesus, "...He has granted to us His precious and magnificent
promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine
nature"
Now we looked at Ch. 20 on Sunday – Cities of Refuge Rd Ch. 21:1-8
Chapter
Twenty One Is a list of 48 cities that were given to
the Levites
A)The Levites received no “province” of land such as the other tribes did; however, they had to live somewhere.
B) So, each tribe gave certain cities and common-lands (land immediately
surrounding the cities) to the tribe of Levi.
1)The striking thing about this list is that God wanted the Levites “sprinkled” all throughout the land of Israel.
C) He never intended there to be one “state” of Levi, but
every tribe was to have the priestly influence and presence in their midst.
In
the same manner, 1 Peter 2 Christians (are priests,) We have no inheritance in
this world – God is our Inheritance )
A) But are to be “sprinkled”
all throughout the world and society, instead of heading off to make a
“Christian country” somewhere.
B) Salt & Light – Seen & tasted – that is us {
Jesus hands & Feet }
Rd V.43-45 NOTE 3 THINGS
A)1st v.43 God gave the tribes their land – but they still needed to Possess it
APP for us – God
has given us blessings – we need to possess it
B)V44) – Their Possessing of the land – resulted in Rest –
Great rest when we are in the will of God
C) V.45 Everything that they
experienced was based on the Promise of God -Not a word of God fails.
This is a
word from the Lord for all of us tonight
A)Our word has failed - Promises to others... To the Lord
BUT - The Word that God speaks to us WILL come to pass
B)It might be 7 years later..... After much battling and much difficulty
But it will come to Pass so hang in there -
C) Speaking of Abraham we read:
Hebr.
6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured,
he obtained the promise.
D) Hang on
to the promises of God... NOT one word of them will fail
Chapter
Twenty-Two Deals with the return of the
Reubenites, the Gadites and the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh { Going to the other side – On the Fringe
A). V. 1-4) Joshua thanks them for a job well done.
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half
the tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the
servant of the Lord commanded
you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. You have not left
your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the
commandment of the Lord your God.
And now the Lord your God has
given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go
to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of
the Lord gave you on the other
side of the Jordan.”
B)You have kept all that Moses the
servant of the Lord commanded you: 1)
In the seven years they had been with Joshua, helping the tribes west of the
Jordan to conquer their enemies, they had been
completely obedient and helpful to Joshua.
C)Now that the land was
conquered and fully distributed to the tribes, they could go back to their
families and lands on the eastern side of the Jordan.
But Before they leave, Joshua gives them an
exhortation and a blessing.
V.5,6 “But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which
Moses the servant of the Lord
commanded you, to love the Lord
your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to
Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” So Joshua
blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
Notice that
Joshua gives them 3 Exhortations
A)1st He tells them to take diligent heed to the word of
God, in the sense of carefully hearing it and knowing it.
B) 2nd He tells them to love the Lord.
1) 3rd He tells them to obey God with all they have, to serve Him
with all your heart and soul.
C)We should not miss the order here. First we should take care to hear God. Then we give Him our love. Next comes a walk of obedience.
D)To mix this order up is to get off into heresy (loving
without hearing) or legalism (obeying before loving).
RD v.7-9
Now
here we see that their obedience to God and faithfulness to their brethren has
been rewarded.
A)God has allowed them to gain much plunder that they can take back home with them.
B) Now what happens next is a huge misunderstanding – RD V
10
And
when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the
children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built
an altar there by the Jordan; a great, impressive altar.
C) So Before crossing over the Jordan, the soldiers from
the two and a half tribes build a great, impressive altar near the Jordan River.
D)This was significant not only because of its size, but because of the meaning of an altar.
1) An altar was a place of sacrifice, and both the
Israelites and pagans had altars they used for sacrifice.
E) Now in V. 11-12 We see the Reaction of the tribes on
the west side of the Jordan - RD v. 11-12
When
the news comes to the rest of Israel, their is no discussion, there is a simple
reaction. { Watch that – React of Respond in the Spirit
A)They gathered to make war against their own brothers who
built this altar.
B) Why did they do this? Because they feared that this altar was a sign of allegiance to
the pagan gods of the region.
1)Their readiness to fight this battle shows great courage to confront on behalf of God’s truth and holiness.
C) But we also need to be careful that we don’t jump to
unnecessary conclusions -
Well
Before action is taken Phinehas seeks
to get to the Bottom of this: He leads a delegation to confront these 3 tribes
Summarize
A)Phineas explains to them that if this was to be another
place of worship they were in Violation of God’s Law
B)God had clearly commanded that there was one place
of sacrifice and burnt offerings for Israel: Also you shall say to them: Whatever man of
the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a
burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not bring it to the door of the
tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord,
that man shall be cut off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:8-9)
C) We understand from this that we cannot worship God any way we please, or justify a manner of worship just because we like it.
1) First and always, our worship must be pleasing to
God. We must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
D)Phinehas reminds the eastern tribes that Israel has been
punished for rebellion against God before, using the rebellion at Peor
as an example.
1)At Peor, Israel’s men had sex with Moabite women, and they gave themselves over to the worship of the Moabite gods.
E)In judgment, God sent a plague
that killed 24,000 people.
Phinehas
also knew that the sin of these tribes would reflect on the whole nation. He knew that no one really sins unto
himself. [ Achan]
A)V.19 Take possession among us: To Phinehas, anything was better than seeing these tribes go off in rebellion against God.
B)If there was something unclean in their land, he invited
them to come and live with the tribes on the western side of the Jordan.
C) This was an invitation made at great cost. It would have meant a must smaller area of land for the western tribes.
1) But it didn’t matter, because they were willing to sacrifice to see their brothers free
from this sin.
D) Too many of us lack this willingness; we tell people to
stop sinning, but are not willing to help them if it costs us something.
Now in
(21-29 ) The eastern tribes respond.
A)They explain that they have no intention-of forsaking the Lord or worshipping other God’s
B) And even went so far as to say If we are doing that feel free to punish us
1) They recognized the rightness of what the others were
doing in coming against them.
C)These 3 tribes recognized their distance from the center of worship in Israel, and that the Jordan River WAS a natural barrier between them and the rest of the nation.
D)So they built the altar as a memorial to link themselves
to the rest of the nation
1)They built it so big and
impressive so that it would last. They wanted it to stand as a memorial to future generations
that the tribes on both sides of the Jordan worshipped the same God.
V. 30-31 The explanation of the
eastern tribes is accepted by the western tribes.
A)This story gives us some insight into what should be our attitude in the mist of Confrontation or Misunderstanding
B)We should respond to misunderstanding in the same
manner, according to these same principles.
1) Respond with a concern
for God’s holiness.
C) Respond with the courage to confront in love.
1) Respond with an
attempt to reconcile before you fight.
D)Determine that you are willing to sacrifice to help
them; don’t confront unless you are willing to help.
1) Determine that you will
see the situation from the perspective of the other person.
E) Determine that you will believe the best of the other person – Know no man after the Flesh –
RDv.32-34
And
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the
children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land
of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. So the
thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God;
they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where
the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. The children of Reuben and the children
of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
A)So the thing pleased the children
of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God:
1) Everyone is
glad, and everyone enjoys the blessing of having peace among the people of God.
B)
Now The altar is given the name Witness, because it was a witness to
the tribes on both sides of the Jordan that the Lord
is God.
C) The altar was called WITNESS This is significant:
1) Where is the witness found? In UNITY
D) NOT in false witness or put downs
1) Unity is found at the ALTAR of Calvary... the cross
E) There all of our faults are washed away